ACE Co-Curricular Experience

Definition: This form provides information for students, faculty, and administrators seeking to use a Co-Curricular Experience to satisfy an ACE general education outcome. Information about the use of Co-Curricular Experiences, forms for students, faculty, and administrators, and the process are described below.

Co-Curricular Experience Defined:

  • In its broadest sense, an ACE Co-Curricular Experience occurs outside the typical classroom, fosters growth and development of the student, has a deliverable academic outcome, and is overseen by a faculty member of the institution supervising the work. As stipulated in the ACE Governing Document 4: Governance & Assessment, article V, the experience can be a three (or more) credit hour curricular offering or an equivalent documented non-credit bearing co-curricular experience. The co-curricular experience receiving ACE credit is expected to be offered in an academic context. Examples of the types of co-curricular experiences that might be ACE-certified include, but are not limited to, undergraduate research such as UCARE and REUs (Research Experience for Undergraduates) and study abroad.
  • A Co-Curricular Experience proposed to meet an ACE outcome requirement must meet one of the ACE Learning Outcomes.
  • A Co-Curricular Experience can only be used one time to complete one ACE outcome. (See ACE Governing Documents 4: Governance & Assessment, page 3).

Definitions for us with the Co-Curricular Experience Forms:


UNL Faculty Sponsor: Students should identify a UNL faculty member who teaches in the same or similar department of the co-curricular experience. This UNL faculty member will serve as the UNL faculty sponsor and will assist the student in completing the requirements for the ACE Co-Curricular Experience.

Unit Chair/Head: This will be the chair or head of the UNL faculty sponsor’s department or unit.

Associate Dean or designee: This will be the Associate Dean, or their appointed designee, of the student’s home academic college.

The ACE Certification Process for Co-Curricular Experiences: 

Students can opt to request certification either before or after they undertake the experience. In both instances, the student, UNL Faculty Sponsor, and the Associate Dean of the student’s home college have the following responsibilities:

Pre-Approval Certification prior to the Co-Curricular Experience

A. Student Responsibilities:

  1. Review specific Institutional Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes in the ACE program. Review “Guidelines for Review of ACE Course Certification Requests” for the specified proposed ACE Learning Outcome. (See ACE website for these documents.)
  2. Request faculty sponsorship of the proposed experience. It is expected that the student, in conjunction with the UNL Faculty Sponsor, will plan and describe the product that will be produced to demonstrate the intended ACE Learning Outcome.
  3. Initiate request for the ACE outcome approval of the co-curricular experience during the semester prior to the experience by:
    1. Reviewing all requirements, 
    2. Requesting UNL Faculty Sponsorship
    3. Completing the Pre-Experience Approval Form for ACE Certification for Co-Curricular Experience in consultation with the UNL Faculty Sponsor,
    4. Obtaining approval and signature from UNL Faculty Sponsor,
    5. Obtaining approval and signature from UNL Faculty Sponsor’s Department Chair/Unit Head, and 
    6. Obtaining approval and signature from the Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college.
  4. After the Co-Curricular Experience has ended, the student submits to the UNL Faculty Sponsor:
    1. A portfolio representing work demonstrating achievement toward the outcome for which ACE credit is requested, and 
    2. A 1-2 page narrative written by the student explaining how the work helps achieve the ACE outcome.
    3. The Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience (completed with the UNL Faculty Sponsor).

B. UNL Faculty Sponsor Responsibilities:

  1. The UNL Faculty Sponsor completes the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience with the student and helps the student secure appropriate signatures and approval.
  2. Completes and submits the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience to the Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college verifying that the student completed work comparable to that required for a 3-credit hour course, whether the work was or was not a credit-bearing course, and that the project was successfully completed.
  3. The UNL Faculty Sponsor, in reviewing the student’s completed work, will use the Guidelines for Review of ACE Courses (https://ace.unl.edu/ACE.certification.guidelines_SLOs1-10.pdf) as a guide to verify the work meets the minimum requirements intended for the chosen ACE outcome.

C. Associate Dean (or designee) Responsibilities:

  1. The Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college should send a copy of the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience and a copy of the student’s work (including the portfolio and student narrative) to be used for assessment purposes to the ACE office in the Office of Undergraduate Studies (221 Seaton Hall).
  2. The Associate Dean (or designee) should also send the original copy of the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience with the appropriate paperwork (substitution form) to the Degree Audit Systems Coordinator in the Office of Registration & Records so that the experience is correctly added to the student’s Degree Audit for the ACE outcome specified.

Certification Following the Co-Curricular Experience: 

If the student did not seek certification of the Co-Curricular Experience prior to completing the experience, the student can request certification following the experience. The certification process must be completed by the 12th week of the academic semester following the experience.

A. Student Responsibilities: 

  1. If student did not complete a Pre-Experience Approval Form for ACE Certification for Co-Curricular Experience, the student is expected to review specific Institutional Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes in the ACE program in order to determine if the co-curricular experience is appropriate for meeting an ACE outcome. Review “Guidelines for Review of ACE Course Certification Requests” for the specified proposed ACE Learning Outcome.
  2. Request UNL Faculty Sponsorship of the proposed experience. It is expected that the student, in conjunction with the sponsoring faculty member, will plan and describe the product that will be produced to demonstrate the intended ACE Learning Outcome.
  3. All paperwork must be completed by the 12th week of the academic semester following the Co- Curricular Experience. To complete this process, the student prepares the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience with the UNL Faculty Sponsor and provides the UNL Faculty Sponsor with:
    1. A portfolio representing work demonstrating achievement toward the outcome for which ACE credit is requested, and
    2. A 1-2 page narrative written by the student explaining how the work helps achieve the ACE outcome.
  4. The Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience must be approved by the UNL Faculty Sponsor, Department/Unit head of the UNL Faculty Sponsor, and Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college. 

B. UNL Faculty Sponsor Responsibilities: 

  1. The UNL Faculty Sponsor completes the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience with the student and helps the student secure appropriate signatures and approval.
  2. Completes and submits the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience to the Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college verifying that the student completed work comparable to that required for a 3-credit hour course, whether the work was or was not a credit-bearing course, and that the project was successfully completed.
  3. The UNL Faculty Sponsor, in reviewing the student’s completed work, will use the Guidelines for Review of ACE Courses (https://ace.unl.edu/ACE.certification.guidelines_SLOs1-10.pdf) as a guide to verify the work meets the minimum requirements intended for the chosen ACE outcome.

C. Associate Dean (or designee) Responsibilities: 

  1. The Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college should send a copy of the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience and a copy of the student’s work (including the portfolio and student narrative) to be used for assessment purposes to the ACE office in the Office of Undergraduate Studies (221 Seaton Hall).
  2. The Associate Dean (or designee) should also send the original copy of the Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience with the appropriate paperwork (substitution form) to the Degree Audit Systems Coordinator in the Office of Registration & Records so that the experience is correctly added to the student’s Degree Audit for the ACE outcome specified.

In keeping with the spirit of the ACE, the accompanying documentation should be reviewed and signed by the UNL Faculty Sponsor, the Department/Unit head, and the Associate Dean (or designee) of the student’s home college. The completed and signed Completion Form for ACE Certification of Co-Curricular Experience and the documentation that the student met the ACE requirement (including the portfolio and student narrative) should be sent to the ACE office in Undergraduate Education. The documentation that the student met the ACE requirement and the form will be kept by the ACE Office for assessment of the co-curricular experience. Co-Curricular Experiences that have been used to satisfy an ACE learning outcome will be reviewed and assessed on the five-year cycle by the University Curriculum Committee according to the ACE outcome that the experience met (see ACE outcome assessment timelines.)