For today’s students, learning extends far beyond the classroom. Whether through leadership, service, research, or on-campus employment, Michigan State University students gain skills outside the classroom that shape their personal and professional growth. The Spartan Experience Record (SER), MSU’s comprehensive learner record, helps make those experiences visible and provides an official record that complements a student’s academic transcript to tell the full story of their learning journey.
This year, the SER team was selected to join the Learning and Employment Record (LER) Accelerator, a national initiative supporting 25 projects that help institutions design digital records of students’ skills and experiences.
What is a comprehensive learner record (CLR)?
A comprehensive learner record is a digital record of verified experiences showcasing a student’s transferable skills and abilities earned during institutional experiences, both outside and within the classroom.
MSU’s CLR, the Spartan Experience Record, serves as a co-curricular record to students, providing a direct complement to their academic transcript, detailing their learning and transferable skill development in experiences that occur outside the classroom. These experiences span on-campus jobs, volunteerism, leadership roles, undergraduate research, and much more.
As a grant recipient from the LER Accelerator, the SER team is creating an improved record for undergraduate Spartans that expands beyond co-curricular learning experiences to include high-impact, credit bearing experiences.
“Through feedback from students, faculty, and staff, we’ve been strategically planning to expand the parameters of the SER, and the LER Accelerator grant allows us to do so in alignment to our vision to advance a collaborative, student-centered SER that further amplifies the rich learning experiences of our Spartans to support their career readiness,” said Sarah Esler, director of MSU’s Spartan Experience Record.
Participation in the LER Accelerator, led by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and partner organizations, will connect MSU to a nationwide network of innovators developing the next generation of digital credentials. For students, it means greater visibility into how their experiences translate into marketable skills that employers and graduate schools increasingly value.
Building on a strong foundation
Esler is excited to create a stronger way to set Spartans apart and highlight their unique skills and experiences. “We already have a strong foundation through the Spartan Experience Record, allowing us to dive into creating improvements to shape a more comprehensive record of student learning and skill development. The grant gives us executive and financial support to keep propelling that work forward,” she explained.
Unlike many institutions just beginning to explore digital credentialing, MSU enters the Accelerator with years of progress already in place. Currently the SER includes over 1,200 student experiences and opportunities and has established itself as a national model for how universities can document co-curricular learning in ways that are meaningful, verifiable, and connected to real-world skills. Since launching, over 19,000 Spartans have a Spartan Experience Record.
For Esler, participation in the LER Accelerator represents both recognition and opportunity. “We get to be an example for others across higher education,” Esler said. “I share our SER work and experiences at conferences and help colleagues who are getting started with alternative credentials. It’s meaningful to see MSU recognized for the groundwork we’ve already done, and to continue being a leader to advance student learning and career readiness for undergraduate Spartans through the SER.”
A growing national movement
Digital credentialing has gained momentum over the past several years as universities and employers seek better ways to capture the full spectrum of learning. The LER Accelerator aims to bring those ideas together, helping institutions like MSU collaborate on tools and standards that make learner records useable across institutions and systems.
As part of the LER Accelerator, MSU joins a cohort of institutions developing innovative ways to represent learning through verified digital records. The associated grant provides critical financial support in addition to leadership networks and LER coaches to help teams maintain momentum toward their goals.
“This support allows us to learn from experts and contribute our experiences to advance alternative credential development. We want to improve how our students understand their skills and how they can share them with employers,” Esler said.
With a $12,500 grant to support committee work and technology innovation, the SER team has established the LER Accelerator Grant Committee, co-chaired by Esler and Shannon Logan, Coordinator of the Spartan Experience Record. This working committee will help guide and facilitate the work to infuse the SER with credit bearing, high-impact experiences representing opportunities like education abroad, community engaged learning, undergraduate research and career services, and think about the future of the current technology currently propelling the SER.
Telling the Spartan story
With the LER Accelerator, MSU will continue advancing a vision of education that values both academic achievement and personal development. The Spartan Experience Record ensures that every student leaves the university with more than a diploma. These experiences and the stories they tell are extremely valuable.
“The excitement comes with knowing we are further creating a record that helps set Spartans apart and supports their career readiness to propel their careers in an ever-changing world,” Esler reflected. “We’re building something that doesn’t just help students today, it extends into their professional careers and journeys.”
If you’d like to learn more about the Spartan Experience Record and upcoming faculty and staff workshops, visit ser.msu.edu and see how you can get involved.
