A Case Study on How to Implement Applied Learning as an Institutional Baccalaureate Graduation Requirement

The definition of applied learning has broadened from hands-on assignments to assisting students to develop essential knowledge and skills through contextualized real-world learning to prepare for employment, community engagement, and further education through courses or co-curricular activities.Applied learning includes experiences such as practicum, undergraduate research, internships, clinical placement, civic engagement, service learning, cooperative learning, and independent/directed study.Research on applied learning in the classroom shows that it is an accepted method to reach student learning outcomes and increase student's ability to function effectively in their career, civic, and continued education during and beyond their undergraduate education.While there is research on the effectiveness of applied learning as a pedagogy, implementing applied learning across an institution with various disciplines needs investigation.The goal of this paper is to provide a case study with quantitative and qualitative data using document analysis, give an outline of the SUNY Applied Learning Initiative, and show how Farmingdale State College implemented applied learning as an undergraduate graduation