Gaining real-world experience is a concept that Delaware Valley University prides itself on. As an undergraduate student, you have some choices for how you want to complete the Experience 360 Program requirements depending on your major. For this post, the credit-bearing opportunities of internships and academic career exploration experience activities will be discussed. According to E360 Advisor Emmaline Armstrong, there are “10 terms a year” in which students can complete their E360 experiences. What some students may not know is, that it is not mandatory to do your E360 requirements during the “typical” school year, AKA, the fall and spring semesters. 

Semester Thought

Imagine this… you are a sophomore at Delaware Valley University. By the end of freshman year, you have already completed DelVal Experience I and II (required courses before taking on any other E360-related coursework). You have decided that you want to pursue either an internship or academic career exploration experience. However, you are already taking 15+ credits which is causing you a large amount of stress as it is. Is it completely worth it to do your E360 at that time? 

That was the exact question I had to think about for myself when considering if I wanted to take on any extra work in addition to the credit load I was taking. Luckily for me, I found out that I had the opportunity to do my academic career exploration experience over summer break. By completing the class and opportunity over the summer, I was able to have a not-so-stressful summer and stay on top of all of the work that was assigned by my instructor for the E360 online course and my boss, in addition to still having a social life. 

Terms and Cost:

Pros and Cons for Fall and Spring Terms

Fall and Spring semesters are the time that you are completing classwork, attending classes and keeping your social life afloat. To be a full-time student on campus, a student must take at least 12 credits minimum and a maximum of 19 (before having to pay extra per credit). If you are taking a large credit load and wanting to do a three-credit E360 experience, it may be best to hold off and take on those credits during an off-time for a couple of reasons. 

• You will have to pay for extra credits if you go above 19. 
• You will need to be able to balance out school and your experience. 

However, there are some benefits for choosing to take on any credit-bearing E360 opportunity during your usual time at Delaware Valley University. 

• Taking on the course can help you to get more credits if you are in need (going from part-time status to full-time if you were at nine credits).
• If you can add the class and are under 19 credits, you wouldn’t have to pay an additional price.

Pros and Cons of Winter and Summer Terms

Thinking about being on break is something that many students to look forward to. If that is the case, then why should you consider an E360 class or experience be considered during those times? There are both positives and negatives of choosing to do a credit-bearing E360 opportunity during the winter or summer terms. Some factors that you should consider are: 

• You will have to pay for credits individually. 
• You will have to do your experience and the required E360 class over your break.

Just like the Fall/Spring section, there are benefits to taking an E360 course over the Winter/Summer sessions.

• You will get a discount on the credit prices. For winter 2022 and summer (the three terms) 2022 each credit is worth $280, which is mentioned on the Bursar Undergraduate Tuition page online. 
  • Information about credits and prices: delval.edu/bursar/undergraduate-tuition
• Over the break, you will have something to do and feel productive while earning credits.

Make it Count

Whether you decide to take your E360 credits during the summer, fall, winter, or spring, as long as you complete your required credits you will be one step closer to graduation. With multiple term options, students will have any opportunity to accomplish all of their necessary experiences within a designated amount of time. Plus, Armstrong shared that once a student satisfies all E360 requirements, they can use more experiences to fulfill  “elective credit”.  

By: Brooke Farber