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Throughout our lives, we always prepare for the future. The University of Tennessee is giving students an advantage at starting our preparation for future careers now with the new program, Vol Edge.
Cheri Green, assistant director for strategic initiatives within the Division of Student Success, discussed Vol Edge’s vision.
“Chancellor Plowman set a goal for the university for all students to participate in some form of experiential learning,” Green said. “It ultimately ended up with the Vol Edge, a life and career readiness program that encourages students to participate in experiential learning activities.”
Throughout the creation of the program, it was important to Green and her team that the product is student-driven. Students who join the program are encouraged to give positive or negative feedback.
“We want to make sure that all of those topics that we cover are things that students want to participate in,” Green said. “We are very confident that the program is going to be great as is, but we also have to understand that students have their own ideas and concerns about career-related topics, so we are happy to adjust.”
The beginning of the spring semester marks the start of phase one of Vol Edge. Students will have access to online learning modules that can be completed at their own pace. Phases two and three will occur throughout the fall semester of 2025 and the spring semester of 2026, during which students will create connections and receive feedback on their improvement and readiness to join the workforce.
Doug Porter, assistant director of strategic initiatives within the Division of Student Success, went into detail about the benefits of experiential learning for students.
“Building self-efficacy as well as building critical relationships are a massive part of not only of our career experience and being able to find jobs, network and those types of things but those relationships are also critical for our well-being,” Porter said.
While the program is built for undergraduate students at UT, it is available to anyone enrolled at the university, whether you are just beginning to start your preparation or have existing workforce experience.
Green explains that Vol Edge has no limitations on students with higher academic standings who may graduate before the end of the program.
“We do have quite a few connections on campus to help students still get that third phase, especially which is getting meaningful feedback and be able to relay their story,” Green said.
The program is accessible to students through the Vol Connect app starting the first day of classes. Students have access to the first phase of Vol Edge, an online module learning that can be completed at any pace throughout the semester.
The program is optional to students, and there are no consequences if it is not completed. Still, the creators of Vol Edge strongly encourage students to take advantage of the career resources available at UT’s campus, whether it be this specific program or one of the many other resources provided.
“Vol Edge was designed to uplift and support some of our campus partners,” Green said. “We hope that we are a bridge to already existing opportunities that happen on campus,” Green said.
Students who complete the program will find themselves more confident in their personal and professional lives, creating more opportunities to succeed.
“One of the unspoken goals is for our students to go out into the workforce or into life post-graduation with a lot of confidence that they know what they’re doing and that they are prepared and that the things that they experience here and outside of school actually matter,” Green said.