The Experience

Experience Events promote ongoing participation in the rich cultural and intellectual life available outside the classroom. These Experience Events cover a range of scholarly, intellectual, cultural and political topics. For students who entered from fall 2020 on but did not graduate by May 2024, the Experience requirement will be met through five events embedded in general education courses: two in First-year Seminars, one in each of two Connections courses, and one in the Synthesis course.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLING INFORMATION VERY CAREFULLY!!!

Who Can Propose Experience Events?

• Events can be proposed by ALBRIGHT faculty and staff (people directly employed by Albright).

• Students may submit proposals but must:
  1. Work with a faculty or staff sponsor to develop an Experience event.
  2. List their faculty or staff sponsor on the proposal form.
  3. Work with their faculty or staff sponsor to secure an available venue one month prior to the event.

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Deadlines: Proposals for events occurring between the 1st and 15th of the month must be submitted to the Experience Committee by the 1st day of the prior month. Proposals for events occurring between the 16th and the 30th (or 31st) of the month must be submitted by the 15th day of the prior month. PLEASE NOTE that late proposals will not be accepted – there are NO EXCEPTIONS.

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Criteria for the Acceptance of Your Event

Events that are approved for Experience credit meet the following criteria:

• Events must be IN-PERSON or a VIRTUAL Zoom Webinar.
• Content of the event significantly enriches the academic, intellectual, and cultural life of the college community AND supports the goals of the General Education program.
• Events must be more than informational sessions or seminars – they should involve any of the following: the presentation of the results of research or inquiry of some kind (though not exclusively scholarly); the performance of a scholarly, cultural, or artistic production; or the critical engagement of some facet of the liberal arts. The Committee intends to broadly interpret these categories when appropriate, but it is nevertheless critical that applicants demonstrate that their event supports the Albright Experience mission.
• Is not exclusionary of any campus constituency.
• Lasts a minimum of 60 minutes.

You must provide the following:

• The title and topic of the event
• A detailed description of the event – this is a formal application, so please write the description accordingly – sloppy and haphazard descriptions will be rejected (you may resubmit the proposal for reconsideration within one week of notice of rejection).
• If you are proposing a speaker or performer from off campus, please provide adequate information on the qualifications of that speaker and how those qualifications support the Experience Event mission statement.
• Justification for how the event helps to fulfill the mission of the Experience program by enriching the cultural, intellectual, and/or academic life of the college AND supporting the goals of the General Education program. Poorly or superficially articulated justifications will be rejected (you may resubmit the proposal for reconsideration within one week of notice of rejection).
• The event date and time
• Confirmation email of reserved venue (for in-person INDOOR and OUTDOOR events)
• For VIRTUAL events, you must select the checkbox confirming that you will conduct at least TWO (2) polls/questionnaires during this event (one in the middle and one at the end) with at least 3 items each. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in students not earning Experience credit for the event.
• For VIRTUAL events, a checkbox to confirm that you will require students to register for the event on Zoom webinar with their Albright email address.
• For VIRTUAL events, you must select the checkbox confirming that you understand the consequences of technical difficulties with Zoom webinars at any point during the presentation.
• The contact information for the event sponsor
• An admission fee, if applicable
• A request for funding, if applicable

A note on films and sports as experience events.
Films will only be accepted as experience events if the requesting group has received exhibition rights AND has arranged for a speaker to discuss the film.

Sporting events will be accepted as experience events on the condition that there is an accompanying lecture AND that the requesting group has adequately justified the events on the proposal form.

Your submission form must be submitted on or before the deadline. Please use the online proposal submission link for all proposals.

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Funding

Funding from Experience CAN be used for:

• honoraria
• hospitality/refreshments
• transportation
• buying rights to show a film

Funding from Experience CANNOT be used for:

• promotion
• prizes
• to raise other funds for an organization
• capital expenses

You MUST include a budget that describes how the funding will be spent in the appropriate space on the proposal. Funding is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Early submission is encouraged if funding is being requested. Student groups should show evidence that they have also requested funding from SAC. PLEASE NOTE: All paperwork for funding (e.g. expense reports or check requests with receipts) must be submitted electronically to Kristen Kohl (kkohl@albright.edu) within 30 days or the funds will be returned to the pool for other funding requests. For more information, please contact Dr. Adam John at ajohn@albright.edu.