LEAP Program

LEAP Program

(Learn – Experience – Apply - Prepare)

Chowan’s LEAP (Learn – Experience – Apply – Prepare) Program is an experiential learning in action program. The program provides every student an opportunity to learn by doing. Every rising second-year, third-year, and fourth-year full-time student is provided a voucher up to a total of three credit hours for an experiential learning course during the summer term.  Experiential learning classes include study internships, practicums, and field work/research.

The LEAP Program emphasizes engaged student learning through direct experience and reflection. Beginning in their first year and continuing through their fourth year, students are provided the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in a classroom setting to a real-world experience and to reflect on the experience as part of the learning process. This experiential learning in action program deepens what students learn in the classroom, increases their real-world knowledge, develops their lifelong learning and problem-solving skills, provides them the opportunity to think about what worked and what didn’t, and prepares them for the job market and/or graduate and professional school following their graduation.

Guidelines and Eligibility

All full-time undergraduate students with a 2.0 or higher are eligible to receive the voucher up to a total of three credit hours for an experiential learning course during the summer term, with the following caveats:

1. Eligible students must be enrolled full-time at Chowan in the fall and spring semester prior to the summer term of enrollment.
2. Eligible students must meet to discuss the experiential learning project with a dean, associate provost, or provost who has agreed to supervise the project.
3. Eligible students must be enrolled full-time at Chowan for the fall semester following the summer term of enrollment or they will be withdrawn administratively from summer experiential learning course without a record.
4. Eligible students must be in good academic standing as defined by Chowan’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
5. A rising sophomore must have successfully completed 30 or more credit hours. A rising junior must have successfully completed 60 or more credit hours. A rising senior must have completed 90 or more credit hours.
6. Eligible students must have identified and accepted an experiential learning project offer that meets all requirements of the academic program.
7. Eligible students must complete all required paperwork, to include any required off-campus agreements, academic program application, and institutional documents, by the last day to add a class in the summer term.
8. For the first experiential learning course, eligible students will enroll in UR 190. For the second one, eligible students will enroll in UR 290. For the third one, eligible students will enroll in UR 390. Credit for UR 190, UR 290, and UR 390 will be counted toward general electives in the student’s major. UR 190, UR 290, and UR 390 cannot used to fulfill an internship requirement or elective in a major.
9. Eligible students must make an oral presentation on a day designated as LEAP Program Presentation Day, usually in September. A final grade will not be assigned until the presentation is complete and the student has completed all requirements stipulated by the faculty supervisor.
10. Rising second-year students must complete the experiential learning course in the summer between their first and second year or forfeit that credit hour. Rising third-year students must complete the experiential learning course in the summer between their second and third year or forfeit that credit hour. Rising fourth-year students must complete the experiential learning course in the summer between their third and fourth year or forfeit that credit hour.
11. Graduating seniors are not eligible for the summer following commencement.