You can find Pathways in APEX, which is located in the lower level of the Andrews/Gault Library, along with the Registrar, Global Engagement, Career Development, and the Academic Resource Center.

Typically, you’ll meet with Pathways Peer Advisors in APEX Commons, the large open area in the middle of APEX (see the map below). You can usually find them sitting at one of the tables with a Pathways sign. You can always find a Peer Advisor there during Walk-in Wednesday (1:30-4pm), so feel free to drop by then. Otherwise, it’s recommended that you make an appointment as their hours are sporadic.

The Pathways Coordinator’s office is in the short hallway on the border between APEX and the Longbrake area. The Pathways Coordinator, Becky Webb, is often in her office during business hours, so feel free to drop by or make an appointment.

This depends on the minor, of course, but generally these are the differences:

• A Pathway requires less academic courses (3-4 vs. ~6)
• A Pathway is career focused whereas most minors are academically focused
• A Pathway requires actual career experience. Minors usually don’t.
• A Pathway includes reflection components to maximize the benefits of your courses & experiences

Note 1: Activism & Social Change, Global Impacts, and Public Health all require additional career experiences. Students should refer to those Pathways’ pages for more information.

Note 2: PATH classes are zero-credit and have no regular meeting times. Register for them and use Moodle to complete assignments just like any other course. Work is mostly self-paced and, with a couple exceptions, due at the end of the semester during which you enroll in the course.

Pathways reflections and experiential learning requirements are collected into four PATH (or five) courses that function just like other courses in many ways.

Like other courses, Students need to register for these courses during the semesters they want to complete the work, and then do the assignments in the Moodle by the end of the semester. The Moodles show up in your Moodle Dashboard just like all your other classes. Like other courses, it’s wise to work these courses into your 4-year plan to make sure you complete all of your Pathways requirements on time.

Unlike other courses, PATH courses are zero-credit and so won’t cause course overloads. Additionally, there are no regular meeting times*. Rather, the course Moodle will simply serve as a collection point for work and a reminder to complete it before the end of the semester. You can register for (or drop) them at almost any point in the semester by simply completing the Registrar’s Add/Drop a Course form. Completers receive an S on their transcript, while those who drop will simply have the course removed from their transcript (no W or NC).

*There are two required in-person meetings: PATH 110 has one mandatory evening conversation and PATH 440 requires a public presentation during a Pathways Poster Session.

Learn more about each of the PATH courses and their requirements in the “PATH Courses – Reflections, EL, & Career Planning” accordion on each Pathway’s page.

Academic Classes

The work required for the 3-4 academic classes varies, of course. In many cases students use their Pathway classes to cover other requirements also, so they might not be “extra” work at all.

Career Experience – aka Experiential Learning or EL

This varies wildly depending on how in-depth of an experience you choose. Some students do a full-summer internship or two years of a part-time on-campus job, but you are only required to do 45 hours.

It’ll also take some time to find and plan your EL and complete the approval elements (varies significantly).

PATH Classes

For most students, this is the only “extra” work since they want to take those classes & get career experience anyway. These “classes” take maybe 10-15 hours TOTAL over your years in the Pathway, but students who complete them are surprised and pleased at how much value they get from actually writing down their reflections and completing the other pieces.

Each of the PATH classes is a little different and each student varies in how much time they take on the assignments. There is a quick, get-it-done version and a deeply thoughtful version for everything. Here are some estimates for each:

PATH 110:

• 1-3 hours of self-reflection, depending on how thoughtful you are and how many optional self-assessments you take.
• 1 hour for the mandatory meeting with others in your Pathway

PATH 220:

• 1-3 hours of career prep work. Less if you already have a professional resume.

PATH 330:

• 1-2 hours of reflection. Less if you’ve jotted down some reflections while you were doing your career experience (EL).

PATH 440:

• 1-2 hours for Pathway reflection & to create your poster
• ~1 hour for the poster presentation
• 1-3 hours to update your resume & LinkedIn
• 5-10 minutes to complete the end-of-Pathway surveys

Optional Elements

There are a lot more things you can do to develop as a professional while you’re in the Pathway. None of these are required (and most can be done even if you’re not in a Pathway), but we’ll remind you about them and encourage you to make time for them. Note: We acknowledge that it’s painful to do optional things during college, but Pathways students have reported lots of value from doing these kinds of things.

• Meet with Pathway staff or someone from your Pathway’s team for general career advising, getting ideas for your EL, and/or talking over your reflections to get more insight. These can be rare or more often depending on how much mentoring you’d like to have.
• Work with Career Development staff to develop a really strategic resume and LinkedIn profile and to get more ideas, leads and/or funding for your EL.
• Network with alums by reaching out to Pathways-linked alums, asking a question in AskAScot, informational interviews with those folks or alums you find on LinkedIn, etc.
• Attend optional Pathways events to network with fellow Pathway students and get some casual advising from faculty & staff
• Go to events on campus related to your career area (we use Teams to share this info)
• Attend Career Development workshops to develop specific career readiness skills
• Get digital badges & micro-credentials in areas specific to your career goals by completing short courses on LinkedIn Learning (an expensive platform that you get free as a CoW student!)

Additional Time for Some Pathways

• Global Impacts requires a study abroad experience & a leadership experience in addition to 50 hours of career experience.
• Activism & Social Change requires a second EL along with another PATH class – PATH 335 – where you’ll do another reflection. Total additional time: 45+ hours for the experience plus 1-3 hours of planning & reflection.
• Public Health requires a second career experience (but no mandatory written reflection). The process and requirements are simpler, so this can take less time than the primary experience.
• ENTR, ENVC, GLOB, MUSE, and SELF are currently piloting a career readiness development component which adds ~0.25 – 1 hour to PATH 110, 330, & 440.

You can learn a lot by reviewing each potential Pathway’s webpage.

–> Look at the course lists; if there are exciting options and you think you can fit them into your schedule (and/or you were going to take some of them anyway), that’s a good sign!

–> Read over the Experiential Learning (EL) suggestions in the Requirements section; if there are some career experiences there that look interesting and relevant to you, that’s another good sign.

You can also meet with one of the many people who can advise you about Pathways:

• The Pathways Program Coordinator whose office is located in APEX. You can email Pathways@wooster.edu, book an appointment, or drop in.
• Pathways Peer Advisors – there is one assigned specifically to each Pathway, but you can speak with any of the Peer Advisors about any Pathway. Book an appointment or stop in for Walk-in Wednesday in APEX each week from 1:30 to 4pm.
• Someone on the Pathway’s faculty/staff team – the collection of faculty & staff with expertise in the career field who manage the Pathway. You will find them listed on the specific Pathway’s page.
• Your academic advisor may also be able to help.

You might also consider attending a Pathways event. Look at the events box above to find out if there any events coming up.

If you’ve already been at Wooster for a semester or more, you can go into your Degree Progress in Self-Service and use the “What if…” tool to see if you’ve already completed one or more course from the Pathway(s) you’re interested in.

There are many benefits of completing a Pathway at the College of Wooster.

• You’ll earn a Pathways Certificate.
• You will have structure and motivation to prioritize your career growth, doing work that you likely want to do (e.g. internship, resume building, etc.) but might not prioritize doing otherwise given the demands of college.
• You will have access to a community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni with similar career interests and expertise. This networking might also provide benefits after graduation.
• You will have easier access to the many resources on campus available to assist with your career growth.
• You will have a stronger application for graduate school and/or employment through additional professional experiences, a certificate, and more effective articulation of your qualifications and experiences as a result of the reflection process.
• You might save time and money as your Pathways experiences help you further clarify and refine your career goals, whether toward this field or away from it, and you avoid taking ill-fitting jobs or grad programs.
• Your Pathway will be listed on your transcript with your major(s), minor(s), and your IS title, drawing attention to your career development.

The ideal time to declare, or “launch” a Pathway is anytime during your first or sophomore year.

The deadline to launch is the end of first semester junior year as students typically need at least three semesters to complete the Pathway’s requirements.

Occasionally exceptions are made for older students; reach out to the Pathway’s Liaison with your request for an exception and a clear plan for completing the Pathway, including doing your EL after you join the Pathway.

Note that no matter when you join, your career experience (EL) MUST be done after you join the Pathway and do PATH 110 & 220.

It is up to the Pathway’s Liaison to determine if you qualify for exceptions to any of the timing requirements. You are always welcome to make your case to the liaison.

If you’d like to pursue this option beyond your first semester junior year, it’s wise to begin by meeting with the Pathway Coordinator to talk about possibilities and how likely it is that you’ll be granted an exception.

Academic courses taken before you launch will count for your Pathway, but your PATH courses and official career experience (EL) must be done after launching.

To launch, you will need to meet with someone connected to Pathways* to talk over the options and be sure you understand what will be required of you. Once you’ve done that and made your decision, simply fill out this form. It’s strongly recommended that you register for PATH 1100X at the same time that you launch. Use this form to add the class at any time in the semester.

*You can meet with the Pathways Program Coordinator, a Pathways Peer Advisor, or a faculty or staff person on a specific Pathway Team (find out who they are on each Pathway’s page). If you have additional questions, email Pathways@wooster.edu or stop in to APEX for Walk-in Wednesday between 1:30 & 4pm any week.

Not usually. There is no additional cost for enrolling in a Pathway program.

Students may encounter additional expenses related to their chosen experiential learning opportunities, such as housing and transportation for unpaid internships or study-abroad programs. Some sources of funding are available, including competitive fellowships through the Career & Experiential Education office.

After you launch your Pathway, the Pathway will be tracked under your Degree Progress in Scot Web/Self-Service. As with your major and minor, you can check there to see what you’ve done and what you still need to do.

We recommend that you plan your PATH courses as part of your 4-year plan with the help of your academic advisor. This will allow you to gain the maximum benefit from you Pathway with minimum stress.

Yes. Academic courses for your Pathway can double count for your major or minor, as as well as your general requirements.

Ask your Pathway advisor. They are the ones who have the authority to approve experiential learning (EL) opportunities for the Pathway.

For most Pathways, your advisor is the Pathway Liaison, but students in HLTH, GLOB, and SELF have a uniquely assigned advisor. Ask the Pathways Coordinator if you’re unsure who that is.

Once they’ve given their verbal/email approval to count the experience, you’ll need to complete the EL Approval Form. This form contains the pre-reflection and goal setting pieces and must be completed before you start the experience.

Remember that you have to complete PATH 110 and PATH 220 before you begin your EL experience.

You can drop your Pathway at anytime without penalty. It will simply disappear from your degree progress, though any work you did will continue to appear under your coursework.

It is important, however, that you officially drop your Pathway rather than simply decide not to continue. If you don’t fill out the drop form, it will create some extra stress when it’s time to graduate.

Use this form to drop your Pathway.