Student Engagement- Jacket Journey
The Georgia Tech Honors Program (HP) fosters curiosity, creativity, and connection—to the HP, Georgia Tech, and communities beyond. To build these “three Cs,” students must be actively engaged with HP events and programming to have a meaningful experience during their time at Georgia Tech.
In order to facilitate this engagement, the HP uses an app called Suitable. Suitable is a software that allows for increased student engagement with events and programming, tracking of student participation, and the development of co-curricular portfolios and badges. Our implementation of Suitable is called “Jacket Journey,” as your time in the HP should be a developmental journey as you build your skills and experiences.
Jacket Journey software creates an interactive experience that gamifies and incentivizes participation. This will help students to develop and articulate skills and experiences that occur outside the classroom in four specific competency areas in the HP, as outlined below.
As students participate in events, engage in reflection exercises, and have experiences on campus, they accrue points through the Jacket Journey (Suitable) app. These points allow students to earn various digital badges, which are tied to winning HP swag or participating in exclusive Jacket Journey experiences. Badges are micro-credentials that can be shared in places like LinkedIn. Jacket Journey also generates a co-curricular transcript that documents and summarizes the skills being gained OUTSIDE the classroom.
HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS CAN LOG IN TO JACKET JOURNEY HERE.
Competency #1: Social & Community Building
The Honors Program is built around the value of connection and seeks to build connections among HP students, faculty, and staff, as well as connections between HP students and the other communities to which they belong. Members of a well-connected community are able to work collaboratively towards common goals while developing bonds of collegiality and friendship.
Competency #2: Professional Development & Leadership
The Honors Program seeks to help students to develop their professional and leadership skills in order to be successful in the classroom, in co-curricular activities, and in the workplace. We assist in preparing students to understand the world of work and effective work habits, as well as build leadership skills so they can capitalize on their individual and team strengths.
Competency #3: Scholarly & Creative Engagement
The Honors Program builds life-long learners who seek to develop their skills in critical thinking and problem solving. Honors Program students strive to learn about the world around them and contribute to building bodies of knowledge and creativity.
Competency #4: Ethical & Civic Responsibility
The Honors Program strives to build students’ social responsibility and encourage ethical behavior in all interactions. Honors Program students are inclusive and engage in actions that benefit the welfare of society and the well-being of others.