Work Experience - WEXP

Work Experience is intended to help you increase and/or improve your skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in the workplace. In addition, you will be able to work while earning college credit.

During the course, you will complete Learning Objective assignments to help guide your progress. You will also be assigned a faculty advisor who will assist you in completing your learning objectives. 

The WEXP courses currently available are: General Work Experience (WEXP 251), Occupational WEXP (WEXP 252), and Discipline-Specific Occupational WEXP (ATCH 252, BUS 253, etc). 

Below you will find more information about each of these types of Work Experience -

• General WEXP (251): You should be enrolled in this type of WEXP course if your current position is not directly related to your area of study or career goal. However, you will still demonstrate that your position directly benefits your future career goals.
• Occupational WEXP (252): You should be enrolled in this type of WEXP course if your position is DIRECTLY RELATED to your area of study or career goal. For example: You would select this option if you are working for an Accounting firm and your major is Accounting.
• Discipline-Specific Occupational WEXP (e.g. ATCH 252, BUS 253, CUL 252, KINE 252, NUTR 252): You should be enrolled in this type of WEXP if your job and your major/career are in one of these disciplines. You can arrange with your department or communicate with Career Connections about this option.

By taking Work Experience, students will:

• Be able to earn college credit while they are employed or volunteering
• Create concrete learning objectives that they will work towards achieving on the job
• Benefit from the guidance of an on-campus Faculty Advisor who will work with both them and their employer to help them reach their goals.

No! Work Experience courses take place entirely online and are self-guided. The courses are available online through Canvas. You will, however, be assigned a Faculty Advisor who will assist you with achieving your goals as the semester progresses. You will also be expected to complete some paperwork and assignments.

Canvas is Cuesta College's online class platform. Students should be able to access Canvas through their student portal. It is important that you become comfortable with using Canvas as you will need to submit all assignments through this platform.

If you have any questions about Canvas, you can view some of Cuesta's Canvas orientation resources. feel free to reach out to the Career Connections team at (805) 546-3252 or workexp@cuesta.edu. 

Yes! You have to already have a job, internship, or volunteer position in place to participate in Work Experience.

We also advise that you contact your supervisor right away if you decide to participate in the course. Your on-the-job supervisor will be asked to participate with you throughout the semester you are enrolled in.

Work Experience does not have any required books, but the course does have state-mandated as well as graded assignments.

These include agreement forms that you/your supervisor will sign, reflection assignments, and a quiz. The course is self-guided, but your Faculty Advisor will help you remain on track towards achieving your goals.

To learn more about the assignments, contact Career Connections at (805) 546-3252 or workexp@cuesta.edu. 

No! You must have one workplace supervisor agree to participate with you through the entire course. They are legally required by the state to sign agreement forms and it is crucial that they are able to work with your faculty advisor.

We recommend that students reach out to their supervisor as soon as they register for the course to make sure that they can participate.

No! You can only take one Work Experience course during any given semester. However, there is some repeatability across semesters. Contact the Career Services office to learn about our current repeatability policy.

No! You must be in your position during the Work Experience course. You can only count work hours during the semester you are enrolled in.

The number of hours you need to work is dependent on how many credits you would like to earn. When you look up the WEXP courses in classfinder, you will find the required hours listed in the course description. You can also reach out to the Career Connections office to check.

No! You cannot pass the class if you do not meet your required work hours. When in doubt, sign up for a WEXP course that requires just under what you think you will be able to work.

You can contact the Career Connections team at phone number (805) 546-3252 during regular business hours. You can also email us at workexp@cuesta.edu. 

If you're not sure how the course fits into your overall academic plan, reach out to the Student Counselors to schedule and appointment