Learning In Action: Inside the Experiential Learning Lab

The Experiential Learning Lab is a unique, long-running program that has had a lasting impact on both its students and clients in the real world.

The lab, housed in U of A's Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, enables students to collaborate with real clients to develop marketing and communications plans and materials. Services offered include writing, graphic design, social media management, drone video production, videography, photography and poster printing.

The lab was established in 2011 when Jeff Miller, agricultural communications professor in AECT and the college's assistant dean for international programs, received approval from campus administrations to establish the ELL as a campus service center. 

"The ELL is one of the first agricultural communications service labs of its kind in the United States," Miller says. "Other agricultural communications programs have actually modeled their labs after ours. We found a way to not be a drain on department or college resources and to actually contribute to the department financially, even when we were just getting started."

The ELL filled a gap by establishing a departmental agency that provides low-cost, professional communications services, led by undergraduate and graduate students with interests and skills in agricultural communications.

One of its first official clients was the U of A Equine Program, for which the lab designed a horse sale catalog and helped promote the sale. Over the last 14 years, the lab's clientele list and project range have grown. Other clients include Farm Journal, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, Arkansas Farm Bureau, National Association of Farm Broadcasters, Ozarks Farm and Neighbor and the Poultry Federation, among others.

"I'm so proud we could expose our students to those organizations and provide quality work for them, too," Miller says. "We've also participated in some contracted research projects with Illinois River Watershed Partnership and Bridge 2 Rwanda, where I have students involved in conducting social science research and program evaluations."

The ELL has been self-funded throughout its history. While the AECT Department has provided additional support, the ELL has primarily supported itself, paid its employees and purchased technology through the funds garnered through client work. Miller called this a win-win situation for everyone involved. Students from the lab share a similar sentiment for the work and the clientele.

"The opportunity of working in the ELL is a special one - not many undergraduates get to say that they have managed communications work for clients while in school," says senior environmental, soil and water science, and English rhetoric and composition major, Caroline Cheek. "It provides a level of professional preparation that I wouldn't have been able to receive otherwise. I'm really grateful for my time in the ELL."

During her two years with the lab, Cheek has developed skills in photography, writing, newsletter development and professional client communication. Photography was an unexpected love for Cheek, including headshots, event photography and product shoots. Through this work, she's accumulated a diverse set of skills she will be able to carry into her career. Working in the ELL allows students to develop their practical skills while learning new ones. The experiences they can list on their resumes and the experiences they can speak about during job interviews are invaluable to students.

"The experience of working in the ELL has been invaluable," says Kyla Moseley, ELL graduate coordinator and agricultural extension and education graduate student. "Working with the ELL students has grown me as a leader and taught me how to support my team in a fast-paced, collaborative space."

Cheek and Moseley are among dozens of students who have been able to apply their ELL experience to high-quality professional jobs, graduate programs and law schools. ELL alumni have gone on to agriculture-focused communications agencies, started their own communications businesses or work in government offices. A few former students have even been hired full time by clients they worked with while in the ELL. 

"We lost the accounts when that happened, but I gladly gave them up in order for students to take over the work permanently in full-time roles," Miller says.

In addition to practical skills, students experience working in a miniature agency, collaborating with fellow coworkers and completing on-site projects. The lab prepares young professionals for what they will experience beyond the walls of the university, while also equipping them with the confidence to continue growing.

"It's an honor to get to work in the ELL because we try to recruit high-performing students," Miller says. "So, the staff—grad and undergrads—take a lot of pride in being a part of the team. That pride, in addition to the experience and skill development they get from working in the ELL, is pretty special."

More information about the ELL, the work it does and to request services can be found here.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.