UW-Madison Leadership Certificate

Educational Artifact

The Educational Artifact can be a short paper, short presentation (scheduled through the Student Organization Office), web site, or other medium approved in advance by the Student Organization Office, and it is intended to demonstrate the growth and learning in the different content areas, as well as the impact of your contribution on individuals, groups, and the community. It is also intended to serve as a capstone synthesis for the Leadership Certificate. The Artifact is a concise description of events and activities that have contributed to the characteristics that comprise who you are and what you have learned about yourself through the activities listed in the Record of Activity, and your impact on others. Within the artifact, identify strengths and areas for improvement, as well as needs that you anticipate as you progress through your career at and beyond UW-Madison.

The artifact is evaluated by a panel of students and staff using the following criteria:

The artifact is evaluated as either “acceptable” or “not acceptable.” Those artifacts that are evaluated by the panel as “not acceptable” will be provided specific feedback to improve the artifact to a level sufficient to “acceptable.” The decision of the panel is final. Any student who does not receive the Certificate may re-apply as soon as the next semester.

In terms of format, written work should be five pages in length; presentations should not be longer than 15 minutes in length. Artifacts delivered via the Web are not constrained by limits but should reflect the significance and quality of the learning as well as the impact on others achieved through participation in the activities submitted.

The artifact is not simply a reiteration of what you have already developed for your packet. Rather, the artifact is to pull everything you have learned together – where you have been, what you have learned, and what you need to work on from here.

Here are some reflection questions to help guide you as you work on your Educational Artifact:

• What lesson(s) did you learn from your experience that may have surprised you?
   Or challenged your then-current perceptions?
• How has the Leadership Certificate activities helped you grow as a leader and
  member of your organization and/or community?
• Think about the activities/roles you have participated in. How has each one been
  similar? How have they differed?
• If you could take away but 1 lesson from this experience and share it with others,
  what would that be?
• How has this experience changed/developed you? How will this affect your future
  leadership work?
• What is the biggest challenge for you when engaging in leadership activities? How
  will you continue to address it?
• Talk with several people who have known you from different areas of your life
  (e.g. a family member, a friend, a co-worker, etc.) and are aware of your leadership
  work. How do they perceive you to have grown as a leader as you progressed
  through leadership activities and assumed more roles with more responsibilities?