How are universities framing WIL?
The background paper for this symposium provides a thorough discussion of some of the terminology in this area which doesn’t need to be re-stated in this paper. Instead this section discusses some of the ways different Australian universities are conceiving WIL.4
In a scan of Australian Universities websites and related policies, the term work-integrated learning (WIL) seems to be fairly commonly used to signify aspects of educational programs that are linked to work. Many universities have adopted WIL as their overarching or generic term or alternatively they are using other terms sometimes with the purpose of either differentiating their WIL programs or emphasising a particular aspect of their approach to WIL. The following list outlines how a small sample of Australian universities are framing WIL.
• Victoria University - Learning in the Workplace and Community (LiWC) is an umbrella term to include all activities, which use ‘the workplace as a site for teaching and learning’ (VU LIWC Policy 2007). Learning in the workplace and community refers to the practice of students engaging in learning in a workplace or a community setting. Learning activities that explicitly utilize work and community as an element of
3