Student Services

Join Burman Advantage!

Give back to the community. Develop leadership skills. Connect with others. Boost your resumé. Share your interests and passions. Gain work experience. Find your purpose. Continue a family history of service. Broaden your world. Reflect on your values.

Burman Advantage recognizes the importance of giving back to the community, developing leadership skills related to employability and reflecting on co-curricular experiences to gain a deeper understanding of your talents and how to share them with the world. Through involvement in co-curricular pursuits, you will develop skills in the following development outcomes.

• Interpersonal Communication
• Problem-Solving
• Creative and Critical Thinking
• Personal Responsibility 
• Leadership 
• Adaptability
• Teamwork

Students are expected to engage in service and leadership opportunities for a minimum of 20 hours per year in order to be a part of Burman Advantage. It is open to all students in any degree program, in any year of their studies. It is recommended to start at the beginning of the school year in order to complete the activities required.

Burman Advantage Requirements

1. Register here to start recording your extracurricular activities:  Burman Advantage Record of Hours
2. Attend an informative meeting at the start of the semester.
3. Participate for minimum 20 cumulative hours in volunteer, leadership, team, certificate or outreach activities each year.
4. Keep track of your participation here: Burman Advantage Record of Hours
5. Provide the name and email of a supervisor, verifying your submissions of hours.
6. Write a short reflection thought about your volunteer and leadership experiences here: Burman Advantage Reflections
7. Submit by mid-April of each year. 
8. Receive special recognition at graduation.

On-campus opportunities

You are encouraged to consider both off-campus and on-campus leadership, volunteerism and/or team membership as part of your portfolio, if possible. Some on-campus ideas are: BUSA, Senate and club leadership opportunities, Campus Ministries, Sakala Success Centre, the Saruk Centre, sports team membership, coaching, musical performance groups, mission trips, Drama club, yearbook, school newspaper, and the Burman Ministry Centre. 

Off-campus volunteerism

You are not required to volunteer off-campus. However, students who are able to volunteer outside of the university are greatly appreciated in the community. Off-campus suggestions include: ECHO Food Recovery, food banks, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pathfinders and church volunteer positions. You are welcome to discover other opportunities of interest to you.

Paid work experience

We recognize the challenge of working to support your studies. You may include paid work done while you are a student, including on-campus and off-campus work and summer camps. However, we require 20 hours of unpaid or stipend-only volunteering, leadership and other extracurricular involvement to be submitted per year in order to meet the goals of service that embody Burman Advantage.

Submission due date

Upload your volunteer, service and leadership hours regularly throughout the year, and they will be added to your file. The last addition of hours must be done two weeks before graduation of each year. Any volunteer service after that date will be added to the next year.

Recognition

Upon graduation, participants who complete the Burman Advantage expectations of 20 hours of unpaid extracurricular involvement are awarded the Burman Advantage Certificate and a Burman Advantage Pin. The Burman Advantage Certificate is valued as a part of your job application portfolio and for those continuing their post-graduate education.

If you have further questions, please get in touch by emailing shunter@burmanu.ca or shelleyagrey@burmanu.ca