A student takes a photo of herself in a large group of students at a leadership development event

BOLD Levels of Engagement

Belmont Office of Leadership Development

Students already complete convocation, service-learning, and a variety of leadership courses at Belmont. The BOLD framework and database help students make sense of their leadership development experiences in and outside of the classroom.

In partnership with Belmont colleges, offices, and departments, BOLD will provide experiences at each level of engagement that will enhance student's capacity to lead and serve ethically. Students can learn about campus-wide leadership development opportunities and report their progress on a co-curricular transcript in BruinLink using these step-by-step instructions.

Choose a level of engagement below to learn more and begin tracking your leadership development progress at Belmont on your own!

Earn a leadership development badge at the completion of each level of engagement. Successful completion of all BOLD levels of engagement will qualify students for co-curricular leadership certificate.

Level One - Belonging: Aspiring Leaders

Download the Co-curricular Student Guide
Review a Sample Completed Student Guide

Level Description:       

Opportunities at this level are primarily characterized by passive engagement. Leadership development opportunities are embedded into every Belmont student’s experience. 

Student Description:  

Student communicates a desire to lead but is not sure how to begin. Student has very limited collegiate leadership experiences, knowledge or skills.

Leadership Value: Ethics   
Competencies: Ethics, Resilience
Time Commitment: It will take a minimum of one semester to complete this level of engagement.

Competency Objectives:

Ethics:

  • Upholds and respects the standards of conduct based on socially accepted values of Belmont and society
  • Learns to act in a way that promotes productive functioning and well-being of oneself and others

Resilience:

  • Understands and demonstrates the ability to recover after a setback
  • Embraces feedback and is able to respond positively in the face of ambiguity and change

Pre-requisites:

Open to all Belmont students. This level of engagement focuses on personal development and reviews foundational leadership knowledge through the following opportunities:   

Level Completion Requirements:

Option A
18 BOLD Credits – or – 24 Service Hours
12 Convo/Course/Event Hours
10 Service Hours w/Reflections
40 Total Credits/Hours minimum  

Option B
40 Competency related leadership development experiences with
reflections for each experience. 

Level Two - Believing: Emergent Leaders

Download the Co-curricular Student Guide
Review a Sample Completed Student Guide

Level Description:       

Leadership development opportunities are self-selected. Primarily characterized by active learning and participation.

Student Description:  

Student moves from aspiring to emergent leadership. Student understands and demonstrates belief in themselves to become an ethical leader and implicitly directs their desires toward active leadership. Has some leadership experiences, knowledge, or skills, and recognizes that development occurs through resiliency, active learning, and participation.

Leadership Value: Ethics   
Competencies: Ethics, Resilience
Time Commitment: It will take a minimum of two semesters to complete this level of engagement.

Competency Objectives:

Ethics:

  • Upholds and respects the standards of conduct based on socially accepted values of Belmont and society
  • Learns to act in a way that promotes productive functioning and well-being of oneself and others

Resilience:

  • Understands and demonstrates the ability to recover after a setback
  • Embraces feedback and is able to respond positively in the face of ambiguity and change

Pre-requisites:

The Believing Emergent Leader Level is open to all undergraduate and graduate students who have completed the following:   

  • Campus-wide Leadership Development: At least 12 competency-related convocations, courses, or events.
  • Service or Service-Learning: At least 10 hours of service/service-learning experiences with reflections.

Level Completion Requirements:

Completion of this level requires full completion of the Beginning: Aspiring Leader level of engagement, prerequisites, and the following:

  • BOLD Experiences:  7 hours of competency-related experiences offered by BOLD at the Believing Emergent Leader Level.
  • Campus-wide Leadership Development: At least 18 competency-related convocations, courses, or events.
  • Service or Service-Learning: 5 hours of service/service-learning experiences with reflections.

Option A
7 BOLD Credits
18 Hours of Campus-wide Experience
5 Service Hours w/Reflections
30 Total Credits/Hours

Option B
30 Competency related leadership development experiences with
reflections for each experience. 

Level Three - Becoming: Engaged Leaders

Download the Co-curricular Student Guide
Review a Sample Completed Student Guide

Level Description:       

Leadership Development experiences require an intentional degree of exploration and commitment on the part of the student to study and apply leadership skills, theories, and practices. Further development comes through continual communication and engagement in a variety of inclusive opportunities while collaborating with others. 

Student Description:  

Student moves from emergent to engaged leadership. Expresses and demonstrates a willingness to hold positions of leadership or to develop specifically identified leadership skills over time. Demonstrates a willingness to communicate and work collaboratively with a diverse group of people while being inclusive of others. 

Leadership Value: Experience
Competencies: Collaboration, Inclusivity, Communication 
Time Commitment: It will take a minimum of two semesters to complete this level of engagement.

Competency Objectives:

Collaboration:

  • Uses strategies to work with others toward common objectives through sharing and listening to ideas and distributing responsibilities across team members
  • Promotes and values the success of the group over individual recognition
  • Motivates, empowers and trusts others to make meaningful contributions to the team

Inclusivity:

  • Understands, values, and engages others in roles, processes, and experiences
  • Understands and promotes the importance of having exposure to people from different backgrounds, beliefs and experiences
  • Intentionally creates a welcoming environment for others
  • Encourages and promotes a sense of belonging and/or shared
    commitment for others

Communication:

  • Practices strategies to effectively communicate with others, one on one, in groups, and/or in front of a large audience verbally, nonverbally, through listening, writing, facilitation, social media,
    conflict negotiation, conveying of ideas, and advocating for a point of view
  • Informs, inspires, influences, counsels and negotiates through various delivery methods.

Pre-requisites:

The Becoming Engaged Leader level is open to all undergraduate and graduate students who have completed the following:

  • Campus-wide Leadership Development: At least 10 competency-related convocations, courses, or events.
  • Service or Service-Learning: At least 10 hours of service/service-learning experiences with reflections.
  • Currently hold an active membership or year-long participation in at least one student organization or society, and have completed requirements for the Believing: Emergent Leaders level of engagement.

Level Completion Requirements:

Completion of this level requires full completion of the Believing: Aspiring Leader level of engagement, prerequisites, and the following:

Option A
10 BOLD Credits
10 Hours of Campus-wide Experience
10 Service Hours w/Reflections
30 Total Credits/Hours

Option B
30 Competency related leadership development experiences with
reflections for each experience. 

Level Four - Being: Transformative Servant Leaders

Download the Co-curricular Student Guide

Level Description:       

Leadership development experiences allow students to fully live out leadership in service to others.

Student Description:  

Student moves from engaged to transformative servant leadership. Student has a specialized commitment to apply knowledge and skills gained to serve others beyond positional opportunities on Belmont's campus. Student seeks out their own service and learning experiences and reflects on their own leadership development process. Student desires to individually and collectively engage and transform the world.

Leadership Value: Service
Competencies: Service
Time Commitment: It will take a minimum of one semester to complete this level of engagement.

Competency Objectives:

Service:

  • Acts in ways that benefit, not detract from the welfare of society and its members
  • Finds and creates meaningful ways to personally and/or professionally participate in service that positively contributes to their community
  • Prioritizes putting others first
  • Maintains a thriving community through servant-leadership, active citizenship, civic engagement, and service-learning

Pre-requisites:

The Being Transformative Servant Leader level is open to all undergraduate and graduate students who have completed the following:

  • Campus-wide Leadership Development: At least 10 competency-related convocations, courses, or events.
  • Service or Service-Learning: At least 5 hours of service/service-learning experiences with reflections.
  • Have completed requirements for the Becoming: Engaged Leaders level of engagement.

Level Completion Requirements:

Completion of this level requires full completion of the Becoming Engaged: Leader level of engagement, prerequisites, and the following:

Option A
10 BOLD Credits
10 Hours of Campus-wide Experience
5 Service Hours w/Reflections
25 Total Credits/Hours minimum

Option B
25 Competency related leadership development experiences with
reflections for each experience.