The Ultimate Guide to IB CAS Requirements: Expectations, and Tips for Success

Many students have mixed feelings about the CAS. Still, this core IBDP element is essential to earn your diploma. Among other things, this means that you must follow certain IB CAS requirements to render your experiences successful.

Together with our IB tutors, we take a closer look at these requirements and share some tips to help you make the most of CAS opportunities.

Key IB CAS Requirements

In a nutshell, the CAS guide specifies four primary requirements:

• Continuous involvement in CAS activities throughout both years in the IBDP;
• Reasonable experience distribution across all three strands;
• Attainment of seven learning outcomes;
• Completion of a CAS project.

Now let us dive in and explain in more detail what each of these IB CAS requirements involves.

CAS Learning Outcomes

The CAS portfolio documents your journey of personal development and growth. At its heart lie seven learning outcomes, which are supposed to shape your experience.

Keep in mind that it is not necessary to meet every single outcome for every chosen activity. However, you need to achieve all seven at least once during your CAS involvement.

So, according to the CAS guide, the learning outcomes are the following:

1. Identifying Strengths and Areas for Growth. Thanks to this outcome, you can learn to recognise your existing capabilities, acknowledge areas needing improvement, set realistic goals for personal development, and track your progress over time.

2. Demonstrating Challenge and Growth. The main requirement here is to step outside your comfort zone. In particular, you should take on meaningful challenges, develop resilience when facing obstacles, and learn from setbacks.

3. Planning and Initiation. This outcome focuses on the development of organisational skills. Your task here is to create detailed activity plans, set achievable objectives, manage your resources, and take initiative in implementing ideas.

4. Commitment and Perseverance. This implies dedication to the chosen activities and reaching the set goals. The particular requirements include maintaining regular involvement in activities, showing consistent effort, and following through on your commitments.

5. Collaborative Skills. Although some of your activities are going to be solo efforts, the majority of them will imply teamwork. Therefore, to attain this learning outcome, you need to work effectively in a group, make valuable contributions, and strive to achieve leadership abilities.

6. Global Engagement. Since one of the primary goals of the IBDP is fostering global citizenship, CAS is another opportunity to accomplish it. You have a chance to connect with global issues by participating in relevant activities, helping raise awareness of international challenges, and contributing to finding solutions.

7. Ethical Consideration. This outcome focuses on promoting ethical awareness. Specifically, it requires you to reflect on the impact of your choices, understand their ethical implications, consider multiple perspectives, etc. Ultimately, it is all about learning to make responsible decisions.

CAS Hours or Experiences

CAS is designed to be a sustained journey rather than a set of disjointed activities. This journey spans a minimum of 18 months, beginning when you start the IBDP and continuing regularly throughout your studies. That said, your involvement in meaningful activities should not necessarily be limited to your time in IBDP.

If you have been a team member or a volunteer at a local organisation long before you started the IB programme, you can incorporate these experiences into your CAS portfolio. Still, the programme will encourage you to try new things and, ideally, make them part of your lifestyle even after high school graduation.

The IBO doesn’t explicitly specify how many hours per month you should dedicate to CAS experiences. That’s why every school has the freedom to establish their own rules. For instance, some schools might require minimum hours while others focus on the duration of engagement. You can learn more about the specific IB CAS requirements from your CAS Coordinator.

Regardless of your school’s particular approach, there is one requirement across the board – continuity. This means you need to be consistently involved in the chosen activities. At any given moment, you should have at least one ongoing CAS experience.

CAS Project

Your CAS participation will involve both individual experiences and a larger collaborative CAS project.

CAS experiences are typically single events or a series of shorter activities. Each of them may last about an hour and involve a single stand. Although you can participate in these events as part of a group, you should still focus on your personal growth.

The CAS project, on the other hand, spans at least a month and involves a significant time commitment. Your individual contributions should become valuable parts of the project. Nevertheless, in its essence, it is a collaborative effort that promotes teamwork, communication, and leadership skills. This can range from small initiatives involving just two people to larger projects when the entire class takes part.

For their CAS projects, students often draw inspiration from a combination of all three strands – Creativity, Activity, and Service. For example, a project could involve creating a piece of art (Creativity) to raise funds for a local charity (Service) while also requiring physical activity in its planning and execution (Activity). At the same time, you may also focus on a single strand.

Key Differences: CAS Experiences vs. CAS Project

Stages of CAS

Every successful CAS experience and project should follow a structured approach known as the Five Stages framework. Its purpose is to systemise your chosen activities as well as maximise your learning opportunities.

The Stages of CAS are the following:

1. Investigation

At the first phase of your CAS journey, you should identify your personal interests and strengths as well as discover areas for potential growth. At the same time, it is important to research available opportunities and consider how they can contribute to the CAS learning outcomes. Your goal here is to choose activities that are both meaningful and achievable.

2. Preparation

Once you’ve identified your activities, the next step is to develop an action plan. It should detail the goals you want to attain, timelines and milestones, as well as responsibilities (both your individual and as a group). It is also important to consider the necessary resources and challenges you might face.

3. Action

At this stage, your plans transform into reality. This means, you actively engage in the chosen activities and work with other members of your group. Don’t forget to specify how your skills and knowledge help you achieve the set goals. Also, if you come across challenges, you need to describe how you overcame them or how they impacted your experience (for example, you had to make adjustments to your plans).

4. Reflection

Reflections are a cornerstone of your CAS journey. They encapsulate considerations about your personal growth, the effect of the chosen activities on yourself and others, the lessons you’ve learned and the insights you’ve gained. You should also point out the hurdles you’ve met, what you’ve done to get around them, which alternatives you had, and how you factored in ethical responsibility when making decisions. Although you should focus on your achievements, it is also important to point out what else you could improve.

In your CAS project, you need to include three reflections (at the start of the process, a mid-point evaluation of your progress, and a final reflection on outcomes). For CAS experiences, it will suffice to incorporate one comprehensive reflection.

5. Demonstration

The final stage showcases the evidence of your journey and your key achievements. This can take various forms, from portfolio presentations and written reports to digital storytelling and physical exhibitions. No matter what you go with, it must be suitable to demonstrate your personal growth, document learning outcomes, as well as share insights and reflections.

Reflection and Documentation

The ability to reflect on your experiences is fundamental to both CAS and the IB Diploma Programme as a whole.

You might find it effective to divide your reflections into several stages, such as:

• Recall Your Activities. What were my initial goals and plans for this activity? What challenges did I encounter, and how did I overcome them?
• Activity Analysis. How did this experience make me feel? How did it impact others involved? What skills and abilities did I develop through this activity?
• Value Recognition. What did this activity mean to me personally? Was it meaningful for the members of my group and other people?
• Conclusions. What changes did this experience bring about in my perspective or behaviour? What did I get to learn about myself and others?
• Further Actions. How can I apply the skills and lessons learned from this experience to other areas of my life?

The way you document your reflections is equally important. This is what the CAS portfolio is for. Basically, it is a log of your journey that demonstrates your engagement and achievement of learning outcomes. You are free to choose any form of documentation – journals, blogs, videos, presentations.

That being said, an effective portfolio should contain the following information:

• Visual evidence: Photos, videos, and other multimedia that prove your involvement.
• Supporting materials: Certificates of participation, letters of recommendation, and other relevant documents.
• Feedback from others: Letters of recommendation, testimonials, or feedback from supervisors or community partners.
• Progress tracking: Charts, graphs, or other methods to track your progress and demonstrate engagement.
• Achievement records: A summary of your key accomplishments and learning outcomes.

Deadlines and Monitoring

The IBO doesn’t set any specific CAS deadlines. Each school independently chooses completion timelines. The rule of thumb, however, is that your portfolio must be finalised 1-2 months before the final exam.

What do you do if you happen to miss your school’s CAS deadline? Since CAS is evaluated internally by your school’s CAS Coordinator, you can usually work things out by meeting with them to discuss your situation. However, it’s best to stay on schedule to avoid any last-minute stress or complications.

When it comes to progress monitoring, it is carried out through a series of interviews with your CAS coordinator. But you shouldn’t think of them as a means of control. In fact, their purpose is to help you get the most out of your CAS experience.

Your first interview takes place after you’ve completed your CAS orientation. During this initial meeting, your coordinator will make sure you understand what CAS is about. You’ll discuss your interests, plan your first CAS activities, and explore various ways to achieve the learning outcomes.

The second interview happens partway through your CAS journey. At this point, your coordinator would like to see how you’re doing. This usually involves reviewing your evidence and ensuring you’re on track to meet all IB CAS requirements. This is also a chance for you to talk about your impressions and, if necessary, bring adjustments to your plan.  

Finally, the third interview wraps up your CAS experience. This is when you will have to look back at everything you’ve achieved. Your coordinator will be interested to hear how you met the learning outcomes and what you discovered while participating in CAS events (How did they make you feel? Which impact did they have?). They might also want to know how your CAS participation might influence your future choices and actions.

Common Challenges – How to Overcome Them

As a rule, students are excited to immerse themselves in the activities that involve them creatively, physically, and ethically. However, CAS isn’t without its difficulties. Next, we’ll point out the things that may impact your progress and how best to approach them.

Balancing CAS with Academics

One of the biggest challenges IB students face is finding the right balance between their CAS commitments and academic responsibilities.

Finding this balance starts with setting clear boundaries. Your weekly timetable should have dedicated (and reasonable, too) slots for studying, CAS activities, and personal time.

If you have a chance, blend CAS with your academic work. For instance, if you’re working on a biology project, you might start a gardening club that counts toward your CAS hours. This approach can help you kill two birds with one stone, and free up more time.

As exciting as CAS opportunities may be, it is important not to go overboard. Remember, your academic performance is still a number one priority. If you find yourself constantly rushing or feeling overwhelmed, it’s okay to step back and reassess your commitments. After all, CAS values quality higher than quantity.

It is often helpful to let your teachers know about your commitments. When you have major projects or events coming up, you might want to inform them about your plans. Most teachers appreciate students who communicate proactively. They may even help you find ways to manage conflicting deadlines and priorities.

Finally, don’t forget to take care of yourself along the way. Regular breaks, proper sleep, and healthy meals aren’t luxuries. They’re necessities that help you perform better in both academics and CAS. Listen to your body and mind when they tell you it’s time to rest. Beyond everything, CAS is supposed to enrich your IB experience, not overwhelm it.

Finding Meaningful Activities

Although walking in a park can count as an activity, finding a set of the right CAS activities isn’t actually a walk in the park! After all, these have to be purposeful, challenging, and worthy of reflection. The good news is, you might already be doing something that meets these IB CAS requirements.

Make sure to check out these tips on how to find great CAS activities:

1. Make an inventory of your current activities. You can include even the things that might seem trivial at first, such as playing video games, taking care of pets, or maintaining a social media account. At this stage, no activity is too small to consider.
2. Label your activity according to the CAS strands. In the list you have made, break all the entries into Creativity, Action, and Service, or other combinations.
3. Consider how you could elevate your existing interests to new heights. For example, if you’re passionate about music, you might try to learn an instrument or create digital pieces. Or if you enjoy playing basketball casually, you could join a local team or organise a neighbourhood tournament for younger kids.
4. Identify gaps in your CAS portfolio. Perhaps you’ve listed many creative pursuits but don’t have much when it comes to sports. However, CAS requires you to keep a balance. On a positive note, it is an excellent opportunity to challenge your body, even if you’ve always considered yourself a couch potato.

The best thing about CAS is its flexibility. If traditional sports aren’t your thing, you can explore alternatives such as rock climbing, dance, or hiking. Do you think you’re not creative because you can’t draw? Well, creativity can take many forms – from coding to cooking, from gardening to graphic design. There should be something that will pique your interest!

Keep in mind that your CAS activities should be separate from your IB coursework. In other words, you can’t count your regular art class assignments as CAS experiences. However, it is possible to use skills learned in class to develop your CAS portfolio. For example, if you discover a love for photography in your Visual Arts class, you could start a photo documentary project about your community.

Staying Consistent

One of the IB CAS requirements is a steady engagement throughout your entire IB Diploma Programme. Since CAS runs parallel to your 18-month academic journey, it’s essential to take on a long-term mindset from the get-go.

Why? Because of numbers: you need a minimum of twelve experiences across the three strands, plus at least one IB CAS project. That’s thirteen different activities you’ll need to complete. And no, you can’t cram them all into the final few weeks! In fact, CAS guidelines specifically require you to be engaged in at least one activity at any given time throughout your IB Diploma Programme.

The key to managing these activities is a thoughtful distribution across your timetable. It makes sense to mix shorter, one-off experiences with longer-term commitments spanning several months.

Without consistent engagement, you risk several problems. First, you might find yourself scrambling to complete activities at the last minute, and this defeats the purpose of personal growth and reflection. Second, rushed activities rarely provide the depth of experience that CAS aims to foster. Finally, trying to catch up on the IB CAS requirements while preparing for final assessments can multiply your exam stress.

A smart approach is to start with one or two ongoing activities early in your IB journey. Then you should gradually add shorter experiences as opportunities arise. This strategy will help you maintain steady progress and keep your workload manageable.

Conclusion

Your academic commitments, CAS participation, family and personal affairs – these are all important elements of your high school life. Sometimes, however, they may cause a conflict of interest. Your involvement in CAS experiences may negatively affect academic performance and vice versa, a big academic project may take away time from your other commitments.

Do you struggle to put all parts of your high school puzzle together? Or you need guidance at any stage of your CAS journey? Let us lend a helping hand. Our IB tutors, some of whom are also CAS coordinators, will be happy to assist in making your journey more fulfilling and meaningful without sacrificing your academic excellence.

Would you like to find out more about how we can be at your service? We are available at 022 731 8148 and . Let us help you maximise the benefits of this unique aspect of the IB Diploma Programme.

By Sara Lloyd

Sara has been an education consultant for TutorsPlus for 15 years, and is an expert on international IB education.  She is also a parent of two lively children.