Community Engaged Learning

Community-Engaged Learning (CeL) integrates engagement with external communities into academic coursework to deepen student learning and promote civic responsibility. By connecting classroom learning with real-world challenges and opportunities, CeL emphasizes reciprocal partnerships, applied learning, reflection, and collaborative problem-solving.

Through CeL experiences, students work alongside community members, organizations, schools, agencies, and industry partners to address complex societal needs while strengthening academic understanding, professional competencies, career and workforce readiness, and civic awareness.

Why CeL Matters

CeL benefits students, faculty, and community partners through:

Collaboration between educational institutions and community organizations
Experiential and place-based learning
Exploration of career pathways
Focus on addressing community needs or issues
Reflection to enhance both content and civic learning
High-impact practices to enhance student learning and build capacity

CeL Professional Development and Workshops

CeL workshops are offered throughout the academic year to support faculty at different stages of course development and designation. Sessions focus on:

• Introduction to Community-Engaged Learning

• Building reciprocal community partnerships

• Designing reflection before, during, and after engagement

• Aligning CeL with student learning outcomes

• Assessing student learning and community impact

• Communicating CeL work for teaching, scholarship, and recognition

Upcoming Dates/ Workshops for CeL Course Conversion or Designation

2026-2027

Date	Audience	Session Title	Location	Time	Topics/Additional Notes
9/9/2026	CeL Course Designation	CeL Workshop 1	TLPDC	10AM – 12PM
9/10/2026	Faculty Affiliates	Coffee, Collaboration, and Consultation (CCC 1)		10AM – 11:30AM	Research and Scholarship Resources
9/16/2026	ALL	Engaged Scholarship Summit (COP 1)	SUB	All Day	*Will be considered COP 1
10/4 – 10/8/ 2026	CeL/O&E	ESC Conference
10/14/2026	CeL Course Designation	CeL Workshop 2	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
10/15/2026	Faculty Affiliates	CCC 2		10AM - 11:30AM	Research Topics- Bring Your Own Ideas
10/28/2026	CeL Faculty (All)	Community of Practice (COP 2)		11AM - 1PM	Reflection & Assessment (Lunch)
10/29/2026	CeL Course Designation	CeL Workshop 3	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
11/3 - 11/4/2026	O&E	Community Bus Tour
11/5/2026	CeL Faculty (All)	CeL Syllabus Workshop		9AM - 11AM
		SPRING 2027
1/20/2027	NEW Faculty Affiliates	CeL Workshop 1	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
1/26/2027	CeL Faculty (All)	COP 3		11AM - 1PM	Measuring Impact (Lunch)
2/3/2027	Faculty Affiliates	CCC 3		10AM - 11:30 AM	Writing Retreat- Bring work, data, and ideas
2/15 - 2/18/2027	O&E	P&T Conference with ESC Members
2/24/2027	NEW Faculty Affiliates	CeL Workshop 2	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
3/24/2027	NEW Faculty Affiliates	CeL Workshop 3	TLPDC	10AM- 12PM
4/7/2027	NEW Faculty Affiliates	CeL Workshop 4	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
4/8/2027	CeL Faculty (all) and Faculty Affiliates	COP 4 and CCC 4		11AM - 1PM	Storytelling, Showcase, and Scholarship (lunch)
4/29/2027	NEW Faculty Affiliates	CeL Workshop 5	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
5/5/2027	CeL	CeL-ebration		11AM - 1PM	Lunch
5/18/2027	CeL Course Designation	CeL Workshop 1	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
5/19/2027	CeL Course Designation	CeL Workshop 2	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM
5/20/2027	CeL Course Designation	CeL Workshop 3	TLPDC	10AM - 12PM

Delivery Model: Each workshop is offered once in the Fall and Spring terms to align with faculty availability and maximize participation. These sessions are for those faculty who are interested in learning more about what CeL is and how to designate a future course as CeL.

CeL Faculty Affiliate Program

The CeL Faculty Affiliate Program supports faculty who are interested in designing, teaching, or strengthening community-engaged courses. Affiliates receive access to training, consultation, resources, and opportunities to connect with other faculty engaged in this work.

Faculty affiliates may participate in:

CeL workshops and course design support
Syllabus and reflection assignment development
Community partnership planning
Assessment and student learning outcome alignment
CeL Learning Community / Community of Practice sessions
Recognition and documentation for teaching, scholarship, and promotion and tenure

Cohort III information coming soon.

Get Involved

Faculty, departments, and community partners interested in Community-Engaged Learning are invited to connect with the CeL team or the Office of Outreach & Engagement.