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

 

Community-Engaged Learning Course Development Grant - Request for Proposals (RFP)

In Partnership with the Museum at Texas Tech University (MaTT), Lubbock, TX
Funding Amount: Up to $5000 per award
Funding Period: One Year
Due Date: October 15, 2026

1. Overview

Texas Tech University invites full-time faculty to submit proposals for the Community-Engaged Learning (CeL) Course Development Grant Program. This initiative supports the design or redesign of courses that integrate community-engaged learning practices and Museum at Texas Tech resources into the curriculum.

The program is intended to:

• Enhance student learning through applied, community-based experiences
• Strengthen partnerships between faculty, the Museum at Texas Tech, and the Lubbock community
• Advance TTU’s commitment to outreach, engagement, and public impact
• Collaborate with a Professor of Practice from the Office of Outreach and Engagement and the Museum at Texas Tech University
• Develop curriculum or utilize curriculum developed by the Museum at Texas Tech University that utilizes museum resources
• Produce a publishable manuscript

2. Purpose and Goals

Funded projects should align with one or more of the following goals:

• Curricular Innovation: Develop new or significantly redesign existing courses to include community-engaged learning components
• Museum Integration: Meaningfully incorporate Museum at Texas Tech collections, curatorial expertise, exhibits, programming, or content knowledge into course design
• Student Learning Outcomes: Foster authentic problem-solving, civic awareness, and disciplinary application through experiential learning
• Community Impact: Address community-identified needs through reciprocal partnerships
  Scholarly Engagement: Contribute to faculty development in engaged scholarship
   

3. Award Details

Maximum Award: $5000 per project
Grant Period:  January 4, 2027-December 31, 2027
Number of Awards: Two
 
Allowable Expenses

Funds may be used for:

1. Course development
2. Partnership development (e.g., meetings, travel local to Lubbock region)
3. Instructional materials and supplies
4. Community partner support (e.g., materials)
5. Museum-related integration (e.g., exhibit development, programmatically engaged curriculum)
    

4. Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be full-time TTU faculty (tenure-track, tenured, or full-time instructors/professors of practice)
• Propose a course to be implemented within a one-year period
• Attend Community-engaged Learning Workshop Series prior to implementation of course
• Demonstrate willingness to collaborate with Museum at Texas Tech staff, professors of practice and community partners
• Collaborative or interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.

5. Project Expectations

Awardees will be expected to:

• Develop and implement a community-engaged learning course incorporating Museum at Texas Tech University resources
• Establish or deepen a community partnership
• Integrate reflection and assessment strategies aligned with CeL principles
• Participate in Community-engaged Learning faculty development activities (e.g., workshops)
  Submit: 
  - A midpoint progress report
  - A final report including student learning outcomes and community impact
  - Share outcomes through a presentation, showcase, and publishable manuscript
   

6. Proposal Requirements

Proposals should not exceed 3 pages (excluding budget and appendices) and must include:

A. Project Narrative

Course title, department, and level
Description of course (new or redesigned)
Explanation of how CeL principles will be incorporated
Plan for integrating Museum at Texas Tech resources
Description of community partnership(s)
Anticipated student learning outcomes
Assessment plan that includes measuring student learning and community impact
 

B. Timeline: Semester-by-semester plan across the two-year period
 
C. Budget and Justification:

Detailed budget (up to $5000)
Brief justification for each line item
 

D. Plan for Deliverables

• Course design that includes Community-engaged Learning (CeL) component for TTU students
• Community-engagement lessons based on content from the Museum at Texas Tech University
• Publishable manuscript

E. Letters of Support (Optional but Encouraged)

From community partner 
TTU Museum collaborator
 

7. Timeline

RFP Release Date: September 1, 2026
Proposal Deadline: October 15, 2026
Project Start: January 4, 2027
 

8. Submission Instructions

Proposals must be submitted electronically as a single PDF to:
Andrea Moreno-Juarez, andrea.moreno-juarez@ttu.edu

Subject line: CeL Course Development Grant Proposal – [Faculty Name]

9. Program Contact

For questions or consultation support, please contact:
Mellinee Lesley, Office of Outreach & Engagement?

mellinee.lesley@ttu.edu

10. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will evaluated on the following rubric:

 

Upcoming Dates/ Workshops for CeL Course Conversion or Designation

2026-2027

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.

The CeL Team

Dr. Mellinee Lesley, Ph.D.

Associate Vice Provost, Office of Outreach & Engagement

Professor, Language, Diversity & Literacy Studies

mellinee.lesley@ttu.edu 

 

Dr. Andrea Moreno-Juarez, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Practice for CeL

andrea.moreno-juarez@ttu.edu 

 

Kristi Gonzales

Coordinator for Community-engaged Learning Partnerships

kristi.m.gonzales@ttu.edu