The Go Beyond the Classroom Community-Engaged Learning QEP will support current and new initiatives for students to engaged in experiential learning opportunities and critical reflection to facilitate an optimal student learning environment where students connect classroom content to direct real world experience.
What are some of the benefits for student who participate in Community-Engaged Learning?
- Career readiness: Community-Engaged Learning promotes the development of the career competencies employers seek when hiring - communication, critical thinking, career and self-development, equity and inclusion, leadership, professionalism, and teamwork (National Association of Colleges and Employers).
- Career exploration: Community-Engaged Learning provides opportunities for students to investigate career paths and learn from professionals in the field.
- College completion: Research shows that students who participate in Community-Engaged Learning are more likely to graduate from college than those who do not.
- Personal growth: Students with Community-Engaged Learning experiences demonstrate higher order thinking, cultural awareness, and self-efficacy.
- Engaged citizenship: Students with Community-Engaged Learning experiences have higher levels of civic engagement and are prepared to contribute to a democratic and diverse world.
How can YOU engage in Go Beyond the Classroom experiences at ETSU?
At ETSU, there are Community-Engaged Learning Courses and there are Community-Engaged Learning co-curricular programs.
Co-Curricular Programming: Many offices and degree programs at ETSU support community-engaged learning. Below are opportunities available to all students.
Use this online portal to connect with agencies, non-profit organizations, and volunteer initiatives that serve the Appalachian Highlands region. Community partners will post their one time and on-going service opportunities at this site.
ETSU’s Alternative Break Experience
ETSU’s Alternative Break Program exists to educate students on social justice, to engage students in direct service opportunities, and to empower students in making informed decisions and promoting life-long social activism.
ETSU Elevates is a program where students propose a new service project or enhance an existing service project to address a community need. Applicants are required to establish partnerships consisting of members from the ETSU community and surrounding community. ETSU Elevates was launched in 2019 but paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A new program will launch in late April 2023.
Public Service Corps Living-Learning Community
The Public Service Corps Living-Learning Community is focused on supporting students who receive the Public Service Corps scholarship at ETSU. Residents participate in structured in-and-out of class experiences that enhance local literacy initiatives. This community provides structure for Public Service Corps students in their first year at ETSU.
Volunteer ETSU is open to all students who are interested in serving on campus and in the local community. With multiple levels of involvement, students can connect with non-profit agencies through volunteer placement or join the leadership team. Leadership team members are responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating a variety of major service projects. If interested in applying for a leadership position, please contact serve@etsu.edu.
Dr. Brenda White Wright Emerging Leaders Academy
The Dr. Brenda White Wright Emerging Leaders Academy is an eight week leadership development
program with weekly meetings that focus on critical skills such as leadership style,
diversity and inclusion, communication, conflict management, and time management.
Selected participants will attend an overnight "advance" and complete a service project in order to receive ETSU's Emerging Leaders Certificate.
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in our monthly Service Saturday events sponsored by the Volunteer ETSU Student Group and housed under Leadership and Civic Engagement. These days of service are hosted in collaboration with various community partners. Each month, the locations differ and are held both indoors and outdoors, depending on weather.
Community-Engaged Learning Courses
The Changemaker Scholars Program
The Changemaker Scholars Program helps students acquire the knowledge, skills, resources, and mindset to become creative problem-solvers, engaged citizens, and active agents for positive change in their communities. The 25-credit program provides opportunities for students with a variety of interests and majors to gain a deeper understanding of social problems, collaborate with campus and community partners to find creative solutions to these problems, and integrate a changemaker mindset into their academic, personal, and professional lives.
Introduction to Service-Learning: SRVL 1020 (3 Credits)
The focus of the course includes civic engagement and community awareness to aid students in acquiring skills that promote active citizenship. The course familiarizes the student with local, national, and global issues to encourage community participation. Community involvement may assist with career choices or opportunities. Requires a 30-hour individual service placement and a group project. (fall, spring, summer)
Peace Corps Prep is a certificate program for undergraduates that centers on one empowering question: How can you prepare yourself to be the best Peace Corps Volunteer you can be? The Peace Corps Prep program creates frameworks for you to build core competencies required of Peace Corps volunteers: sector-specific skills, foreign language proficiency, intercultural competence, and professional savvy and leadership.
By integrating coursework with hands-on experience and professional development, you can earn a minor in Global Health and Development, receive a certificate from the Peace Corps, and have a competitive edge when applying for Peace Corps service. Learn more about the Global Health and Development minor. The minor is housed in the College of Public Health but can be combined with majors outside the College.