CBL Designation

One of UW-Whitewater's hallmarks is its ongoing commitment to community engagement and student success. As stated in Goal 2, Objective 2 of the Strategic Plan, UW-Whitewater is committed to "activities that enhance student learning and development" and has set a goal to "Increase student participation in High-Impact Practices (HIPs)..." 

Community-Based Learning (CBL) is one of these recognized high impact practices. CBL is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service/experiences with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. A key element in these programs is the opportunity students have to both apply what they are learning in real-world settings and reflect in a classroom setting on their community experiences. We believe that faculty and staff can play a crucial role in communities beyond campus by forming reciprocally beneficial partnerships that Inspire, Engage, and Transform the learning experience for UW-Whitewater students while directly benefitting the community. 

Formalizing a process for CBL course designation provides a number of benefits to students, faculty and staff, assists us in meeting the goals of the Strategic Plan, and furthers our commitment to LEAP. 

Benefit to Students: 

• Make informed decisions when selecting courses.
• Honors Students may receive honors credit for CBL courses (see the H-Option tab for more information).
• Advisors will be better equipped to help students select CBL classes and explain the benefits of participating in a HIP. 

Benefit to Instructors: 

• Receive recognition for incorporating CBL into their courses.
• More readily communicate course components to prospective students.
• CBL courses will be searchable and easier to market to future students.

Benefit to UW-Whitewater: 

• CBL designation will allow UW-Whitewater to track participation in CBL and develop strategies to increase participation.
• Useful for reporting both internally (e.g. annual reports, audit and review, etc.) and externally (e.g. UW System).

Links to Curriculum 

• Clear evidence in the syllabus and/or other course documents of a CBL project and/or experience.
• Service outcomes are listed and clearly aligned with both course learning outcomes and campus-wide CBL SLOs.

Links to Reflection/Assessments

• Student reflection during and after the CBL experience.
• Assessment of students' engagement in complex community topics or issues, including their personal role in such issues.
• Reflection affords students the opportunity to gain understanding of multiple perspectives.

Articulation of Partnership/Meaningful Service

• Commits to working with one or more community partner (school(s), non-profit(s), business(es), or an on-campus unit in a meaningful, reciprocal partnership.
• The CBL partnership leads to attainable and measurable outcomes that are valued by the community partner.
• Incorporates student choice and voice related to content or process of the CBL experience.

Duration and Progress Monitoring

• All students are engaged in at least 15 hours of CBL experience* (direct contact, training/prep, project work, reflection)
• On-going communication with the community partner, students, and instructor to keep all parties well informed about activities, progress, and project measures (i.e. assignments, scheduled check-in dates, etc.)

*Note: For 1- or 2- credit courses, this expectation would be reduced

Take the following steps to officially designate your class as a community-based learning (CBL) course. The CBL designation will apply to a specific instructor and their section(s) of a course offered in a specified semester. 

New Application: 
Step 1: Instructor uses this form to submit proposal and supporting documentation. 

• Indicate specific term, course, and section number(s).
• Attach a syllabus plus additional course material as necessary.

Step 2: The proposal first goes to the Department Chair for acknowledgment; the Chair is affirming their support for this CBL offering. 

Step 3: The proposal is then reviewed by the Community-Based Learning Council, which is comprised of CBL practitioners from each UWW College and chaired by CBL Coordinator. 

Step 4: If the proposal is approved, the CBL coordinator will direct the Registrar to add the CBL designation and a standard explanatory note to the relevant course section(s). 

• CBL Courses will be designated with the letter Z.
• The Registrar's office will also create a course attribute for the CBL course sections.
• The following note will be added to the Course section: This is a community-based learning class that will engage students in collaborative learning experiences with partner community organizations. It is possible that part of the work you perform with your community partner will occur off campus. Your professor will provide more details on the first day of class.

Honors-CBL Exchanges: An Agreement between Community-Based Learning and the University Honors Program 
Beginning in Fall 2019, students in good standing in the University Honors Program will receive Honors "credits" - officially called Honors-CBL Exchanges - for their participation in CBL designated courses. The following terms and conditions will apply: 

1. For their successful completion of a 3-credit CBL-designated course, which includes 15 hours of direct contact in addition to prep/training, project work, and reflection, Honors students will earn Honors-CBL Exchanges equivalent to 3 Honors credits.
2. For CBL courses that are not 3-credit courses, the number of direct contact hours and other requirements will be commensurately adjusted.
3. In order to graduate with University Honors, a student must maintain a minimum cumulative UW-W GPA of 3.4 and earn twenty-one (21) Honors credits.
4. In accordance with the UHP residency requirements, a minimum of nine (9) Honors credits must be earned through Honors coursework and/or H-Options.
5. Current Honors students in good standing may apply for Honors-CBL Exchanges to be retroactively honored.
6. The UHP will oversee the recordkeeping of Honors-CBL Exchanges earned by students in both programs and report the exchanges to the Registrar's Office accordingly.

Click here for Honors Pathways Brochure

For more information, please contact:
The University Honors Program at
(262) 472-1296
honors@uww.edu