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 "activites 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:
Benefit to Instructors:
Benefit to UW-Whitewater:
Links to Curriculum
Links to Reflection/Assessments
Articulation of Partnership/Meaningful Service
Duration and Progress Monitoring
*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 specificed semester.
Step 1: Instructor uses this form to submit proposal and supporting documentation.
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).
This procedure is to be used for a course that has already been approved as a CBL course using the process explained above.
Step 1: Proposer updates existing approved proposal for new semester and section number(s) and, if necessary, makes other edits such as change of partner.
Step 2: Updated form is submitted to the Department Chair for acknowledgment.
Step 1: Proposer updates existing approved proposal for new semester and section number(s) and, if necessary, makes other edits such as change of partner.
Step 3: The proposal then goes to the CBL coordinator for automatic approval and forwarding of information to the Registrar's Office. The Council will be informed of renewals but does not need to act unless substantive changes are being made.
Note: If a proposal is not approved, the CBL coordinator will inform the proposer and provide feedback and suggestions for revision (either immediately or for a future semester).
Course Name | Sections designated as CBL |
Accounting 357 | Laura Poupitch |
CIGENRL 403/603 | Melanie Schneider |
Counsed 72- | Ola Bamgbose |
Counsed 743 | Anne Garvey Shah |
English 163 | Rossi Ivanova |
English 435 | Janine Tobeck |
History 190 | Anthony G. Gulig |
ITSCM 385 | Andrew Ciganek or Christina Outlay |
ITSCM 451 | Timothy Carone- Section 1 |
ITSCM 452 | Roger Yin- Section 1 |
MKT 350 | Karen Whalen |
MKT 479 | Carol Scovotti and Victor Berger |
MKT 491 | Karen Whalen |
Psychology 487 | Heather Niemeier |
SCIBUS 485 | Dennis Kopf |
Social Work 361 | Jeannine Rowe |
Social Work 493 | All |
Social Work 764 | All |
Social Work 783 | All |
Social Work 784 | All |
Spanish 321 | Jodie Parys |
Spanish 322 | Jodie Parys and Maria Elena White |
Spanish 371 | Jodie Parys |
Spanish 372 | Lisa Huempfner |
Spanish 491/SocialWork 491/Public Health 491 (Health and Aging in Costa Rica) |
Jodie Parys and Jeannine Rowe |