Campus-Engaged Learning Activity

What is the Campus Engaged Learning Requirement?
The Campus Engaged Learning (CEL-1) Requirement for Division I is an exciting new requirement for first-year students entering in the fall of 2011.

Check out the Division I website! http://www.hampshire.edu/academics/div-i.htm

Chek out the CEL-1 website! https://campusengagedlearning.hampshire.edu/

A brief definition of the CEL-1: In addition to a minimum of seven faculty-evaluated courses, students in Division I must carry out one or more Campus Engaged Learning (CEL-1) activity totaling a minimum of 40 hours, approximately equal to course contact hours. The appropriate activity will be determined in consultation with the tutorial advisor and activity sponsor. The student will document the fulfillment of the campus engaged learning and include a reflection on it in the Division I retrospective essay.

The criteria: The CEL-1 requirement must: • Involve collaborative learning

• Add up to a minimum of 40 hours of work (over the course of one or more semesters) • Include or be accompanied by systematic documentation and written reflection on the learning

SIGN UP FOR A CEL-1 ACTIVITY TODAY!
The steps for Division I students:


 * 1) Check out the working list of CEL-1 activities at the CEL-1 website
 * 2) Select a number of activities that you’d be interested in pursuing.
 * 3) Contact the sponsor of the activity to discuss getting involved.
 * 4) Once the activity is approved, fill out the online proposal and contract form. Your sponsor will be prompted to sign off. (Remember: You can do multiple CEL-1 activities to meet the time requirement. Each activity requires a proposal, contract, and signatures.)
 * 5) Begin your CEL-1! Be committed and enjoy this unique opportunity.
 * 6) Within two weeks of the end of each CEL-1, submit the verification form. This will initiate an automatic email to your sponsor to sign off that you successfully completed your CEL-1.
 * 7) Write a reflection on your experiences in CEL-1 activities. This will be incorporated in your final Division I retrospective.

For Transfer Students: Transfer students do not complete CEL-1 at the Division I level, but are required to complete CEL-2 at the Division II level.

Rationale
The CEL-1 requirement enables entering first-year students’ early integration into the life and ethos of the College. The basis of a Hampshire education, Non Satis Scire (“To know is not enough”), requires all community members to make active connections between their academic pursuits and other areas of their lives, recognizing that the projects we undertake outside of the classroom matter.Hampshire College also expects faculty, staff, and students to work collaboratively toward the achievement of shared goals, and to contribute to our community in imaginative ways.

The CEL-1’s collaborative spirit and the requirement that students reflect critically and think carefully about their own engagement also prepare them to become critically engaged scholars, artists, and scientists who participate actively and responsibly in the Hampshire community and the larger world.

What does it entail?
While students and advisors can select a CEL from among well-established options -- from activities that Hampshire students have long been actively engaged in -- the requirement also celebrates and encourages projects pioneered by Division II and III students, staff, and faculty themselves. With advisors' approval, groups of first-year students may propose, design and carry out new, innovative CEL-1 projects that enhance students' ability to work with others toward shared goals.

CEL-1 projects can be aimed at bettering the campus, enhancing our academic program and its connections to applied, practical non-course-based activities, addressing specific needs, or at building a spirit of community and collaboration across our varied constituencies.

Examples of activities that could be used to fulfill the CEL-1 Requirement include: participation in an established student group; taking a co-curricular course through the Lemelson Center or OPRA; participating in a student-, staff-, faculty- or alumni-taught EPEC course.  

CHECK OUT THE CEL-1 WEBSITE FOR ALL PRE-APPROVED ACTIVITIES!

 

The time-frame
The 40-hour requirement can be fulfilled by one activity alone, or by a combination of activities. CEL-1 activities need not be coterminous with a semester. For example, students could work intensively over the course of a short period, or consistently across the year, spanning both semesters. Students must, however, fulfill the CEL-1 requirement before submitting their Division I portfolio for review.

Who decides?
First-year students and their advisors will engage in active conversation about what CEL-1 activity or activities will be most suitable and challenging, given each student's particular interests, experience, talents, and goals. After consultation with the advisor and the CEL-1 sponsor, the student will submit a formal Proposal and Contract to the advisor. A student's advisor will make the final decision as to whether a proposed activity will satisfy the Campus-Engaged Learning requirement.

The role of the CEL-1 sponsor
A student's participation in a CEL-1 activity must be verified by a sponsor. Sponsors can be students, staff, or faculty, but the sponsor must be identified before the activity begins. The advisor must be satisfied that the chosen sponsor is in a good position to witness and share in the student's progress and participation in the CEL-1 activity.

SPONSOR A CEL-1 ACTIVITY! LOG INTO THE CEL-1 WEBSITE and enter the details!
Who can be a sponsor: Sponsors may be: an upper-Division student (Division II or III) who is also engaged in the activity a first-year student has chosen for their CEL-1; the student, staff, or faculty member who has proposed a CEL-1 activity and supervises it for the duration of the CEL-1. At the end of the CEL-1 activity's proposed time-frame, students will submit the CEL-1 Verification Form to their sponsor for their signature and, if the sponsor chooses, evaluative comments.

How is the Campus-Engaged Learning Activity Documented?
Documentation of the CEL-1 activity is an important part of the requirement. In addition to submitting the CEL-1 Proposal and Contract Form, and (at the end of the activity) the CEL-1 Verification Form, students must document the work they do, and provide documentation of the CEL-1 activity in their Division I portfolio. 'Documentation' may come in different forms, depending on the student's project or projects. For example, if a CEL-1 project involves recording the songs of birds that live on our campus, audio files could be provided. Students enaged in organizing community events could provide announcement-flyers and photographs of the gatherings. Students whose CEL-1 is to build a theatre set for a student production could provide photographs of the set coming into being and flyers announcing the performances. Other kinds of documentation might include but are not limited to: journal entries, drawings, observation/field notes, and ephemera. The appropriate methods of documentation will be determined in consultation with the student's tutorial advisor.

Critical Reflection
Throughout the CEL-1, students must reflect critically on their learning and, upon completion of Division 1, must explicitly discuss the CEL-1 in their Retrospective Essay. Workshops on methods of reflection, critical analyses of experience, and writing about community engagement will be offered each semester. Questions that should be considered as students write about their CEL-1 activity include:

• What knowledge did you gain about learning with and from others? • What does it mean for you to engage/shape/contribute to the campus community, and in what ways has the CEL-1 informed your sense of community, belonging and mutual responsibility? • What challenges did you face and how were these addressed? • If you were to improve your CEL-1 experience, what would you change, and if you had an opportunity to design a new CEL-1 for incoming students what would you propose? • How did the CEL-1 activity intersect with or depart from what you are learning in courses and what new questions did it raise? • How might the CEL-1 influence your future academic work and your engagement with the Hampshire community and beyond?

= A GUIDE TO POTENTIAL CEL-1 ACTIVITIES =

Membership in an a recognized student group
Student groups place a special emphasis on student-driven learning about a wide range of current topics, and on collaborative work toward shared, student-identified goals. Fulfiling your Campus Engaged Learning (CEL-1) requirment through membership in a recognized student group will enable you to: learn about a particular topic in a non-course environment; practice informing yourself about current topics and events relevant to the group's focus; gain experience planning and carrying out campus events; and learn how to work with others towards a common goal.

If you can't find what you're looking for, or have any questions about student groups, contact the Office of Campus Leadership and Activities at 559-6005 or leadership@hampshire.edu.

List of over 140 currently active student groups

Student Groups Core

Completion of an OPRA course (Outdoors Program/Recreational Athletics)
OPRA attempts to expose students to the world of physical culture through a variety of experiences. Many OPRA courses are collaborative and could be used to fulfill the CEL-1 requirement. Some of these include courses, team sports, trips, and activities including service to others. The OPRA motto is "To play is not enough". OPRA courses are a good way of broadening your experience and understanding of: your own body, connections between physical movement and well-being, the environment and our selves, and collaborating with others as you acquire new skills and put ideas into practice. ''' OPRA course listings are updated each year and can be found on theHub Course Search. '''

''If you are taking a course to fulfill your Campus Engagled Learning (CEL-1) requirement, make sure your instructor knows this! You'll be asked to document your participation and some additional collaborative work and reflection may be required.''

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or want to learn more about the program, contact Bob Garmirian at ext.5470 or write to rgarmirian@hampshire. edu.

Completion of an EPEC Course (Experimental Program in Education and Community)
Offering courses taught by students, staff, faculty and Hampshire alums, the EPECProgram supports and promotes student-initiated work not otherwise represented within the academic structure of the college, and are a good way of fulfilling the CEL-1. An EPEC course, in addition to introducing you to a topic or practice you might not find elsewhere, will encourage you to expand your understanding and experience of: being responsible to others outside of a traditional classroom environment; working collaboratively towards the success of a joint endeavor; and discovering the ways that Hampshire community members can continually learn from as well as teach each other in democratic experimental educational environments.

Information about EPEC can be found at www.hampshire.edu/studentlife/5897.htm.

Check listings for upcoming EPEC courses (and information about EPEC courses from prior semesters) at: hampedia.org.wiki/Experimental_Program_in_Education_and_Community#EPEC_Listings

Examples of past EPEC courses: Modern Artistic Blacksmithing, Thinking About Columbus: Slavery, Colonization, and Memory, and Latin Moves Salsa Dance Class; History and Art of Spinning Yarn; Theory of Game Design and Development; Arabic 1; German Popular Music; Introduction to Sanskrit; Emotional Fitness.

If you have any questions about EPEC offerings, contact the student coordinator at: epec@hampshire.edu, or visit the EPEC office, which is housed in the Office for Campus Leadership and Activities.

Completion of a Hampshire College Lemelson Center (HCLC) activity
The Hampshire College Lemelson Center (HCLC) offers many opportunities for experiential learning in the areas of: applied design, appropriate technology, social entrepreneurship, and art and technology. In addition to the Center’s academic offerings, HCLC staff, college alums, and Hampshire students also teach classes each year that may be used to fulfill the CEL-1 requirement.

Completing your CEL-1 through a Lemelson offering will: introduce you to new concepts and applications in social entrepreneurship, engineering, design, art and technology; enable you to learn new skills in collaboration with others; and gain experience considering the needs of people who will experience what you have designed.

Examples of Lemelson courses that could fulfill the CEL-1 include: Bicycle and Frame Fabrication, Machine Shop Instruction, Blacksmithing, and Women's Fabrication. Several student groups are also based in the HCLC (The Blacksmithing Guild, The Glass Collective, and ZAP), and the HCLC also hosts several EPEC classes every year.

Lemelson Center courses can be found on theHub Course Search.

''If you are taking a course to fulfill your Campus Engagled Learning (CEL-1) requirement, make sure your instructor knows this! You'll be asked to document your participation and some additional collaborative work and reflection may be required.''

If you can't find what you're looking for, contact Roxanne Finn at rfinn@hampshire.edu.

Faculty/Staff/Student-Convened Activities
Hampshire faculty, staff and students will be adding CEL-1 activities throughout the year, and we encourage you to take advantage of these unique oportunities not regularly offered. Please check the CEL-1 website for an updated list of offerings. 

A sample of past offerings:

o Chinese language tutoring Sponsor(s): Kay Johnson o Forestkeepers Sponsor(s): Larry Winship o Peer Meditation Circle Sponsor(s): Hilda Gutierrez Baldoquin o Yurt Art Garden Sponsor(s): John Gunther o Endophenotypes for Depression: A Neuroscience Experiment Sponsor(s): Jacob Vogel o Theatre is Awesome: An Introduction to Technical Theatre Sponsor(s): Amy Putnam o Brick + Mortar Int’l Video Festival volunteers Sponsor(s): Christoph Cox o Food Forest Stewardship Sponsor(s): Edgar Phillips-Jones o Collective Comics Illustration Sponsor(s): Elizabeth Ellis o The Ward: Race and Class in Philadelphia’s 7th Ward (board game testing) Sponsor(s): Jonah Taylor o Longest-Running Improv Troupe Sponsor(s): Courtney Price o Growing Farmers Collective, Market Garden Sponsor(s): Evan Thaler-Null o Shabbat Dinner Sponsor(s): Rachel Schoenfeld o God of Vengeance Sponsor(s): Staci Akselrod o Assisting Visiting Tibetan Monks Sponsor(s): Sue Darlington

Centers and Programs
Many Hampshire Centers &amp; Programs are sponsoring CEL-1 activities. Please check the CEL-1 website for all offerings, and speak directly with Centers &amp; Programs you may be interested in collaborating with!

A sample of past offerings:

o Winter Dance/Div II Concert Performer Sponsor(s): Allison Smartt o Sewing Skillshare Sponsor(s): Roxanne Finn o Peer Meditation Circle Sponsor(s): Hilda Gutierrez Baldoquin o CLPP Campus Organizing Group Sponsor(s): Lani Blechman o Reproductive Justice Workshop Series Sponsor(s): Lani Blechman o Website Assessment with PopDev activist group Sponsor(s): Catherine Bryson o Equestrian Team Sponsor(s): Chelsea Kronick o The Superhero Program Sponsor(s): Jessica Gifford o Backrub Club Volunteer Sponsor(s): Jessica Gifford o Video/Media Production for Reslife Sponsor(s): Sarah Kinney o Hampshire Fencing Club Sponsor(s): Scott Barish o WLEA language group facilitators Sponsor(s): Jimena Valdivia o WIPS: Walk-In Programming Support Sponsor(s): Lee Spector o DART Student Group Public Art Projects Sponsor(s): Carla Costa o Farm Festival @ Friends &amp; Family Weekend Sponsor(s): Leslie Cox o Video Production for the Office of Communications Sponsor(s): Kevin Cline o Hampshire College Twittercore Sponsor(s): Amy Diehl o Blacksmithing Sponsor(s): Ethan Ludwin-Peery