Community Engaged Learning (CEL) Course Planning & Designation Guide

Designating a course as a Community Engaged Learning (CEL) course at MSU Denver ensures students gain structured, meaningful opportunities to apply academic knowledge through reciprocal engagement with the community. CEL courses intentionally connect coursework to community-identified needs while fostering critical reflection and civic learning.  

This guide outlines the timeline and designation process, aligned with MSU Denver’s Modern Campus Curriculum system and updated CEL language. 

Student-Based Learning Outcomes (CEL-SBLOs) 

All CEL-designated courses must include the following outcomes in the class syllabus. Language may be customized but must align: 

1. Critical Reflection: Students will engage in personal and critical reflection about their CEL experiences. 

1. Academic Integration: Students will relate their engagement experiences to academic content and course objectives. 

1. Community/Public Impact: Students will analyze how their CEL experience meets community needs or advances public good. 

1. Public Dissemination: Students will communicate their learning to audiences beyond the classroom (e.g., presentations, creative media, reports). 

Dissemination examples: GITA poster displays, client deliverables, blogs, video reflections, symposiums. 

• The CEL-specific course syllabus, (referring to the syllabus you will use for the CEL designated course) 
• The Class Syllabus used by your department
• Paste the four CEL-SBLOs into their designated Modern Campus Curriculum text fields for transparency and mapping.
• Ensure your syllabus describes: 
  • CEL assignments 
  • Community collaboration details 
  • Reflection structures 
  • Assessment and grading alignment 

Other Key Notes 

• The focus is on learning, not hours. Quality of engagement and integration with course outcomes matter more than the number of hours completed. 
• Designation can be added during a course creation or course modification process. 
• The CEL Curriculum Review Committee evaluates all submissions after they pass through departmental and college-level approval chains. 
• CEL activities must reflect reciprocal benefit between students, faculty, and community partners. 

When the Course is Running – Fall 2025 (or Pilot Spring 2025) 

Final 3–4 Weeks of the Course 

• A Smart Start to Service-Learning (Rubin, 2001)  

• Traditional vs. Critical Service-Learning (Mitchell, 2008) 

• Service Learning as a Pedagogy of Whiteness (Mitchell et al., 2012) 

• Community-based Research and Higher Education: Principles and Practices (Strand, et al., 2003) 

• IUPUI High-Impact Practice Taxonomy (Hahn et al., 2016)  

• Critical Service-Learning as a Tool for Identity Exploration (Donahue & Mitchell, 2010) 

• The Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement, Chapter 37: Ideal and Real in Service Learning: Transforming the Ideal Based on the Real (Mitchell & Donahue, 2018)  

• Duke Critical Service-Learning Conversions Tool (Stith et al., 2018)  
• Principles of Good Practice for Service-Learning Pedagogy (Howard, 2001)