Student Information
Learn more about CECs and how they can enhance your learning and provide you with opportunities to make an impact on your community.
Faculty Information
Find information about teaching CECs, the application to designate your course as a CEC, and more resources for engaged teaching.
Fall Semester '24 CECs
We are pleased to announce the Community-Engaged Course (CEC) list for Fall 2024. Courses across campus designated as CEC are tagged on MyUI for identification. Students can proactively identify classes that integrate community partnerships into course activities as they register.
course title | course_NUMBER | course type | description | primary instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Product Design & Management Civil Engineering | Stand-alone | Design of civil engineering systems, individual and team design projects oriented toward the solution of local problems, project management, construction management, contracts, budgeting, bidding. | Paul Hanley | |
Practical Research Applications | Stand-alone | Apply research methods, design, and analysis to everyday, real-world problems through serving a community, partnering to determine a problem that will be ameliorated using research skills, including asking and answering questions, collecting and analyzing data, and, ideally, using these results to produce a product. Hone oral and written communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, and build a portfolio that demonstrates practical, real-world experience to potential employers. | Kate Magsamen-Conrad | |
Finding Comfort Zone: Secret to Success | Stand-alone | Understanding the strengths and challenges of people with special needs; insights into unwritten "rules" of college life; optional practicum involves working hands-on with people who have multiple learning and cognitive disabilities; students with disabilities or those interested in learning more about disabilities are encouraged to enroll. | Leah Zimmermann | |
PhD Sem Language, Literacy and Culture | Stand-alone | This course will explore pathways of community-engaged scholarship inside and beyond the boundaries of higher education in the US and in global settings. Together, we’ll explore the necessity of core components of community-engaged scholarship including reciprocity for research partners, the ethics of community-engagement, supporting democratic aims, and building relationships to engage with others. We’ll read the work of indigenous scholars including Eve Tuck, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Sandy Grande, and others known for their work in the field of public/community-engaged scholarship including Kerry-Ann O’Meara, Michelle Fine, Denzin & Lincoln, Caryn McTighe Musil, John Saltmarsh, Elaine Ward, and others. A core text is likely to be Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (3rd Ed.). Tenure-track positions in higher education are commonly paired with a focus in community-engagement on the East/West coasts of the US as well as global sites in Australia and elsewhere. | Carolyn Colvin | |
Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | Lecture | Students provide strategic business consulting services to new entrepreneurial ventures, existing small-to-medium size enterprises, and select social/non-profit organizations. Real-world application of the project consulting process including proposal development, data collection and analysis, leading and working in interdisciplinary teams, professional communications with clients, developing actionable business strategies, and preparing formal written and oral reports. Projects may include market research and competitive analysis, financial analysis and modelling, and strategic growth planning. Opportunities to complete international projects are also available. | Kimm Harris | |
Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | Discussion | Students provide strategic business consulting services to new entrepreneurial ventures, existing small-to-medium size enterprises, and select social/non-profit organizations. Real-world application of the project consulting process including proposal development, data collection and analysis, leading and working in interdisciplinary teams, professional communications with clients, developing actionable business strategies, and preparing formal written and oral reports. Projects may include market research and competitive analysis, financial analysis and modelling, and strategic growth planning. Opportunities to complete international projects are also available. | Kimm Harris | |
Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | Discussion | Students provide strategic business consulting services to new entrepreneurial ventures, existing small-to-medium size enterprises, and select social/non-profit organizations. Real-world application of the project consulting process including proposal development, data collection and analysis, leading and working in interdisciplinary teams, professional communications with clients, developing actionable business strategies, and preparing formal written and oral reports. Projects may include market research and competitive analysis, financial analysis and modelling, and strategic growth planning. Opportunities to complete international projects are also available. | John Courtney | |
Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | Discussion | Students provide strategic business consulting services to new entrepreneurial ventures, existing small-to-medium size enterprises, and select social/non-profit organizations. Real-world application of the project consulting process including proposal development, data collection and analysis, leading and working in interdisciplinary teams, professional communications with clients, developing actionable business strategies, and preparing formal written and oral reports. Projects may include market research and competitive analysis, financial analysis and modelling, and strategic growth planning. Opportunities to complete international projects are also available. | Lee Eilers | |
Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | Discussion | Students provide strategic business consulting services to new entrepreneurial ventures, existing small-to-medium size enterprises, and select social/non-profit organizations. Real-world application of the project consulting process including proposal development, data collection and analysis, leading and working in interdisciplinary teams, professional communications with clients, developing actionable business strategies, and preparing formal written and oral reports. Projects may include market research and competitive analysis, financial analysis and modelling, and strategic growth planning. Opportunities to complete international projects are also available. | Dennis Jordan | |
Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | Discussion | Students provide strategic business consulting services to new entrepreneurial ventures, existing small-to-medium size enterprises, and select social/non-profit organizations. Real-world application of the project consulting process including proposal development, data collection and analysis, leading and working in interdisciplinary teams, professional communications with clients, developing actionable business strategies, and preparing formal written and oral reports. Projects may include market research and competitive analysis, financial analysis and modelling, and strategic growth planning. Opportunities to complete international projects are also available. | Jacqueline Krain | |
Foundations of Event Management | Stand-alone | Event management is a growing, changing industry that allows professionals to employ their communication, marketing, social media, and project management skills. In this course we will explore the event-planning field through speakers, research, and hands-on experiences. Students must be willing and able to put in time outside of class to volunteer at an event and visit an event site. It may be necessary to travel off campus or out of Iowa City to complete these tasks. | Heather Spangler | |
Foundations of Event Management | Stand-alone | Event management is a growing, changing industry that allows professionals to employ their communication, marketing, social media, and project management skills. In this course we will explore the event-planning field through speakers, research, and hands-on experiences. Students must be willing and able to put in time outside of class to volunteer at an event and visit an event site. It may be necessary to travel off campus or out of Iowa City to complete these tasks. | Tracy Hufford | |
Event Management Workshop | Stand-alone | Hands-on experience in event planning; working with clients, conceptualizing events, lining up small and large details, promoting events via social media and other means, carrying out events, and reflecting on outcomes; meet with event planning professionals; complete individual and group projects. | Heather Spangler | |
Enterprise Risk Management | Stand-alone | The purpose of this course is to explore how superior risk management creates value for firms. While FIN:3400 is a consumer-oriented view of risk, this course is taught through the lens of the firm and its investors. Students will use the theoretical underpinnings of corporate valuation models, be introduced to various methods of altering risk profiles, and explore how risk and its management impact a firm’s valuation. This course also provides an experiential learning aspect that allows students to apply their instruction in a real-world context, making way for the opportunity to create a real difference in a real business and to connect with those in the insurance industry. This course is beneficial to all students; however, it is particularly useful for students interested in senior management of the risk management industry. | Richard Peter | |
Property and Liability Insurance | Stand-alone | This course is designed to acquaint the student with the property and liability insurance industry as well as the economic benefits associated with transferring risks caused by property damage, personal injury, and errors and omissions. While the focus of the course will deal with the financing of risk through insurance transfer for commercial entities, attention will be given to significant government programs. The course will also note insurance company operations and their respective influence on the commercial property-liability insurance sector. Because this class serves as a platform for commercial risk management, an extensive project involving a risk assessment and an insurance policy review of a small firm will be integrated into the course. Students will be able to discuss recommendations with a business owner or senior manager and apply their knowledge of commercial insurance coverages in a real-world context. | Philip Brooks | |
Nonprofit Internship | Stand-alone | This course requires students to complete a minimum 135 contact hour paid or unpaid internship with a nonprofit organization. The course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore career interests while applying knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in a professional work setting. The experience also helps students gain a clearer sense of what they still need to learn and provides an opportunity to build professional networks. Knowledge, skills, and tools applied in a range of professional or work situations. | Jenifer Vick | |
Nonprofit Communications | Stand-alone | This course will demonstrate, discuss, and implement best practices for creating nonprofit communications. It is an experiential course where you will work to create several foundational and targeted materials and projects for a nonprofit community partner. This course will help you understand communication strategies that result in raising money and awareness for nonprofit organizations; gain practical experience planning, writing, and designing fundraising, marketing and stewardship materials; analyze communication strategies to better understand the nonprofit field. | Jenifer Vick | |
Latinx Community Engagement | Stand-alone | This Latina/o/x Studies course is offered in collaboration with the Center for Worker Justice, Iowa City (cwjiowa.org ). On Thursdays, students will meet at the Center where they will work alongside Center staff, activists, and community members on a project or projects relevant to the Center's mission. On Tuesdays, students will meet on campus to hold organizational meetings about their Center projects and to learn about Latina/o/x involvement in social movements around labor, immigration, housing, education, or other areas. A commitment to social justice and recognition that knowledge is created and sustained within communities are at the heart of Latina/o/x Studies. This course invites students to bridge the classroom and community learning environments while gaining valuable perspectives through their work on collaborative projects. Through this course students will develop skills and acquire knowledge that they will carry into their lives after graduation, and they will develop insight about the operations of a non-profit community center and its constituencies. Please note: Students who enroll in this course should allow sufficient time in their schedule to travel to and from the Center on Thursday afternoons. The U Iowa Latina/o/x Studies program will provide free bus passes to students for this purpose. A bus departs from the Old Capitol Mall to the Center, which is 2.5 miles away from campus. Students may also use their own vehicles to travel to and from the Center. | Jose Fernandez | |
Clinical Law Program: Internship | Stand-alone | Students, under faculty supervision, take primary responsibility for client representation and strategy, working in the legal clinic for 18-36 hours/week. They use and hone the full range of lawyering skills: interviewing, counseling, case/project planning and management, fact investigation, legal research and writing, oral advocacy, negotiation, education/outreach, and litigation. Students have the opportunity to address critical issues affecting social justice and explore different areas of the law, including: federal criminal defense; community-led advocacy, policy, and legislative reform; immigration; estate planning; federal civil rights; international human rights; and the intersection of law and technology. | Alison Guernsey | |
Advanced Clinical Law Internship | Stand-alone | Continued representation of a specific client or matter; or continued representation of clients in the practice group in which students worked their first semester, but with more ownership and greater independence; opportunity to serve as mentors to new clinical law internship students. | Alison Guernsey | |
Current Social Justice & Critical Theory Perspective | Stand-alone | This seminar is intended to be a co-created and participatory experience, in which we will use critical theories as one tool to examine current social justice issues. We will strive to create a learning environment that adheres to the values of critical legal theories – one which is non-hierarchical, values expression in all forms from a broad range of authors/creators, and disrupts our traditional understanding of the classroom. For each seminar or two week period of the semester, we will analyze and discuss a current social justice issue (prison labor, access to mental health treatment, impacts of natural disasters, Jan. 6 insurrection, etc.) through a critical lens (Critical Race Theory, ClassCrit, LatCrit, Queer Theory, etc.). Students will be responsible for choosing the social justice topics we will discuss; analyzing and reacting to class materials using different formats (op-ed, statutory drafting, fiction, reflection); and participating in discussions. Students taking the course for writing credit will also complete a final research paper of 20-40 pages (1-2 writing credits). Students not taking the course for writing credit will have the option of completing a final project or presentation related to the issues/perspectives discussed in seminar. | Daria Fisher Page | |
Career Leadership Academy Part 2 | Stand-alone | Career Leadership Academy Part 2: Leadership in Action (LS:3002) – is the final course in the Career Leadership Academy series. It also counts towards the Certificate in Leadership Studies, the Enterprise Leadership Major, and the Tippie College of Business’s Research, Internship, Study Abroad and Experiential Learning graduation requirement. The purpose of this course is to increase students’ understanding of how to interact and work with others as effective team members and engaged citizens. The semester-length course covers transferable skills, collaboration, conflict resolution, motivation and delegation, interviewing, understanding power, networking, and working on a team with various stakeholders. Students will also learn about professionalism and office communication, effectively using LinkedIn, marketing their skills, dining etiquette, negotiating salaries, understanding benefits, realistic expectations in the world of work, and building a career. Students have the opportunity to develop those skills and apply what they have learned in CLA. Students will accomplish this by conducting a service project with a community partner of their choosing. This project work is intended to connect what students learned about themselves in CLA Part 1 to community needs and the agencies that address those needs. | Michael Venzon | |
Career Leadership Academy Part 2 | Stand-alone | Career Leadership Academy Part 2: Leadership in Action (LS:3002) – is the final course in the Career Leadership Academy series. It also counts towards the Certificate in Leadership Studies, the Enterprise Leadership Major, and the Tippie College of Business’s Research, Internship, Study Abroad and Experiential Learning graduation requirement. The purpose of this course is to increase students’ understanding of how to interact and work with others as effective team members and engaged citizens. The semester-length course covers transferable skills, collaboration, conflict resolution, motivation and delegation, interviewing, understanding power, networking, and working on a team with various stakeholders. Students will also learn about professionalism and office communication, effectively using LinkedIn, marketing their skills, dining etiquette, negotiating salaries, understanding benefits, realistic expectations in the world of work, and building a career. Students have the opportunity to develop those skills and apply what they have learned in CLA. Students will accomplish this by conducting a service project with a community partner of their choosing. This project work is intended to connect what students learned about themselves in CLA Part 1 to community needs and the agencies that address those needs. | Susie Regan | |
Career Leadership Academy Part 2 | Stand-alone | Career Leadership Academy Part 2: Leadership in Action (LS:3002) – is the final course in the Career Leadership Academy series. It also counts towards the Certificate in Leadership Studies, the Enterprise Leadership Major, and the Tippie College of Business’s Research, Internship, Study Abroad and Experiential Learning graduation requirement. The purpose of this course is to increase students’ understanding of how to interact and work with others as effective team members and engaged citizens. The semester-length course covers transferable skills, collaboration, conflict resolution, motivation and delegation, interviewing, understanding power, networking, and working on a team with various stakeholders. Students will also learn about professionalism and office communication, effectively using LinkedIn, marketing their skills, dining etiquette, negotiating salaries, understanding benefits, realistic expectations in the world of work, and building a career. Students have the opportunity to develop those skills and apply what they have learned in CLA. Students will accomplish this by conducting a service project with a community partner of their choosing. This project work is intended to connect what students learned about themselves in CLA Part 1 to community needs and the agencies that address those needs. | Tracy Pritchard | |
Career Leadership Academy Part 2 | Stand-alone | Career Leadership Academy Part 2: Leadership in Action (LS:3002) – is the final course in the Career Leadership Academy series. It also counts towards the Certificate in Leadership Studies, the Enterprise Leadership Major, and the Tippie College of Business’s Research, Internship, Study Abroad and Experiential Learning graduation requirement. The purpose of this course is to increase students’ understanding of how to interact and work with others as effective team members and engaged citizens. The semester-length course covers transferable skills, collaboration, conflict resolution, motivation and delegation, interviewing, understanding power, networking, and working on a team with various stakeholders. Students will also learn about professionalism and office communication, effectively using LinkedIn, marketing their skills, dining etiquette, negotiating salaries, understanding benefits, realistic expectations in the world of work, and building a career. Students have the opportunity to develop those skills and apply what they have learned in CLA. Students will accomplish this by conducting a service project with a community partner of their choosing. This project work is intended to connect what students learned about themselves in CLA Part 1 to community needs and the agencies that address those needs. | Bailey Anderson | |
Marketing Institute Field Studies | Stand-alone | Plan, design, carry out, and report on a marketing research project for a profit or nonprofit client organization; communicate with managers, apply knowledge of marketing research, meet deadlines, and convert research findings into actionable recommendations for management. | Peggy Stover | |
Nonprofit Communications | Stand-alone | This course will demonstrate, discuss, and implement best practices for creating nonprofit communications. It is an experiential course where you will work to create several foundational and targeted materials and projects for a nonprofit community partner. This course will help you understand communication strategies that result in raising money and awareness for nonprofit organizations; gain practical experience planning, writing, and designing fundraising, marketing and stewardship materials; analyze communication strategies to better understand the nonprofit field. | Jenifer Vick | |
Community and Public Health Nursing Practicum | Stand-alone | Learning opportunities to apply principles of public health with nursing knowledge and skills to address health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and nursing management of infectious disease and chronic health conditions; nursing activities focus on improvement of health outcomes at individual, family, community, and global levels within the context of population-focused practice. | Anita Nicholson | |
Community and Public Health Nursing Practicum | Stand-alone | Learning opportunities to apply principles of public health with nursing knowledge and skills to address health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and nursing management of infectious disease and chronic health conditions; nursing activities focus on improvement of health outcomes at individual, family, community, and global levels within the context of population-focused practice. | Hannah Armstrong | |
Community and Public Health Nursing Practicum | Stand-alone | Learning opportunities to apply principles of public health with nursing knowledge and skills to address health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and nursing management of infectious disease and chronic health conditions; nursing activities focus on improvement of health outcomes at individual, family, community, and global levels within the context of population-focused practice. | Olivia Croskey | |
Community and Public Health Nursing Practicum | Stand-alone | Learning opportunities to apply principles of public health with nursing knowledge and skills to address health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and nursing management of infectious disease and chronic health conditions; nursing activities focus on improvement of health outcomes at individual, family, community, and global levels within the context of population-focused practice. | Theresa Bechtel | |
Public Policy and Persuasion | Stand-alone | Students build their skill set in policy analysis, formation, and communication through a social justice lens; engagement in service-learning projects in one Iowa community where work done directly impacts that community's ability to make changes; development of effective writing and oral presentation styles that can be adapted to different audiences; focus on homelessness policy using social policy and social justice concepts to explore work of policy makers who have "right-sized" existing systems to serve communities in crisis and propose solutions to systemic problems that disadvantage marginalized populations. | Carrie Schuettpelz | |
Public Affairs Capstone I | Stand-alone | Students work on a community, state, federal, or nonprofit-based project focused on research and development of policy proposals and management action steps. | N/A | |
Public Policy and Persuasion | Stand-alone | Students build their skill set in policy analysis, formation, and communication through a social justice lens; engagement in service-learning projects in one Iowa community where work done directly impacts that community's ability to make changes; development of effective writing and oral presentation styles that can be adapted to different audiences; focus on homelessness policy using social policy and social justice concepts to explore work of policy makers who have "right-sized" existing systems to serve communities in crisis and propose solutions to systemic problems that disadvantage marginalized populations. | Carrie Schuettpelz | |
Public Policy and Persuasion | Stand-alone | Students build their skill set in policy analysis, formation, and communication through a social justice lens; engagement in service-learning projects in one Iowa community where work done directly impacts that community's ability to make changes; development of effective writing and oral presentation styles that can be adapted to different audiences; focus on homelessness policy using social policy and social justice concepts to explore work of policy makers who have "right-sized" existing systems to serve communities in crisis and propose solutions to systemic problems that disadvantage marginalized populations. | Carrie Schuettpelz | |
Sustainable Communities Lab I | Stand-alone | Experience working on a two-semester project involving a current planning issue, usually for a client. This course meets collectively weekly for 75 minutes. In addition there are weekly meetings with your individual groups. Also, each group meets regularly with their clients. | N/A | |
Public Policy and Persuasion | Stand-alone | Students build their skill set in policy analysis, formation, and communication through a social justice lens; engagement in service-learning projects in one Iowa community where work done directly impacts that community's ability to make changes; development of effective writing and oral presentation styles that can be adapted to different audiences; focus on homelessness policy using social policy and social justice concepts to explore work of policy makers who have "right-sized" existing systems to serve communities in crisis and propose solutions to systemic problems that disadvantage marginalized populations. | Carrie Schuettpelz | |
Sports and Recreation Field Experience | Stand-alone | Includes a partnership with the University of Iowa Athletic Department to help carry out the Fans First Initiative during home football and basketball games. This course will also include planning and development projects for future University of Iowa Athletic Department events. This course is a great experiential learning opportunity for students pursuing the Event Management Certificate. | Kathryn Wakenight | |
Sports and Recreation Field Experience | Stand-alone | Educational opportunities involving a small group of students in a unique sport business experience; students serve as consultants for a sport or recreation organization; in-class preparation complements off-campus work with designated industry partner; sport or recreation enterprise vary according to faculty expertise and industry partner availability. | Packy Moran | |
Recreation Leadership and Programming | Stand-alone | This course provides a foundation for recreation service delivery through the introduction of leadership theories, qualities, and technical skills as well as recreation program development. Students will be challenged to apply the theoretical foundations through participation in group work, assignments, presentations, recreation activity design and facilitation, and exams. | Gayle Dombroski | |
Therapeutic Recreation Administration | Stand-alone | Examination of the organization and administration of therapeutic recreation services; focus on planning, organizing, and managing therapeutic recreation services; comprehensive and strategic planning, funding, marketing, legal and legislative issues, personnel management, and professional practice of therapeutic recreation. | Adrienne Johnson | |
Play and Childhood | Stand-alone | Multiple levels of theories and current research on importance of play in child development; advocacy for importance and necessity of play in childhood that leads to well-being and healthy lifestyles; practical and theoretically based experiences; for students interested in working with children in health care, clinical, school, community, and family life settings. | Emily Mozena | |
Sustainable Communities Lab I | Stand-alone | Experience working on a two-semester project involving a current planning issue, usually for a client.This course meets collectively weekly for 75 minutes. In addition there are weekly meetings with your individual groups. Also, each group meets regularly with their clients. | N/A | |
Writing and Community Outreach | Stand-alone | How can language serve to empower an individual or community? What are the connections between literacy and social justice? In this course, you will put language into action to build communities, inspire young thinkers, and ultimately act as mentors and advocates for K-12 youth in Iowa City. With a team of your peers, you will create lesson plans and put them into action each week as the leader of an in-person or virtual (depending on public health circumstances) writing workshop for K-12 youth. You will write brief "field notes" from your teaching sessions that address your growth as a student mentor, and you will create a final chapbook of student work. Our class time will serve as a weekly reflection on your teaching experience through group discussions, writing exercises, and engagement with pedagogical and literary texts. We will consider what it means to be a community builder and how a student can most effectively and thoughtfully connect with youth of diverse backgrounds. Special emphasis will be placed on real-world engagement, equity and inclusion, collaborative learning and leading, sharpening social awareness, and honing practical writing/communication skills. You will have to undergo a routine background check before working with children. This course counts as an elective for the Nonprofit Management Certificate and for the Writing Certificate. Students interested in counting this course toward their experiential learning requirement for University Honors should enroll in the Honors-designated section. Students must be available for a weekly one-hour volunteer commitment outside the course meeting times. In the event of a public health risk, volunteer opportunities may be moved online at any time. Students volunteering in K-12 schools will be required to comply with district-wide public safety protocol while in school buildings. | Mallory Hellman | |
Writing and Community Outreach | Stand-alone | How do the communities we’re a part of inform the perspectives through which we approach the world, as writers, thinkers, and human beings? What are the unique contexts that give shape to our points of view, and what are the connections between social equity, community, and self-expression? How can we harness our individual voices as writers by examining the historical, structural, and cultural forces that make them our own, and how can we use them to be meaningful community advocates in the place we call home? Through writing, reading, robust discussion, and experiential community outreach, we’ll spend the semester engaging with the Iowa City community beyond campus not only as observers but as active participants. Beginning in Week 5, you will put your study into regular practice by forming volunteer teams, partnering with an area nonprofit, and helping to bring a community initiative to fruition. By working closely with local leaders in fields related to food and sustainability, literacy and the literary arts, performance, theater, and beyond, you will play an essential role in the story that drives change, promotes empowerment, and fosters enrichment in "the greatest small city for the arts." | Erin Sherry |