Bonner Scholars and TCNJ Students continuely provide service to the local community in a variety of projects, just picking apples for a local soup kitchen.
Beyond their First Year CEL experience, students are encouraged to find additional learning opportunities that also have a positive impact on the community. Currently, CEL II primarily refers to all other non FSP classes that allow students to apply their additional knowledge and enhanced skills to address a community need–as well as develop their own civic skills.
CEL II classes call for students to complete at least 17 hours of community engaged learning work during the course of a given semester. The ideal class-based project or experience is one that substantially builds the capacity of the community partner organization (which includes public institutions like schools)–and thereby offers the student a more advanced applied learning opportunity.
There is also a co-curricular track for CEL II. Students who participate in sustained and meaningful co-curricular experiences could satisfy the CEL criteria. The President of a student organization, or member of a four-year student development program, could work with the Bonner Center to document their participation hours. They would also submit a paper clarifying how they connected their academic lives to a community need–as well as deepened their understanding of their role as a democratic citizen.
More information on CEL II can be found via the Project Summary Links and on the Faculty Resource pages.
