Community-Engaged Learning and Local Engagement has become an integral part of the Juniata College mission, general education curriculum, and student experience. Juniata prides itself on evolving with the higher education community in accordance with best practices, which is why we have modeled our program after the framework created by Stanford's Haas Center for Public Service.

Classes that follow a service-learning model or meet the criteria of the Community-Engaged Learning Designation Approval Guide may receive a CEL designation. In general, CEL courses should reflect how community engagement is tied to class content in its learning objectives, be designed to prepare students for and engage in a reciprocal relationship with a community partner, and utilize reflection as a measure of student learning with clear expectations for evaluation and grading defined in the syllabus. More resources for teaching CEL classes are available on our LibGuide.

While Local Engagement is a type of Community Engaged Learning, not all CEL courses fulfill the Local Engagement requirement that falls under the Self and World category of the general education.  To fulfill the Local Engagement requirement, students must complete a semester-long experience that connects them directly with interaction, collaboration, and/or direct service in a local community. This can be achieved either through taking a course with the LE designation or through using a co-curricular engagement experience in combination with the GE 101 - Local Engagement Seminar course. Co-curricular experiences must be approved in advance and will be submitted using Handshake under the "Experiences" tab in the Juniata College Online Career Center. Learn more about Local Engagement in the LE Fact Sheet.

Students may ask advisors to help them select a Local Engagement opportunity that suits their needs. Students should choose a Local Engagement opportunity that aligns with their talents, interests, and values. A project, internship, job, or leadership position reflecting at least one the six Stanford pathways may meet the LE requirement. Local Engagement opportunities are place-based, but any location is applicable; opportunities may be on campus, in Huntingdon, in a student’s home town, or elsewhere. The Stanford Diagnostic Survey may give insight into the most impactful opportunities for a student.

Diagnostic Survey results will present themselves graphically, where a student’s prior experience with the six Stanford pathways is mapped, along with their personal interest in their pathways, ability to utilize the pathways, and perceived impact of the pathways. The six pathways are as follows:

Activism: Community Organizing and Activism
Social E: Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility
Policy: Policy and Governance
Philanthropy
Direct: Direct Service
Learning: Community Engaged Learning and Research