Core Programs
Community-Engaged Learning (CEL)
CEL (#290) is a community-based educational opportunity aimed to enhance learning through employing pedagogical strategies of structured critical reflection, dialogic engagement, integration of academic learning goals, and connection to clearly articulated community-desired outcomes and impact. In the CEL experience, students learn more about social issues, work alongside community partners, combine their off-campus learning with guided reflection under the mentorship of a faculty sponsor, and participate in critical community-engaged learning on-campus workshops. Students are eligible to receive either 0.5 unit (40 hours of community-based work and 30 hours of academic work) or 1.0 unit of academic credit (80 hours of community-based work and 60 hours of academic work) in the department of their faculty sponsor.
Community Engaged Curriculum (CEC)
The OCEL supports faculty and students in the development of courses and intensives that cultivate equitable collaborations between the campus and our local communities of Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley. The Community-Engaged Intensives in the Humanities (CEIH) grant, funded by the Mellon Foundation, funds courses aimed to support community-identified projects and partnership building. CEC courses are innovative, collaborative learning opportunities that complement more traditional courses by extending beyond the classroom to address specific community needs and opportunities, bolster faculty teaching and community-based research methodologies, and enhance student learning.
Community Fellows Program
A unique program that aims to build asset-based partnerships with community-based organizations in Poughkeepsie and the greater Poughkeepsie area to support community-identified projects and provide students with meaningful learning opportunities. Students apply to organizations and projects that align with their social justice passions to enhance their academic learning goals. Our partner organizations serve as co-educators and co-mentors of our Vassar students. The OCEL funds the Vassar students in an effort to best support community-based organizations in the Poughkeepsie area. This is a highly competitive program for students and presents an exciting educational opportunity for them to gain more in-depth experience with a community partner and learn from them.
Community-Based Research
The OCEL will support faculty interested in Community-Based Research (CBR)/Participatory Action Research (PAR). CBR/PAR seeks to ethically engage with communities, co-create research questions and design, and involve all parties as co-contributors in the research process. Community partners are considered equal partners with critical knowledge on how to address core social issues in our communities. CBR/PAR challenges traditional forms of knowledge production, aims to uplift voices in the community, and promote social change.
Vassar VOTES
Vassar VOTES is a non-partisan initiative to empower students to exercise their right to vote. The Vassar Votes team provides information and educational resources to students to empower them to exercise their suffrage. Students have the opportunity to volunteer as peer-to-peer dorm voting advisors within their residential house. Interested in volunteering as a student dorm voting advisor? Email VassarVotes@vassar.edu. Follow @VassarVotes on social media for voting resources.
Community-Service Work-Study (CSWS) Program
The CSWS program is a federal program that allows students with a federal work-study allowance in their financial aid award to work at a local not-for-profit or public sector organization to provide services to help benefit the local community. The OCEL Community-Service Work-Study Program supports students who have a passion for community engagement and social justice and qualify for federal work-study. Each year, the OCEL and our partner organizations select 10 Vassar students to participate in a unique, year-long leadership program. The Community-Service Work Study Program allows students an opportunity to support community identified projects of the OCEL’s partner organizations.