Grand Valley State University students will have the opportunity to participate in community-based learning through a pilot program funded by the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Ruth Stegeman, director of Community Engagement at GVSU, worked on this engaged department initiative. Stegeman said that this grant will allow students in certain departments the advantage of participating in hands-on courses and putting skills into practice in the surrounding Grand Rapids community.

“The advantage for students here is the additional opportunities they will have for experiential learning,” Stegeman said. “The more opportunities to work on real world problems, the better their education can be.”

Students will be able to work with successful businesses and nonprofits, an opportunity, Stegeman said, that will set the bar high.

“(Students) have the responsibility to deliver something that would be useful to an organization,” Stegeman said. “You can’t say, ‘It’s OK if I get a B grade,’ you have to ask, ‘What will I be able to deliver that will be a benefit to the organization I am working for?'”

The date for department proposal submission is currently being determined; however, submissions will be reviewed in March, allowing the grant to be fully utilized. Stegeman said that, at this time, the grant will be used to fund three departments with up to $5,000.

Stegeman said the goal of this grant is to help departments expand the community-based learning that they are already integrating into the material presented to students. While all departments are welcome to apply, she said they are especially interested in departments who have a well-established way of implementing community-based teaching into their courses.

Stegeman said that the GRCF fund efforts are consistent with their mission.

Marcia Rapp, vice president of programs at GRCF, said she additionally sees the benefits of colleges helping bring about change and innovation to the surrounding neighborhood.

Other colleges presented with this grant opportunity are Aquinas College and Grand Rapids Community College.

“We really believe in community engagement, and this was posed as a true partnership for several organizations and colleges,” Rapp said. “Colleges don’t typically come together in a neighborhood to do this kind of work.”

Cris Kutzli, Challenge Scholars co-director of Program and Evaluation at GRCF, said this type of program is unique to the Midwest. The model for it is based on a program initiated on the East coast. Kutzli added that the foundation hopes this program will keep students in the area after they graduate.

Rapp said the community-based courses encourage students to be civically engaged.

“Having experience where you really deeply impact a neighborhood can launch people into service and develop a personality where they might want to volunteer and help in the future,” Rapp said.

Stegeman said the university is still figuring out how to best communicate to students what courses will be available. She encourages students that are interested in these community-based learning opportunities to speak to their departments and petition the GVSU Student Senate to make these upcoming course options clear in the student catalog.