SIUE Educational Outreach Summer 2019

Did you know that a large number of traditional SIUE courses are available to community members through a unique, community focused program known as Educard?  The program allows community members to pay a small fee to sit in on selected SIUE lecture-based courses.  The registration process for Educard does not involve admission to the university since the courses are not offered to participants for credit.   Many of the courses also allow participants the opportunity to rent textbooks and participate in group discussions and selected activities.  While Educard is not available for courses where materials fees are charged and for certain lab courses, there are numerous personal and professional offerings to engage curious minds. What could you learn as an Educard participant?  Find out more about Educard at website.

I was completely monolingual when I started taking Italian at SIUE through the Educational Outreach office. It was always my dream to learn the language of my four grandparents who immigrated from Italy and Sicily. The professors have incorporated having fun with learning languages and I intend to keep coming back and building on the foundation given me.  Familiarity with languages takes time to grow. It's a long road and people with persistence and stamina will get furthest! Without the Educational Outreach office, I would never have been able to accomplish my dream. -Nancy M.

SIUE’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) provides avenues for baccalaureate degree seeking students to engage in scholarly research, a privilege often reserved for faculty and small numbers of graduate students in specific disciplines.  Engaging in this type of research supports students in deep, enriching and potentially transformational learning experiences. 

Led by Dr. Laura Pawlow, professor of psychology, students can engage as Associates, leading their own research project or as Assistants working on a faculty led project or creative activity.  This unique program offers opportunities for students from all disciplines to engage in opportunities to apply their knowledge to real world problems.

While students and faculty reap tremendous benefits participating in URCA, many of the projects often engage and enhance the regional community and its citizens.  This year, in addition to annual funding, the Office of Educational Outreach financially supported five faculty members by supporting URCA Assistants to work collaboratively on projects specifically designated as community engagement activities.  The office was able to fund five separate projects within the departments of theater and dance, sociology, applied health and art and design.  The URCA assistants found themselves engaged with the City of Alton, the SIUE Charter School, Metro Community Church, the Edwardsville public library and providing services for locally owned start-up company Beastman Tea.

With plans underway to fund additional projects in the upcoming academic year, Educational Outreach strives find unique pathways to support meaningful community engagement.  To learn more about the URCA program, visit the program website.

Supported by the Office of Educational Outreach, SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC) is a program that sustains one-year partnerships between the University and a community partner to advance local resilience and sustainability by utilizing SIUE’s talented students and the community partner in solving real-world problems.

The yearlong partnership with the city of Alton is drawing to a close after engaging students from seven different disciplines across a variety of initiatives selected by Mayor Brant Walker and Alton city officials.  SIUE director, Connie Frey-Spurlock spent the year learning about the city’s needs and matching those needs with students and faculty in classes where students could apply what they were learning to the city’s authentic needs providing benefits for both the city and the students.

The projects in Alton were focused on small business development, accessibility, street improvements, and the foundational work for a mobile app to promote Alton’s unique businesses and offerings. Additional opportunities to serve the community were recognized when the SSCC teamed up with SIUE’s Art and Design students to host a pop-up event where city residents could reimagine how a new bike lane could impact access, promote tourism and increase livability for the area. 

The collaborative is preparing for work with the city of Edwardsville for the 2019-2020 academic year.   Keep current with all of the news from the Successful Communities Collaborative at website.

Enriching • Empowering • Engaging • Education for all