Community Engagement (CE) 

1. Courses in this category have, as a central focus, the study of social and community needs, the fulfillment of these needs, and the tools through which to meet them.
2. Courses in this category deliver information about the community with which the student will interact and/or prepare students to interact with the community (this can be done by the group or agency, not necessarily the instructor).
3. Courses in this category require students to complete a minimum of 10 hours of direct engagement in a community, in addition to a minimum of 15 hours of planning, work toward the engagement project, and support of the engagement project.
4. Courses in this category contain a sustained reflection on the role the student has played, how his or her actions have impacted the community, and what the experience taught the student.
5. Courses in this category include an assessment assignment that requires students to demonstrate each of the skills in the Community Engagement Assessment Rubric (below). This assessment assignment should be one of the following: an objective exam, an essay question on an exam, an essay, or a research paper.

1. Students will provide evidence of direct engagement with the community.
2. Students will demonstrate an ability to collaboratively work across and within community contexts and structures to achieve a civic aim.
3. Students will identify the impact of their engagement on the community.
4. Students will identify the impact of their engagement on their lives, attitudes, and behaviors.

Students may apply to fulfill the CE requirement through a co-curricular activity. These criteria apply to experiences that meet the CE curricular requirement and describe the characteristics of the experience, the steps a student must follow to petition the experience for approval, and the number and types of assignments students must submit to satisfy the requirement.


1. Students must be involved in 15 hours of engagement work, including planning, work toward the engagement project, support of the engagement project, and direct engagement with the community, with a minimum of 10 hours of direct engagement with the community. Students wishing to use the same activity for both Community Engagement and Civics and Individual Ethics must complete a total of 30 hours of engagement work.

2.The engagement with the community must be such that it provides a tangible benefit to the community in question.

3. Students must submit a reflection of at least 1000 words that respond to the following prompt:

Please describe in detail the activity you used to complete the Community Engagement requirement. In your reflection, answer the following questions. How did you, through this activity, work collaboratively to meet a community need? What impact did your service have on the community you served? What impact did your service have upon you personally, and what have you come to understand, through your service, about yourself and those you served?

4. Students seeing to petition an experience after matriculation at SMU must submit a pre-approval petition for the experience. The first written reflection must be submitted along with the petition.

5. Student who matriculate at SMU as first year students must begin and complete all community engagement experiences after matriculation at SMU.

6. Students who matriculate at SMU as transfer students may petition. Community Engagement experiences completed after high school graduation but prior to matriculation at SMU. 

1. Civic life: The public life of the citizen beyond the sphere of the family and the immediate social circle. Civic life emphasizes the affairs of the community and nation. 
2. Community: A group of individuals with common characteristics or a common background in areas such as culture, religion, ethnicity, and/or socioeconomic status. A community may also consist of individuals with diverse backgrounds, but who live in the same geographical area. For the purposes of this requirement, a community is a group outside the student’s normal social or occupational circle.
3. Direct engagement: Engagement that involves personal contact with, at a minimum, several members of the selected community rather than just a single member. It also involves taking an active role in facilitating dialogue, gathering information, providing evidence-based guidance, and/or undertaking hands-on work on projects, rather than passively receiving information from community members.
4. Socially beneficial: Involving a positive outcome that applies to the community served rather than (or in addition) to the individual providing the service. When involved in community engagement, students must consider how their individual actions may advance or deter the ethical, political, or social interests of the communities they serve.

Students may use pre-matriculation transfer coursework, concurrent enrollment, dual-credit, and test credit (AP or IB) to satisfy Graduation requirements. The coursework must be college-level, credit-bearing work, taken and passed for a letter grade. Students must receive SMU transfer credit for the course.

Courses that transfer in with an SMU equivalent number (for example FREN 2401) will automatically satisfy any Proficiency & Experience requirements fulfilled by the course. The same is true for many courses on the listed on the SMU Transfer Equivalency Guide. 

Courses that transfer in with generic course numbers (for example, ENGL 10XX) will not automatically satisfy Proficiency & Experience requirements and must be petitioned using the Proficiency & Experience (PE) Fulfillment Verification petition.

 

Students must submit one petition for each graduation requirement, even if they are using a single course to petition multiple requirements. Students may use a single course to satisfy up to three Proficiency & Experience requirements (assuming the course meets the criteria for all three).  

 

How to petition generic transfer coursework:

1. Fill out the Petition for Alternative Fulfillment, selecting the requirement they are hoping to fulfill and checking the second option that says “I am a current or transfer student, and I am requesting fulfillment through a dual-credit or transfer course.”
2. Attach a complete syllabus which includes a daily schedule, grade breakdown, assignments, and assigned readings.
3. Attach a copy of the Transfer Evaluation Report (TER), showing that the course being petitioned has transferred to SMU for credit. Visit my.SMU > Academics > Request Transfer Evaluation
4. Attach a brief supporting statement, using the provided template, that explains how the course fulfills the Proficiency & Experience being petitioned.

Petitions are electronic and are usually reviewed within two weeks of receipt. Students should not assume that a petition has been completely processed until they receive a formal notification of approval or denial from the Office of General Education via The Common Curriculum email (theccmail@smu.edu). The formal notification, in cases of approval, follows the formal update to the students Degree Progress Report (DPR), noting that the petitioned requirement is satisfied.

Use the course search options below to find Community Engagement-tagged courses at SMU. Following successful completion of the course, your Degree Progress Report (DPR) will be updated to reflect satisfying this graduation requirement. Learn how to find tagged courses below via one of two means. 

Search courses on the Common Curriculum website:

1. Go to Course Search on the SMU Common Curriculum website
2. Click Filter by Graduation Requirements and select Community Engagement

Search courses in my.SMU:

1. Go to my.smu.edu and select “Students”
2. Login using your username and password
3. Once logged into your Student Dashboard, select Class Information on the left-hand side bar
4. Under Class Information, select Advanced Class Search
5. In the Search Criteria boxes:
   1. select the term you want to take the class
   2. in Course Attribute, select Common Curriculum P & E
   3. in Course Attribute Value, select Community Engagement
6. Select Search and the available courses will be displayed

Students may propose their own, individualized plan to complete the Community Engagement Proficiency and Experience. 

Before the Individual Activity:

1. Write up a narrative summarizing the plan to fulfill all Community Engagement Experience Criteria requirements. 
2. Submit a Common Curriculum Proficiency and Experience Pre-Approval Petition with your plan.
3. Once approved, begin the individual activity.

Complete the Individual Activity: 

During the individual activity:

1. Students must be involved in 15 hours of engagement work, including planning, work toward the engagement project, support of the engagement project, and direct engagement with the community, with a minimum of 10 hours of direct engagement with the community. Students wishing to use the same activity for both Community Engagement and Civics and Individual Ethics must complete a total of 30 hours of engagement work.
2. Ensure the engagement with the community must be such that it provides a tangible benefit to the community in question.

After the Individual Activity:

1. Author a reflection of at least 1000 words that respond to the following prompt: Please describe in detail the activity you used to complete the Community Engagement requirement. In your reflection, answer the following questions. How did you, through this activity, work collaboratively to meet a community need? What impact did your service have on the community you served? What impact did your service have upon you personally, and what have you come to understand, through your service, about yourself and those you served?
2. Request third-party verification of hours in the form of a letter, engagement portal screenshot, etc. 
3. Submit the Common Curriculum Proficiency and Experience Fulfillment Verification petition with the above.

 

Sometimes students complete, or desire to take, an SMU course which was not tagged with the desired Proficiency & Experience, but after reviewing the Student Learning Outcomes, Supporting Skills, Course Content Criteria (outlined above), they believe they may have satisfied the requirement. Use this process below to petition credit for the graduation requirement. 

Current SMU students who wish to take an SMU course that they believe has activities that satisfy this Proficiency & Experience, must submit, prior to beginning the course:

1. The Proficiency & Experience (PE) Pre-Approval petition and request individual activity-based fulfillment.
2. Attach a complete syllabus which includes a daily schedule, grade breakdown, assignments, and assigned readings.
3. A detailed supporting statement, using the provided template, of how the activities in the course meet the requirements for Community Engagement.

Upon completion of the course and a posting of the student's grade, students must submit:

1. Fill out the Proficiency & Experience (PE) Fulfillment Verification petition.
2. A copy of the student's Degree Progress Report (DPR) with the letter grade of the course. 
3. Attach a complete syllabus which includes a daily schedule, grade breakdown, assignments, and assigned readings.
4. A final supporting statement, using the provided template, which explores the service opportunity, the student’s participation in it, and the ways in which the experience has impacted the student in the identified areas.

There are a number of pre-approved clubs or organizations which can fulfill the Community Engagement Proficiency and Experience. Review them below and get in touch with their organizers to begin. 

Engage Dallas

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. Engage Dallas accepts new members anytime. Follow the get started instructions on their website.

Mustang Heroes

Mustang Heroes was founded in 2010 by a group of incoming first-years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. They dreamed of inspiring fellow students in service in hopes of making both SMU and Dallas a better place to grow, live and learn. By May 2012, Mustang Heroes organized and served with three different long-term community partners: Head Start, KIPP Charter School and the Family Getaway Shelter. Mustang Heros accepts new members in the beginning of fall semester. Visit the apply page on their website.

Peer Academic Leaders

Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) are a diverse group of undergraduate students with common goal to help students better understand the University/Common Curriculum, utilize academic resources, and navigate academic challenges. Under the direction of the UAC, PALs work directly with students in their Residential Commons, empowering them to take ownership of their collegiate careers through mentorship and educational programming. Traditionally, PALs recruits new members in the spring semester before beginning the academic year-long service in fall. Get in touch with their advisors.