University of Colorado – Boulder
INTEGRATING CURRICULUM AND CO-CURRICULUM
Changemaker Campus 2009-2011
Social Entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder began with an innovative faculty research project in 2004 that brought together faculty from a number of disciplines to study social entrepreneurship and sustainable community development in the developing-world, focusing on Nepal and Kenya.
Social entrepreneurship education at CU is focused on the “Bottom of the Pyramid.” The university has created two certificate programs with tracks in social entrepreneurship, one in Arts and Sciences and one at the Leeds School of Business. This remarkable social entrepreneurship programming, however, will require creative solutions from its own institutional champions in order to be sustainable; this work is taking place in the context of a 50 percent overall cut to the public university’s budget.
The Social Entrepreneurship for Equitable Development (SEED) Program and the Student Center for Social Innovation are built on interdisciplinary engagement, fostered through the multi-generational collaborations of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty, with a focus on international issues and sustainability. SEED faculty themselves, are social entrepreneurs changing lives around the globe, and both faculty and students are involved in local and national social entrepreneurship projects.
Spotlight on Residential Academic Program
The CU-Boulder Changemaker Campus team has developed two Residential Academic Programs, which are located in a themed residence hall for incoming first-year students. RAP students participate in the program all four years and take classes in the field of social entrepreneurship and sustainability. The SEEDS RAP is on social entrepreneurship, equitable development, and sustainability, and the second RAP is titled ‘Sustainability by Design.’ ”The exciting thing about the RAP is that it connects the core curriculum and the co-curriculum to give students an integrated learning experience in social entrepreneurship and sustainability,” says Susan Clarke, Professor of Politics and change leader for CU’s Changemaker Campus team. RAPs consist of academic courses within the core focus area, as well as a team project course. CU financially supports RAP curriculum development and program activities and first-year students shoulder their share of the burden by paying extra fees to be part of the RAPs.
