A Campus Committed to the Community
ETSU is committed to providing students with hands-on learning opportunities to make a real-world impact.
Earlier this week, East Tennessee State University achieved a significant milestone. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) voted to reaffirm our university’s accreditation with no findings or recommendations. This action signifies that one of the most stringent accrediting bodies in the nation not only gave ETSU its continued endorsement but did so without listing a single concern or recommendation for improvement. In short, it was a glowing review.
ETSU must undergo the reaffirmation process every ten years to ensure that it continues to deliver high-quality educational programs, operate efficiently, and progress toward its public mission. As part of the process, the university was required to develop a plan to enhance educational quality for the next decade. Given our institutional mission to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond, coupled with our commitment to preparing students for lifelong success, ETSU’s faculty and staff decided to focus our plan on expanding opportunities for students to gain real-world, hands-on experience while making an impact in the community. Dubbed “Go Beyond the Classroom,” the plan will intensify ETSU’s focus on community-engaged learning.
“Go Beyond the Classroom” is not a single, isolated initiative, nor was it developed within the bubble of academia. For nearly two years, ETSU faculty, students, and staff have worked hand-in-hand with community partners, including employers, non-profit leaders, and public officials, to design a comprehensive and innovative approach to educating our students. Through this work, they have developed a framework to better link coursework to real-world problems and situations, allowing students to gain meaningful, practical experience that will prepare them for careers and develop a sense of purpose and connection to the community.
This philosophy will be integrated into classes as well as co-curricular opportunities, such as alternative breaks, internships, and service projects, to allow students to make a real-world impact.
A great example of this work in action can be found in the ETSU Elevates initiative. Through ETSU Elevates, our students identify a problem facing our communities. Then, they build a relationship with a community partner and work together to develop a potential solution. From there, they have the opportunity to work with coaches to refine their ideas and craft pitches for funding. Through the most recent ETSU Elevates competition, the university invested $25,000 to fund projects to address critical community needs, such as supporting veterans, increasing access to health care, helping young people develop life skills, and caring for domestic violence victims.
Our students are passionate, engaged, and eager to make a difference in the world. They are looking for mentors and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience. I encourage business owners and non-profit leaders who are interested in working more closely with students and faculty to reach out to ETSU’s Office of Community Engagement at etsu.edu/community-engagement.
I am incredibly proud of ETSU’s focus on connecting campus and the community through hands-on learning, as I believe it represents the heart of our university. This is a place where new ideas are born and robust debate and discussion occur — but where we do not rest on theory or content ourselves with mere talk. At ETSU, our students, faculty, and staff roll up their sleeves, get out into our communities, and put those ideas to work. Bucs work hard, give back, and put people first. Bucs go beyond.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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