Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE)
- ECCE Advising Guide – See Below
- ECCE Course Offerings
Information for Undergraduate Students – ECCE Advising Guide
All undergraduate students are required to take a minimum of 10 hours in the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE), a set of courses tied to UIS’ heritage, mission, vision, and values. These courses provide a distinctive element to the baccalaureate education at UIS, and encourage a commitment to making a difference in the world. Most of the coursework in this category is interdisciplinary and is designed to help students recognize the value of multiple perspectives. ECCE categories help students meet a number of learning outcomes.
Upon completion of the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience at UIS, students should be able to:
- Recognize the social responsibility of the individual within a larger community.
- Practice awareness of and respect for the diversity of cultures and peoples in this country and in the world.
- Reflect on the ways involvement, leadership, and respect for community occur at the local, regional, national, or international levels.
- Identify how economic, political, and social systems operate now and have operated in the past.
- Engage in open-minded and ethical decision-making and action.
- Distinguish the possibilities and limitations of social change.
The Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) consists of 200-, 300-, and 400-level courses. Students must complete a minimum of 9 hours in two of the following three categories.
U.S. Communities (1 course, 3 hours)
Courses in this category aim to broaden students’ knowledge about substantial, distinctive, and complex aspects of the history, society, politics, and culture of United States communities.
Global Awareness (1 course, 3 hours)
Courses in this category help students to understand and function in an increasingly interdependent and globalizing environment and to develop an appreciation of other cultural perspectives. They foster awareness of other cultures, polities, or natural environments, past or present.
Engagement Experience (3 hours)
This category offers students structured opportunities to integrate knowledge, practice, and reflection in the context of an engaged citizenship experience. Students may fulfill this part of the ECCE curriculum through an Applied Studies Term, Credit for Prior Learning, a service-learning course, a research project, a group project course, or study abroad, among others.
Students who desire or are required to complete a 6-hour Applied Study Term may do so through the Engagement Experience.
ECCE Speaker Series (1-2 hours)
For one semester, students will be required to participate in a series of campus-sponsored lectures by speakers who will exemplify engaged citizenship. Students must take one hour of Speakers Series, but may take an additional hour in a different semester if desired.
To complete ECCE requirements students must take at least 1 hour of Speaker Series and must complete 9 hours in at least 2 of the following 3 categories: U.S. Communities, Global Awareness, and Engagement Experience.
Some degree programs may require students to take particular ECCE courses. Students should consult with advisors in the major for further guidance.
Courses taken to meet the 10 hours of ECCE requirements cannot be used to meet lower-division general education coursework, but they may count toward requirements or prerequisites in the major and minor.