About HECUA
ABOUT HECUA

Education for Civic Engagement

A Collaboration that Works

Programs for Students

Program Quality and Innovation

Faculty Development

Collaborative Support

Community Network

Emerging Directions

Member Institutions

Board of Directors


Application Information

Scholarship Information

To apply

Talk with your campus representative or contact
HECUA (see info and application form below)

College-Specific Information:
Who to contact and how credits can be used

Member Colleges:

Augsburg College
Augustana College
Carleton College
College of St. Benedict
College of St. Catherine
Concordia University
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamline Unversity
Macalester College
St. John's University
Saint Mary's University
St. Olaf College
University of Minnesota
University of St. Thomas
Viterbo University

HECUA
2233 University Ave. W., Suite 210
St. Paul, MN 55114-1629

Telephone:
651/646-8831
Toll-free:
800/554-1089
Fax: 651/659-9421

Inquiry Form

PDF Version of
Application Form

 

 

"HECUA is known around the country as a premier experiential education endeavor.
HECUA is offering programs that examine the toughest issues facing our society
and immersing students in the realities we are trying to understand."

"There's a story to tell here that can be of benefit to higheration institutions committed
to doing an even better job of educating their students. educ"

Teaching and Learning for Social Change

Education for Civic Engagement

HECUA is about equipping students with commitment, skills and vision for social change.

HECUA mobilizes the civic mission of higher education with experiential, urban learning programs and related activities for students and faculty.

HECUA does together what individual schools cannot do alone.

HECUA is one of the best vehicles institutions have to deliver on their commitment to civic education and the development of ethically responsible students.

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A Collaboration That Works

HECUA, a consortium of 15 Midwest colleges and universities, is an independent, non-profit organization. The board of directors is comprised of one representative from each member school. The board and committees ensure program quality, fiscal stability, and on-going focus on the needs of members.

Nearly 30 years ago faculty and administrators in Minnesota came together to decide how academia could respond to the turmoil in our cities. Their vision gave birth to HECUA. Today HECUA still meets the vital challenge of preparing students to understand the forces shaping our society and to succeed in a changing world.

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Programs for Students
Theory connects with experience

HECUA is not a traditional off-campus study experience. Programs are recognized nationally as representing the best in international and domestic study. HECUA's off-campus study programs provide interdisciplinary, experiential study in a full-time, integrated format led by master teachers. This is a formula for extraordinary intellectual and personal growth that cannot be achieved in the same way on campus.

HECUA invites students into a process that involves:

  • confrontation of critical social issues of the urban condition
  • firsthand experience with the realities of communities
  • rigorous, interdisciplinary inquiry
  • integrated, critical analysis
  • negotiating many kinds of cultural boundaries
  • community-building

Programs emphasize intellectual, civic and cultural competencies. Students develop critical self-awareness and are empowered toward greater academic and civic engagement. All programs include internships or structured field projects as a way to connect theoretical studies with current realities. Scholarships are available.

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Program Quality and Innovation
A HECUA hallmark

HECUA provides:

  • rigorous program evaluation by faculty from member institutions
  • leadership in collaborative new program development as members identify needs and opportunities
  • options for students and faculty who have returned from HECUA programs and are seeking continued exploration of program themes

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Faculty development
Energy and expertise for engaged teaching

Faculty and staff of institutions affiliated with HECUA link with program sites, directors and each other through a variety of professional development activities.

Consortium-wide faculty development

  • Fellows visits to programs, with grant support from HECUA
  • Special workshops and roundtables
  • Forums on current domestic and international issues
  • Grants for joint conference presentations
  • Local and international connections that facilitate research and exchange of scholarship, teaching strategies and other learning resources

Custom-designed workshops

HECUA works with individual campuses to design workshops for faculty and staff that draw on HECUA's areas of expertise. Examples include:

  • Principles, problems and practice of 'service-learning' in the curriculum
  • Experiential education as a liberating art: Teaching with the global search for justice and the community in mind
  • Developing and integrating an experiential component in a new Latin American studies major

Areas of expertise

  • Curriculum design
  • Pedagogy for engaged, integrative learning
  • Experiential learning models
  • Reciprocal community connections
  • Critical thinking tools
  • Methods for connecting theory and practice

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Collaborative support
Connecting talent and resources to mobilize a common agenda

HECUA works with its members in a variety of other ways:

  • Exploration and development of new off-campus study programs
  • Opportunities for faculty to lead and/or participate in off-campus programs
  • Centralized, strategic promotion and recruitment to ensure enrollments
  • Campus visits for exchange of ideas, planning, student recruitment and faculty outreach
  • Promotional, informational and campus-specific materials for use in advising
  • HECUA Links newsletter, program reports and web site to stay abreast of program developments and other consortium activity
  • Student liaisons (HECUA program alumni) to assist with outreach on campus
  • Consultation on curriculum design, program management, collaborative efforts, strategic planning and other areas of expertise

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Community Network
Beyond the walls of the classroom

Central to HECUA's approach is partnering with exceptional community resource persons who engage students and faculty in learning about current social realities and strategies for change.
These partners in the teaching-learning enterprise supervise students in internships, engage students in community projects, provide direction for group and independent study projects, and serve as resource persons in student and faculty seminars.
HECUA has a strong reputation for its commitment to mutually beneficial relationships with community partners. This has created a remarkable breadth and depth of connection with policymakers, community activists, academics and agents of social change who are part of our work.

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Emerging Directions
Vision for the future

HECUA is creating a vision for the future that imagines an even greater contribution to the learning and development of our students, our members and the community.

The vision is based on a solid and successful foundation of programs, clarity of mission and soundness of pedagogy. We are attentive to the experiences of students, faculty and practitioners and recognize the need for quality and intentionality in preparing future citizen leaders.

Building upon HECUA's current strengths, we imagine the HECUA of the future to be far more visible, perhaps most evident in the notion of an "institute" that carries out the HECUA mission in more and broader ways. An institute would connect the academy and the community in new, creative, integrated ways, including conferences, roundtables, leadership circles, research, consulting, outreach and new realms of collaboration. Activity would extend to both domestic and international sites and would involve faculty, students and practitioners.

The vision is for HECUA's impact to extend much more deliberately to enrich higher education and the community, and to support continued development of individuals and institutions shaping our collective future.

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Member Institutions

Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota *
Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota *
Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota *
College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota *
Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota
Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota *
Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota *
Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota *
St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota *
St. Mary's University, Winona, Minnesota
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota *
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota *
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota *
Viterbo University, LaCrosse, Wisconsin
* Founding members

Non-member institutions regularly participate in HECUA programs.

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HECUA Board of Directors (2000-2001)

Garry Hesser, Sociology Dept., Augsburg College
612/330-1664 [email protected]

Reynold Nesiba, Economics Dept., Augustana College
605/274-5310, [email protected]

Margit Johnson, Off-Campus Studies, Carleton College
507/646-4031, [email protected]

Stephen Burmeister-May, International Education, College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
320/363-2082, [email protected]

Mary Wagner, Information Management Dept., College of St. Catherine
651/690-6843, [email protected]

Thomas Saylor, History Dept., Concordia University-St. Paul
651/641-8253, [email protected]

Lisa Heldke, Philosophy Dept., Gustavus Adolphus College
507/933-7029, [email protected]

Karen Vogel, Political Science Dept., Hamline University
651/523-2973, [email protected]

James Stewart, History Dept., Macalester College
651/696-6496, [email protected]

Matt Vetter, Sociology Dept., St. Mary's University
507/457-1511, [email protected]

Frank Odd, Modern Languages Dept., St. Olaf College
507/646-3466, [email protected]

Carl Brandt, Office for Special Learning Opportunities, University of Minnesota
612/624-7577, [email protected]

Al Balkcum, Global Campus, University of Minnesota
612/625-5593, [email protected]

Cris Toffolo, Political Science Dept., University of St. Thomas
651/962-5724, [email protected]

Beth Moore, Office of Global Education, Viterbo University
608/796-3172, [email protected]