脱裤吧

Experiential learning is a hands-on approach to education where you actively apply what you’re learning in the classroom to real-world situations. In the context of community engagement, service learning, and academic internships, this means working directly with organizations, communities, or businesses to address real needs while deepening your academic knowledge, professional preparation, and personal growth.

• Community Engagement involves collaborating with local groups or organizations to support community-identified goals.
  
  
• Service Learning combines academic coursework with community service, where your experience in the field is tied directly to classroom learning through reflection and analysis.
  
  
• Academic Internships offer structured, often credit-bearing opportunities to gain professional experience in your field of study.
  
  

• Deepen Your Learning – 脱裤吧ing theories to real-world settings helps solidify and contextualize what you’re studying.
  
  
• Develop Skills – Communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and cultural competence are all strengthened through real-world practice.
  
  
• Make a Difference – Your work has the potential to positively impact communities and address real social, economic, or environmental issues.
  
  
• Build Your Resume – These experiences set you apart when applying for jobs or graduate programs by showing initiative and practical experience.
  
  
• Clarify Your Path – Exposure to different settings and roles can help you figure out what kind of work motivates you—and what doesn’t.
  

What’s Important:

• Reflection – Taking time to think about your experiences helps connect action to learning. Reflective journals, class discussions, and presentations are common tools.
  
  
• Intentionality – Choose experiences that align with your academic and personal goals. Be clear about what you want to learn and contribute.
  
  
• Respect and Responsibility – When working in communities or organizations, you represent 脱裤吧 Bay and yourself. Listen, be reliable, and engage ethically.
  
  
• Integration – The goal is to blend learning and doing. Ask how your academic content applies to your work—and how your work reshapes your understanding of the subject.
  
  

Experiential learning is more than a requirement—it’s an opportunity to grow as a student, a professional, and a member of your community.

Community Engagement Courses

• What they are: These courses involve working with local communities or organizations as part of your learning.
  
  
• The focus: Giving back while learning. You’ll apply course concepts to real-world community needs—through events, projects, outreach, or other activities.
  
  
• Example: Helping organize a health fair while learning about public health issues in class.
  
  

Service Learning Courses

• What they are: A type of community engagement course that includes structured reflection—you think critically about what you're doing, why it matters, and how it connects to your course.
  
  
• The focus: Learning through service. These courses tie your service experience directly to academic goals.
  
  
• Example: Volunteering at a literacy program while reflecting on theories of education and equity in class discussions or papers.
  
  

Internship Courses

• What they are: These are supervised, hands-on work experiences related to your major or career interests, often required for credit.
  
  
• The focus: Professional experience and career development. You’ll gain skills, build your resume, and connect classroom learning to the workplace.
  
  
• Example: Interning at a marketing firm while taking a course that helps you analyze your experience through a business lens.
  

In Short:

Community Engagement is an important part of the mission of the 脱裤吧 system. Rooted in our communities, each CSU campus collaborates regionally to contribute to community growth and enhance student learning.

The core values of 脱裤吧 Bay, identified in our Strategic Plan demonstrate this commitment. 脱裤吧 Bay's mission statement acknowledges the value of experiential learning  and community engagement. 

There are a variety of courses at the university which connect students with applied, real-world learning experiences. In addition to terms such as community engagement, service learning, and internship, these courses may use such descriptive words as: applied, capstone, clinical, fieldwork, practicum, student teaching. In general, this means that students are engaged in experiential learning activities as part of course learning. Many of these courses fall under the umbrella of "CESLI" courses (community engagement, service learning, internships).

The expectations and requirements for these courses and assignments differ depending on the type of course and the department, including:

• the learning outcomes or purpose of the assignment;
• hours requirements;
• how students find an external organization;
• professional requirements/preparation;
• the process for “placing” with the organization or confirming the community-based learning experience;
• how much of the course grade is based on the community-based assignment.

Students should always check with their instructor to ensure they know course expectations and requirements.

Are you in a CESLI course? 

The CCE is here to help make your academic internship or community-based learning experience smooth, meaningful, and aligned with university requirements. Here’s how we support you and the people you work with:

• Reviewing Opportunities: We review and approve community engagement, service learning, and internship opportunities that come from students, faculty, and outside organizations.
  
  
• Helping You Navigate the Process: Whether you're a student, faculty member, or community partner, we help guide you through the steps and policies around experiential learning.
  
  
• Setting Up Partnerships: We gather the info we need from off-campus organizations to make your placement official and safe.
  
  
• Supporting Faculty: We help faculty understand the requirements and best practices for supervising internships and service-learning courses.
  
  
• Advising Students: We help you understand what’s required for your internship or service experience—including how to fill out the right forms and meet deadlines.
  
  
• Managing the Placement Platform: We manage CalStateS4, the online system where you find approved opportunities, submit forms, and track your placement progress.
  
  
• Sharing Information: We provide step-by-step guides, resources, and updates so everyone involved is on the same page.
  
  
• Tracking Progress: We collect and review data to improve programs and make sure everything is running smoothly.
  
  
• Handling Unique Situations: If something unexpected comes up or you need accommodations, we’re here to help.

CalStateS4 (or "S4") is a web platform that supports the “logistics” of CESLI courses – how students find an internship or service learning opportunity and register the placement for their course. 

Placement Process Overview:

1. Find a placement site or opportunity

• 🔍 Search CalStateS4 Sites:
• 🔍 Search CalStateS4 Opportunities:

2. Students may request approval of sites/opportunities not listed in S4

• ➕ Submit a to the Center for Community Engagement
• Students will be contacted by the CCE if the site has been approved

• Confirm the placement, opportunity details, and schedule
• If seeking enrollment in a 398, 498, or 698 internship course obtain an offer letter on company letterhead: start/end dates, employer contact information, job description, paid/unpaid, # of hours/week, etc. If the offer letter was sent via email, it must be tuned into a PDF for upload in CalStateS4.

 4. Register the placement

🖥️ Log in to CalStateS4  
Log in with your Net ID, find your course, and select “Place” to find your site or opportunity.
📝 Complete the Placement Form
Submit all required information through the CalStateS4 platform.

📎 398/498/698 Students
Upload an offer letter with your placement form if seeking enrollment in a 398, 498, or 698 course. The CalStateS4 system will notify your department for approval.
👉 Your academic department manages course registration and access.

🌍 International Students
Make sure you have your CPT (Curricular Practical Training) in place before beginning your placement. Email cie@csueastbay.edu for more information.

 5. Begin your learning experience!

• Set yourself up for success - See our

 4. Submit Hours in S4

• Faculty use S4 to track student hours and activities. 

To access S4, visit  and log in with Net ID.

To begin this process, it is strongly recommended that students read the S4 guides first. 

Students seeking to work with an organization that is not listed in CalStateS4 must complete a Student Site Request. 

Questions? calstates4@csueastbay.edu

PDF (Tips for Collaborating Positively and Effectively)

PDF (Ethical Considerations)

 (Risk Management Guidelines)

(PDF) Tips for Staying Safe

(PDF) Student Rights and Responsibilities

The 脱裤吧 Office of the Chancellor defines Off-Campus Learning as activities that are related to the academic program of the university and take place outside of the campus setting. [For more information, log in with Net ID to the .] Experiential learning courses (community engagement, service learning, internships) integrate academic learning with off-campus learning experiences at partnering organizations or businesses. For tracking purposes, courses are identified with their relevant Chancellor’s Office course attribute (CCEL, CSLI, NTRN) by the student learning experience, not course title or label. Courses may use such descriptors as: applied, capstone, clinical, community engagement, field work, internship, practicum, service learning, student teaching. The Center for Community Engagement has been designated by the Office of Academic Affairs to support academic experiential learning, including policy and implementation guidelines for courses and credit-bearing options, and the appropriateness and safety of these learning experiences and the off campus learning environment.

Recognizing that experiential learning placements for such departments as teacher education, nursing, counseling, and social work are governed and coordinated separately, the basic liability requirements for the broad umbrella of Community Engagement, Service Learning and Internship courses (CESLI) follow CSU Chancellor’s Office guidelines:

• All students participating in academic experiential learning activities must sign a participation waiver and create a record of their placement/learning activity;

• The learning site/external entity must submit information about the organization, student supervision, student activities, potential risk, and the student’s work/learning environment; 
• If UNPAID, there must be an MOU (partnership agreement) in place with the organization;
• If PAID, an MOU is not required.

The Center for Community Engagement uses the CSU’s   manage liability and documentation, enabling easy tracking of student placements, hours, and impact, including time-logs and brief reflections.

Departments/Faculty not using S4 are required to implement a risk management process, including working with organizations and University Contracts to establish MOUS, records storage of partner MOUs, student placement records, and student waivers in case of audit. 

*Please note: Observations and field trips do not fall within the above policy. Please check with your academic department regarding requirements for observations or other field trips.

is an online platform hosted by the Chancellor’s Office which manages student placements, facilitates the off-campus learning risk management process, and lists opportunities with external organizations. Students and faculty may use CalStateS4 for their courses to find and place with organizations who have a current agreement with CSUEB Center for Community Engagement. The CCE manages the CalstateS4 application in an effort to centralize the student placement and risk management processes associated with academic experiential learning.

All current CESLI courses are automatically loaded into S4 for student and faculty use. Any course may be loaded on a term-by-term basis if a faculty member would like to implement an experiential learning assignment.

Questions? calstates4@csueastbay.edu