Higher Education Consortium For

Programs: Served 194 undergraduate students from 26 colleges and universities in semester and short-term academic programs. Provided 180 of these students with internships focusing on substantive skill development and vocational growth in the fields of public policy, advocacy, and social justice. Conducted 16 experiential, interdisciplinary, community-based off-campus programs (14 during the fall and spring semesters, 1 during the january term, and 1 during the summer term) in south america, europe, the south pacific, and the united states. Each was open to qualified students from hecua's member institutions as well as non-member institutions nationwide. Hecua's semester-long international programs in ecuador, norway, italy, new zealand, and northern ireland bring students into direct dialogue with citizens and local leaders through study, field visits, homestays, structured travel, critical reflection, and significant internships. Internships range from 10 hours a week in norway to nearly 25 hours a week in ecuador. Semester-long programs in the twin cities use the metropolitan landscape as a backdrop for exploring pressing issues in students' home communities: environmental sustainability, economic disparities, public and protest art, and equitable access to tools of media production. The integration of respected "community faculty" members in twin cities' programs offers students an on-the-ground perspective of the work being done in their field of study. Each program is carefully crafted to incorporate current events, relevant theory, and opportunities for practical skill acquisition. Hecua offers students unable to spend a full semester off campus with the opportunity to engage in high-impact experiential learning through two short-term programs. The january-term international program "social and political transformation in ecuador," introduces students to the effects of globalization on developing economies, and the summer term domestic program "race in america" takes students on a bus tour of southern states that figured prominently in the civil rights movement. Sustained tuition assistance grants for hecua students coming from the university of minnesota's federal trio program. Trio serves historically underrepresented populations in u. S. Higher education, especially low- income and first-generation students. Because low-income and first- generation students are disproportionately people of color, these grants join the "scholarships for racial justice" as one of hecua's concrete commitments to becoming an antiracist organization. Added knox college to the hecua consortium as an affiliate institution, bringing the total number of consortium members (full and affiliate) to 26. Members are bound together by a shared commitment to positive action in the world through community-based learning. Hecua supports this commitment by providing programs that complement campus curricula and by bringing campuses into a network of faculty experts and community practitioners from around the world. All member institutions contribute to board-level discussions and program ideas; only full-member institutions oversee governance and vote on board resolutions. Established hecua as a member in the new minnesota campus compact affiliate group. Implemented a customized program for the university of minnesota, college of liberal arts, dr. Martin luther king, jr. Program focused on organizing in indigenous and people of color communities. Enrollment of this customized program included 30 students from historically underrepresented backgrounds.