CBEL Online Frequently Asked Questions
View a full System Walkthrough
- Start by logging in to the system. Once you are logged in, you can click on the following links to take you to specific parts of the system.
- Before you create a project, be sure that you at least know the following: your community organization, your contact within that organization, the rough timeline that the project will take place in, and what the project will be about (enough to enter a description). You can add students later if you wish, or now if that information is available.
- Having logged in, you should verify that your community organization is already in the system, by going to the Community Organizations Module. If the community organization is not already in the system, you can add it by clicking on the “add new” button above the list of organizations.
- Verify that your contact at the community organization is in the system by going to the Community Contacts Module and searching for their name. If they are not in the system, you can add them by clicking “Add New” above the list of contacts. Note: it is recommended, but not required, that you add a contact to your projects. The addition of a contact allows you more functionality, such as the ability to copy projects for future years.
- Once you have verified that the community organization and your contact are both in the system, you can create a new project in the Projects Module. Click on the “Add New” button at the top of the list of projects and fill out the new project form.
- After filling out the form as completely as you can, click “Save”. This will create your project, but also allow you to add students using the newly-shown “Eligible Students” tab. That tab can’t be linked to from this page because it is unique to each new project.
- After you’ve added students, you can modify your choices from the “Assigned Students” tab. If you would like to change any other details, you can search for your project in the Projects Module. You can also see projects your colleagues are working on.
How do I use the “New Project” form?
Here is a step-by-step explanation of the New Project form.
Activity Type: This field is a choice between four options: Trek Program, Community Service Learning, Community Based Research, and Curricular, Non-CSL/CBR.
Trek Program indicates a project which is associated directly with one of the Trek program initiatives, such as the Reading Week Service Projects or Trek Athletics. As a faculty member, you should never select this option.
Community Service Learning indicates volunteer activities done by the students as part of your course, which involve using concepts learned in your course to benefit a community organization. Critical reflection is also conducted.
Community Based Research refers to research which is co-conducted by you, your students, and a community organization towards solving community-identified needs. Your partner and your students are involved in each step of the process. Critical reflection is conducted on an ongoing basis.
Curricular Non-CSL/CBR refers to any project you are doing with a community partner that does not fall into the previous categories.
Community Partner: This is the name of the community organization with which you will be working for this project. In order to find the name of the community partner, enter either the first letter of its name in the “Alpha” dropdown menu, or type in part of the name in the “Keyword” box, and press “Go”. You will then be able to click on the “select” dropdown menu and find your community organization’s name.
Contact: This dropdown menu populates after you have selected your community organization. If there are no contacts available for this community organization, you can leave this field blank, or you can add a contact by going to the Community Contacts Module.
Copy Existing Opportunity: This field will only appear on your form if you have selected a contact from your community organization. If you have, this field will provide a drop-down menu of all other projects with the same community organization and contact person (both active and archived). It will allow you to populate all the remaining fields on the form, and then edit them as you see fit.
Course Code: This field appears once you have selected your Activity Type and your Community Organization. This is a hierarchical dropdown menu that will allow you to find your course. The hierarchy is structured by session, then faculty, and then your course/section. If your course does not appear here, please contact us. You are able to select more than one course in this list, which allows you to collaborate with your colleagues if you desire.
Note: This field is extremely important, because it will allow you to select the students in your course to go into your projects. If you see students that aren’t yours under eligible students, double check that this field was entered properly.
Project Title: This field controls the title that will display on the list of projects in the projects module.
Project Description: A short description of the activities the students are doing in this project. This field is important for reporting purposes, as any reports that describe projects in your course will refer to this field.
Primary Faculty Member: The name of the faculty member who is running the course, or primarily responsible for the project. This is useful for networking purposes.
Maximum Number of Students: This field stores a number, but does not functionally limit the number of students you can add to the project.
Attachments: You can attach any documents, pictures, or other files to the project. If you do, it will be easier to feature the project in future publications.
Are you done?: This field allows you to save your project as a draft.
Activity Type: This field is a choice between four options: Trek Program, Community Service Learning, Community Based Research, and Curricular, Non-CSL/CBR.
Trek Program indicates a project which is associated directly with one of the Trek program initiatives, such as the Reading Week Service Projects or Trek Athletics. As a faculty member, you should never select this option.
Community Service Learning indicates volunteer activities done by the students as part of your course, which involve using concepts learned in your course to benefit a community organization. Critical reflection is also conducted.
Community Based Research refers to research which is co-conducted by you, your students, and a community organization towards solving community-identified needs. Your partner and your students are involved in each step of the process. Critical reflection is conducted on an ongoing basis.
Curricular Non-CSL/CBR refers to any project you are doing with a community partner that does not fall into the previous categories.
Community Partner: This is the name of the community organization with which you will be working for this project. In order to find the name of the community partner, enter either the first letter of its name in the “Alpha” dropdown menu, or type in part of the name in the “Keyword” box, and press “Go”. You will then be able to click on the “select” dropdown menu and find your community organization’s name.
Contact: This dropdown menu populates after you have selected your community organization. If there are no contacts available for this community organization, you can leave this field blank, or you can add a contact by going to the Community Contacts Module.
Copy Existing Opportunity: This field will only appear on your form if you have selected a contact from your community organization. If you have, this field will provide a drop-down menu of all other projects with the same community organization and contact person (both active and archived). It will allow you to populate all the remaining fields on the form, and then edit them as you see fit.
Course Code: This field appears once you have selected your Activity Type and your Community Organization. This is a hierarchical dropdown menu that will allow you to find your course. The hierarchy is structured by session, then faculty, and then your course/section. If your course does not appear here, please contact us. You are able to select more than one course in this list, which allows you to collaborate with your colleagues if you desire.
Note: This field is extremely important, because it will allow you to select the students in your course to go into your projects. If you see students that aren’t yours under eligible students, double check that this field was entered properly.
Project Title: This field controls the title that will display on the list of projects in the projects module.
Project Description: A short description of the activities the students are doing in this project. This field is important for reporting purposes, as any reports that describe projects in your course will refer to this field.
Primary Faculty Member: The name of the faculty member who is running the course, or primarily responsible for the project. This is useful for networking purposes.
Maximum Number of Students: This field stores a number, but does not functionally limit the number of students you can add to the project.
Attachments: You can attach any documents, pictures, or other files to the project. If you do, it will be easier to feature the project in future publications.
Are you done?: This field allows you to save your project as a draft.