The Division of Continuing and Professional Education offers a variety of general interest and customized courses and programs to individuals and businesses in the community. Civic and Service Learning Service learning is expanding at UTEP, with participation by more University students in a broader range of academic majors. The Kellogg Foundation provided funding for UTEP's Institute for Community-based Teaching and Learning that works with the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Business to deepen students' learning through connections with community organizations and public schools. Scores of faculty members have transformed their syllabi to include projects, reports, and other learning outcomes as part of course requirements that respond to needs of non-government organizations and schools and that deepen UTEP student learning. Another important innovation is the revision of UTEP faculty tenure and promotion guidelines to acknowledge community-based teaching and research activities as a part of peer review.
University students work in teams on action-research projects.
For example, University students have worked with local Empowerment Zone neighborhood groups to build civic capacity. Others have worked with various non-profit organizations to develop web sites and public education materials. Others have planned and implemented local conferences. The Civic Education Program links faculty and students to community-wide initiatives, such as Kids Voting and workshops for middle and high school social studies teachers. Funds from the Office of the Governor permitted UTEP archaeology students to learn about restoration at the historic Socorro Mission and to link with at-risk secondary students who were constructing adobe bricks for that project.