PHOTO COURTESY UTRGV COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
UTRGV has once again earned the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, reaffirming its commitment to building meaningful partnerships across the Rio Grande Valley, according to Estela De La Garza, director of Community Engagement.
Students who participate in at least 100 volunteer hours during their enrollment are now eligible for a new cord in efforts to consistently pursue a retained classification.
To recognize students for the hard work that they do in the community, the office launched a new volunteer cord application, with the first 15 scholars awarded in December.
“[The cord] is available for any student that reports hours on the Engagement Zone,” De La Garza said. “If throughout their whole time at UTRGV they report 100 hours of service, they qualify for a cord to use at graduation. Hopefully, more students know come May and, when students have graduated, we can award even more of those cords.”
First awarded in 2020, UTRGV retained the Carnegie designation after a rigorous yearlong review process that began in Spring 2025. The reclassification places the university among more than 230 colleges and universities nationwide recognized in the 2026 cycle for sustained community engagement.
According to the Carnegie Classifications website, the classification is the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. Developed in 1973 by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, the system groups institutions using empirical data and is widely used in research and policy analysis. It has been updated multiple times to reflect changes in higher education, most recently in 2025.
De La Garza said she coordinated the reclassification application, a process that aimed to tell UTRGV’s community engagement story in 96 pages.
“The Carnegie Community Engagement classification is a distinction we apply for that showcases that UTRGV is really working hand in hand with the community,” she said. “It’s not looking at superficial relationships. … It’s looking at deep relationships that showcase we are co-creating solutions, and that we are co-defining problems.”
In order to uphold the classification, every institution division must be following the best practices for community engagement. Fortunately, De La Garza said, the standard is deeply embedded into UTRGV’s foundation. Whether through internships, service learning or practicum, having this cross-credit priority serves the institution back as much as it does the community.
PHOTO COURTESY UTRGV COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Christian Corrales, associate vice president for Community Engagement, defined giving back to the community as mutually beneficial relationships to all partnerships in the effort of reciprocity.
“We’re exchanging knowledge and resources,” Corrales said. “So, it’s not transactional; it’s more transformative. There’s accountability on both sides, meaning in order for us to do this, there’s got to be established trust, willingness and commitment.”
According to De La Garza, students who make an effort to be involved in community engagement earn a variety of different skills, such as learning to cooperate with others and how to tackle issues present in their own communities, in turn helping them succeed in the workforce.
“A lot of organizations are looking at the students in how not only individually they’re impacted, but how they’re impacting the community and making a difference in society,” she said. “Without these experiences, they wouldn’t have been as prepared. We’re aiming to develop our students in all aspects of their future careers.”
De La Garza encouraged students looking to get involved to access opportunities through the Engagement Zone website, a volunteer platform open to all of the university community to find different needs and causes to help throughout the Valley.
“If you’re not sure about going into a service learning course, start small,” she said. “That could be your first taste in making a difference.”
