Park University Civic Action Plan
Park builds faculty and staff capacity/ knowledge to create meaningful community engaged learning experiences for all students (traditional, adult, military, campus center, online):
- Increased number of faculty attending Faculty Center for Innovation on-ground and virtual programs related to service-learning and community engagement.
- Increased number of faculty who report increased awareness of and access to resources to develop service-learning and community engagement implementation in their courses/academic clubs of all modalities.
- Increased number of student organizations participating in initiatives which incorporate community engagement into the Park student experience.
- Increased percentages of student organizations which incorporate community engagement into the Park student experience.
- Increased number of Campus Center Directors who utilize University support to increase community engagement at their local Campus Centers.
- Increased number of community placements/partners for community-engaged programs at campus centers.
Park builds institutional capacity to sustain and grow formal community partnerships for engaged teaching, learning and scholarship:
- Publication/Launch of dedicated website/microsite focused on service-learning and community engagement.
- Creation of definitions and criteria for clearly identifying partners and publication of tools for creating community-engaged learning partnerships.
- Publication of an annual University report on civic engagement and publically engaged teaching and research.
- Increase in the number of graduates who take part in an internship or relevant field placement and that are subsequently hired in the major-specific field they pursue.
- Personnel designated to lead community-engaged teaching and scholarship across university.
Park challenges academic and co-curricular programs to incorporate and clearly name community engaged learning, through service-learning, internships, or other forms of community engaged learning:
- Increased number of service/engagement elements in faculty annual review PDP as it relates to course development and/or maintenance.
- Increased number of service-learning components in courses.
- Increasing number of courses within each department/ program, year to year.
- Increased number of faculty developing courses/curricula with new community engagement elements across the three academic colleges at Park.
- Increased numbers of online courses/curricula redeveloped with community engagement elements.
Park creates and promotes definitions and criteria for clearly identifying community engaged learning (inside and outside the classroom):
- Increased number of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels designated as community-based or service-learning.
- Increased number of students enrolled in service-learning courses.
- Increased number of service-learning courses offered at nationwide campus centers.
- Service-learning courses clearly designated on the schedule and the student transcript.
Park is committed to publicly promoting and facilitating examples of community engaged learning for all its students:
- Specific language that references civic action plan goals and community engaged learning is an integral part of Park’s marketing and informational materials, targeted to traditional, military, international, adult, and distance learners across its campus network and online.
- Park more routinely recognizes and rewards faculty, staff, and students’ community engaged learning and research.
- Increasing number of students, staff, and faculty submitting evidence that demonstrates how community engagement has influenced their teaching/learning/scholarship.
- Establishment of formal service-learning/community-engaged teaching and research awards (one for faculty, one for staff, one for student).