Content with Topics : Engaged Campus

Citizenship

President, Campus Compact

An article in yesterday’s Chronicle of Higher Education discussed the emphasis on workforce preparation in governors’ approaches to higher education funding. The headline called out Republican governors in particular, but anyone following the issue knows that public officials from both parties frequently discuss higher education as if its sole purpose were the preparation of students for careers. There is a great deal to be said on the topic, and I want to make just one point—or perhaps a point-and-a-half. The Chronicle article attributes to Jenna A. Robinson, president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, the view that…

Connect2Complete Resource Guide

The success of the C2C program has prompted Campus Compact to create this Resource Guide to help colleges implement the C2C model on their own campuses. The guide is designed for a broad range of audiences, including community engagement professionals, faculty, student leaders, administrators, and presidents. While resources contained within this guide were developed on the basis of the experiences, needs, and cultures of community colleges, the model has garnered interest from four-year institutions offering developmental education, which can adapt the information here for their own use. The guide is divided into four sections, each focusing on a different aspect…

The Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement: December 2014

The mission of the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement (JHEOE) is to serve as the premier peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal to advance theory and practice related to all forms of outreach and engagement between higher education institutions and communities. The December 2014 edition features the essay “The ABCDs of Service-Learning: Who is Serving Whom?” by Devorah Lieberman, president of the University of La Verne and Campus Compact board member. Read the essay and entire issue here.

Are College Graduates Prepared to Support their Alma Maters?

President, Campus Compact

In recent weeks, public universities across the country have found themselves buffeted by political forces. In Wisconsin, Louisiana, Illinois, and North Carolina, budgets have been cut, longstanding missions questioned, and centers closed. In states that have attracted less attention, the story is not all that different. In May of 2014, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that 48 states had not brought per student higher education spending back up to pre-recession levels, and the average state was spending 23% less per student than before the recession. Earlier this year, Young Invincibles released a report card grading states on…

2014 Annual Membership Survey

The 2014 Survey reflects the growth in breadth and diversity of institutions prioritizing engaged activities over the past three decades. Read the survey findings here.

Achieving the promise of authentic community-higher education partnerships: A community partner summit

Partnerships between communities and higher educational institutions as a strategy for social change are gaining recognition and momentum. Despite being formed with the best of intentions, however, authentic partnerships are very difficult to achieve. While academic partners have extensively documented their experiences and lessons learned, the voices of community partners are largely missing. If true partnerships are to be achieved, community partners must harness their own experiences, lessons learned, and collective wisdom into a national, organized effort. With guidance from a planning committee of community leaders, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health convened a Community Partner Summit in 2006. A diverse group…

The Transformative Engagement Process: Foundations and supports for university-community partnerships

This article describes Michigan State University’s “transformative engagement process,” an interactive process in which all partners – academic and community – apply critical thinking skills to complex community problems. Based on Mezirow’s transformational learning (1991) it is iterative in nature and informed by a university-wide model of engagement built on the land-grant tradition and by grounded principles from the literature and developing engagement practice. To be successful, partners must have appropriate and multiple ways – face to face and electronic – of making and sustaining connections to each other and to information that will help them move through transformations. The…

Wingspread declaration on the civic responsibilities of research universities

In this document university presidents, provosts, deans, and faculty members with extensive experience in higher education as well as representatives of professional associations, private foundations, and civic organizations have formulated strategies for renewing the civic mission of the research university, both by preparing students for responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy and engaging faculty members in developing and utilizing knowledge for the improvement of society. Boyte, H. & Hollander, E. (1999). Wingspread declaration on the civic responsibilities of research universities. Full Text. 

Presidents’ Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education

The purpose of this statement is to articulate the commitment of all sectors of higher education, public and private, two- and four-year, to their civic purposes and identify the behaviors that will make that commitment manifest. It was reviewed, refined and endorsed at a Presidents’ Leadership Colloquium convened by Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.  Presidents’ Fourth of July declaration on the civic responsibility of higher education (1999). Campus Compact. Full text.

Stepping forward as stewards of place: A guide for leading public engagement at state colleges and universities.

This is AASCU’s task force report on public engagement, a practical and strategic guide for state college and university leaders who want to more deeply embed public engagement in the fabric of their institution at the campus, college, and departmental levels. The report includes sections on challenges and importance of, and recommendations and guidelines for, quality engaged practice. American Association of State Colleges and Universities (2002). Stepping Forward as Stewards of Place: A Guide for Leading Public Engagement at State Colleges and Universities. Washington, DC: AASCU. Full text.

Connect2Complete: Linking Student Success with Civic Engagement

The higher education reform movement known as “the completion agenda” seeks to significantly increase the number of students graduating from college. This is certainly an important goal. Yet as many higher education professionals have pointed out, the completion agenda’s singular focus on “time to degree” may emphasize efficiency to the detriment of high-quality learning (Humphreys 2012). Aware of these critiques, community colleges are seeking innovative ways to increase graduation rates while also improving the quality of student learning. Campus Compact’s Connect2Complete (C2C) program aims to reach this goal by creating new, community-oriented models that support student success. Read more here….

When Working Works: Employment and Postsecondary Success

The nation-wide focus on increasing college completion rates has put a lot of emphasis on strategies to increase financial resources so that students can work less. Though certainly worth pursuing, such policies will be difficult to implement on a broad scale in the current economic environment. And even if they are viable, we should be careful not to lose sight of the potential benefits of student employment. For many students, a positive work experience can facilitate, rather than derail, educational and vocational progress. We need to understand and appreciate what it looks like when working works, so that we can…

Tips: Using Facebook for C2C

Describes how Big Bend Peer Advocates utilized Facebook to create connections between Peer Advocates and C2C students and among C2C students.

Presentation: Creating a Peer Advocate Network

Best Practices for Peer Advocate Facebook Groups This includes a Prezi Presentation and a PDF file with the same information. They were created for Campus Compact by Dr. Ana M. Martinez-Aleman, Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership & Higher Education, these presentations help colleges consider best practices for supporting peer advocates with using Facebook groups with C2C students. Martinez Peer Advocate Prezi Presentation – DIRECTIONS & LINK Best practices Facebook – as a pdf

Report: Social Network Theory to Increase Success

Social Networking and First Generation College Student Success: Using Social Network Theory to Enhance ‘Critical’ Engagement and Persistence Efforts This paper offers a conceptual framework for the use of social networking technology to promote critical engagement and success among first-generation college students. Drawing on critical theory to scrutinize principles of student engagement in college, this paper proposes a conceptual framework to map a “college staying culture” among first-generation college students. Specifically, the authors posit that online social networking is instrumental in the transmission of social capital for equitable postsecondary outcomes. The authors suggest that this conceptual framework offers valuable insight…

Mentoring in Portland State University

Sample assignments that accompany the resource, “Mentoring in Higher Education Syllabus – Portland State University”, for training peer leaders.

Section 4: C2C Program Evaluation

Section 4, Program Evaluation, provides resources for conducting a C2C evaluation, including information on measuring program impact and the C2C Evaluation Report from the C2C pilot program. While program evaluation is included near the end of the Resource Guide, it’s important to note that evaluation is not an event that occurs at the end of a project; rather, it’s an ongoing process that should start at the outset, with systems put in place to support evaluation in the early stages of program planning. /wp-content/uploads/2015/04/C2C_resourcebook-section4.3.19.15.pdf

Section 3: C2C Program Administration

Section 3, Program Administration, includes resources for planning and managing a C2C program. While this section addresses faculty and peer advocate roles, it focuses more closely on the administrator’s role. This section offers resources for planning and launching a C2C program on campus, including information on assessing readiness, staffing, structuring, and budgeting for such a program. It also provides resources for recruiting and supporting faculty as well as for recruiting, screening, training, and supporting peer advocates. /wp-content/uploads/2015/04/C2C_resourcebook-section3.3.19.15.pdf

Section 2: Implementing C2C in the Classroom

Section 2, Implementing C2C in the Classroom, presents a comprehensive view of what C2C looks like in the classroom. It begins with two documents that explore considerations for faculty implementing the C2C strategy in their developmental education and college success courses: how to implement service-learning with a particularly vulnerable population, and approaches for integrating the C2C strategy into redesigned developmental education courses. The section also offers sample materials for supporting faculty and peer advocates in integrating C2C into the classroom, including faculty-created descriptions of peer-assisted service-learning coursework and activities. /wp-content/uploads/2015/04/C2C_resourcebook-section2.3.19.15.pdf