Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Posted by on March 24, 2006

As of February 28th, 2006 higher educational institutions that are engaged with community can apply to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for a new elective classification for Community Engagement.

Elective classifications rely on voluntary application and documentation by institutions. They provide another way for institutions to describe their identity and commitments with a public and nationally recognized classification.

Definition

Community Engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

Application Process

The application process consists of two steps: first, a letter of intent; and second, responses to a comprehensive documentation framework. The first step requires a brief letter from the institution’s president or chief executive indicating a commitment to participate in the documentation process in 2006. Letters should be sent to:

Amy Driscoll
Associate Senior Scholar
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
51 Vista Lane
Stanford, CA 94305

The deadline for letters of intent is April 30, 2006.

Once participation has been approved, the second step involves documentation using a framework of questions probing both indicators and categories of community engagement. Those questions will initiate an internal process of documentation for the institution and will involve self-assessment, data gathering, and reporting.

Documentation Process

The first stage of the documentation process requires the institution to describe a set of entry or foundational indicators, Institutional Identity and Culture and Institutional Commitment. Each indicator must be demonstrated by both required and optional documentation examples and descriptions. For example, one requirement of Institutional Identity and Culture for Community Engagement is that the institution indicates that community engagement is a priority in its mission. When institutions meet the documentation requirements of the Foundational Indicators, the first stage is complete. The institution may proceed to the second stage. Institutions that are unable to meet the requirements of the first stage are not encouraged to proceed to the second stage.

The second stage of the documentation process is the provision of data, examples, and descriptions of focused engagement activities in the categories of Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships. Curricular Engagement describes teaching, learning, and scholarship which engage faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Their interactions address community identified needs, deepen students civic and academic learning, enhance the well-being of the community, and enrich the scholarship of the institution.

Outreach and Partnerships describe two different but related approaches to community engagement. The first focuses on the application and provision of institutional resources for community use benefiting both campus and community. The latter focuses on collaborative interactions with community and related scholarship for the mutually beneficial exchange, exploration, discovery, and application of knowledge, information, and resources (research, economic development, capacity building, etc.).

Institutions will select the appropriate category with which to describe the campus engagement with community, or will decide to demonstrate both categories, as comprehensive community engagement. The deadline for this second stage of documentation is September 1, 2006. The documentation process is extensive and substantive, focused on significant qualities, activities, and institutional provisions that ensure an institutionalized approach to community engagement.

Review Process
Participation in the documentation process for the community engagement classification is limited in 2006 in order to assure thorough reviews, and to provide opportunity to revise the framework as part of the implementation process. A national advisory panel has been identified to support the review process for the first year.

The new elective classification for institutions engaged with community is an exciting move in Carnegie’s work to extend and refine the classification of colleges and universities. The classification represents a significant affirmation of the importance of community engagement in the agenda of higher education.

Questions?
Questions about the community engagement classification can be sent to Amy Driscoll at driscoll@carnegiefoundation.org.

This information is also posted online at
<a href="http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications/sub.asp?key=785&subkey=1061">http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications/sub.asp?key=785&subkey=1061</a>

For an overview of the Carnegie classifications, visit
<a href="http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications/index.asp">http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications/index.asp</a>