Campus Compact » Program Models Assessment

Civic Engagement Task Force

tdomf_26a6d — Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 +0000

The mission of the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning (http://csl.iupui.edu) is to involve students, faculty, and staff in service activities that mutually benefit the campus and community.

Programs are designed based upon the following program goals:
To support the development of service learning classes.
To increase campus participation in community service
activities. To strengthen campus-community partnerships.
To advance the scholarship of service.
To promote civic engagement in higher education.

In Fall 2000, the Dean of the Faculties and the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Institutional Improvement appointed a Civic Engagement Task Force to (a) examine methods to document civic engagement activities, (b) evaluate the quality of civic engagement activities, and (c) envision a civic engagement agenda for the campus and its surrounding communities.

One of the earliest challenges of the Task Force was to define civic engagement as “”active collaboration that builds on the resources, skills, expertise, and knowledge of the campus and community to improve the quality of life in communities in a manner that is consistent with the campus mission”" (IUPUI Civic Engagement Task Force, 2001). Civic engagement includes teaching, research, and service in and with the community.

Civic engagement, as a scholarly activity, is the work of all schools and departments. Academic units are expected to report on civic engagement activities in annual reports that are part of institutional planning and budgeting. The Center for Service and Learning has key responsibilities to be a catalyst for civic engagement, to collaborate on the assessment of civic engagement, and to work with faculty to document civic engagement as scholarly work, but civic engagement is promoted as being the responsibility of all academic units.

Staff from the IUPUI Office of Informational Management and Institutional Research designed a web-based Institutional Portfolio (http://www.iport.iupui.edu). The CETF consulted with this group to create a Civic Engagement Inventory (http://www.iport.iupui.edu/civic/) as a means for representing civic engagement activities to internal and external audiences. Faculty and staff across campus were asked to enter activities into the interactive database and are asked to update information on a continuing basis.

The Civic Engagement Inventory organizes civic engagement activities along a number of key dimensions: academic unit, types of civic engagement activities, social issues, keywords, community partners, and geographic location. Campus-community activities can be searched by issues, or searched by community agency. The database allows the community access to campus resources associated with civic engagement activities.

The Institutional Portfolio includes Performance Indicators to benchmark and document campus progress towards measurable goals for a) enhancing capacity for civic engagement, b) enhancing civic activities, partnerships, and patient and client services, and c) intensifying commitment and accountability to Indianapolis, central Indiana, and the state. Performance indicators have been an integral part of campus accountability practices and provide a systematic way to gather information that can chart progress toward institutional goals.

Articulating goals: A Learning contract

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

For many service-learning efforts, the biggest obstacle to assessing student impact is that they have never established what impact they intend to have. Articulating goals from the outset is a simple, but vital, step. Azusa Pacific University in Ontario, California, asks students to articulate their goals for the semester in a learning contract. This helps to set uniform expectations for service while lending professional credibility to the service experience. The stated goals form the basis for reflection later in the course and can be used by faculty to assess student learning and by community supervisors to assess student service.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: Judy Hutchinson, director of service learning, at 626.815.6000 Ext. 3780, Fax : 626.815.3801

E-mail: jhutchison {at} apu(.)edu

Center for the Study of Los Angeles: understanding the urban experience

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Focused on undergraduate education, the Center uses Los Angeles as a laboratory for understanding the urban experience. Among its projects are:

Further information on the Center can be found online at http://www.lmu.edu/csla.

Collaborative efforts

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

A variety of resources are available to support courses that utilize academic service-learning. UC Berkeley defines academic service-learning as the integration of community service activities into the academic curriculum. Support for service-learning is provided through the collaborative efforts of the Service-Learning Research and Development Center at the Graduate School of Education, the Cal Corps Public Service Center, and the Office of Educational Development. Faculty, graduate student instructors, and students are encouraged to access our resources.

Website: http://gse.berkeley.edu/research/slc/

Evaluation system

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Service-Learning Center has developed a comprehensive evaluation system to assess the impacts of service-learning on participants, institutions, and communities. It can be adapted to individual course and project goals to assess students’ academic, civic, ethical, personal, social, and career development through service-learning. Evaluation tools include a variety of surveys, focus group protocols, and student journal questions.

Website: http://gse.berkeley.edu/research/slc/

Examining the pursuit of community service and service-learning initiatives and activities

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Paul J. Zingg, has established this year a group of campus leaders to examine and explore Cal Poly s pursuit of community service and service learning initiatives and activities. In addition, the Provost has commissioned a parallel effort to explore the “”Engaged University”" concept championed by the Kellogg Foundation. These activities indicate Cal Poly s support of the Presidents Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education and our obligations to sustain public trust in our endeavors.

Community service, service learning, and community-based learning are longstanding traditions in the mission and purpose of Cal Poly and are regular elements of the educational environment provided our students, both curricular and co-curricular. One aspect of developing an Engaged University model at this campus will be to catalog and document the scope and impact of Cal Poly s engagement activities.

In addition, earlier this academic year, Provost Zingg also initiated the formation of a task force on Institutional Accountability and Learning Assessment, which has as one aspect of its charge defining our goal as a teaching/learning community. Also, the theme of Cal Poly s accreditation self-study for WASC is “”Cal Poly as a Center of Learning.”" This self-study has been hailed by WASC as one of the most innovative, candid, and successful in the history of the Association.

Community service program web site: http://www.calpoly.edu/~slad/csl/

San Diego Organizing Project: Listening to the community

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The University of San Diego gauges community impact in the most direct way possible: they ask the community. The San Diego Organizing Project recruits potential community leaders from churches, baseball leagues, and community-based organizations and asks them how to shape efforts at community building. To date, a group of 75 community members has met three times in the Holy Family Church and identified safety and landlord-tenant relations as key community issues. In response, the group has developed a neighborhood watch, and university law students offer mediation services in housing disputes. Community members are able to offer their assessment in future meetings.

From

Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Website: http://www.sandiego.edu/csl/

Specific Verification: service-learning contracts

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

We can provide samples of service-learning contracts to instructors who want to verify student service. In addition to documenting hours and activities completed, this written agreement signed by both the student and site supervisor defines placement goals, learning objectives, and the roles and responsibilities of the volunteer and the agency.

Website: http://gse.berkeley.edu/research/slc/

Assessing impact on students, faculty, the institution, and the community

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It has been said that good community service programs keep track of everything they re doing, but great community service efforts are too busy doing things to waste time keeping track. Miami-Dade Community College might beg to differ.

Miami-Dade boasts of a host of leading and innovative efforts in community service. At the same time, Bob Exley, the assistant to the president and director of the community service program, has been able to compile a vast amount of data assessing the impact that the program has had on students, faculty, the institution, and the community. For Dr. Exley, high-quality assessment is a must. The information he has been able to collect has been crucial to convincing funders, faculty members, and others to support service-learning at Miami-Dade.

Three questions are central to conducting good assessment: What do you want to assess? How will you assess it? And what purpose will it serve? The way in which the program at Miami-Dade answers each of these questions can be instructive for others. At Miami-Dade, as at many institutions, the answer to what they want to assess is easy: student learning. Questions posed to students, faculty, and community organizations all focus on gauging the effect that service-learning has had on student learning. This unifying theme helps maintain consistency and focus within the assessment effort. How assessment will occur is perhaps the most difficult question to answer. Many campuses include assessment as an afterthought, in the process adding more paperwork and time that people would rather spend in other ways. At Miami-Dade, assessment is built into the program from the beginning. By thoroughly incorporating assessment tools into service efforts, assessment is seen not as a burden, but simply as part of the process. For instance, all students at Miami-Dade who participate in service-learning receive a handbook, which explains service-learning and includes forms that students fill out in order to receive academic credit for service-learning. These forms have been designed with assessment in mind, and to date have provided data on more than 1,000 students. Reflection that takes place after service projects can also double as assessment, as long as it is done with forethought. Faculty provide assessment by answering brief questions whenever they receive mini-grants or participate in workshops on service-learning. In addition, every community organization that works with the college is required to send a representative to a training session in which that representative is introduced to the ideas of service-learning. In this way, these agencies can provide an informed assessment in the form of a ten-minute phone call at the end of a student s time serving them.

No matter how much information is collected, it is useless if it is not sent back out. This is perhaps the most neglected part of assessment. At Miami-Dade, data are put together in formats to be presented to important decision-makers like funders and the college s board of trustees. Data from students are also compiled and sent to faculty members and community organizations so that they can see whether the specific students with whom they are working are benefiting from the experience.

Miami-Dade s assessment efforts continually pay off. With information from more than 1,000 students, 52 community organizations, and dozens of faculty both involved and not involved in service-learning, Miami-Dade has been able to evaluate policies to support service-learning and garner strong support from its board.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Joshua Young, College-Wide Director, Center for Community Involvement, jyoung {at} mdcc(.)edu

CCI web site: www.mdcc.edu/cci/

Partnership with Leon County Schools

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Florida State University has entered into a new phase of assistance with the local school district, Leon County Schools (LCS). This partnership agreement, which includes Florida A&M University, is further evidence of the university s commitment to working with the district to make improvements in its low achieving schools and to better prepare future teachers for challenging assignments.

For many years FSU has worked well with the school district to achieve their mutual agenda. The new agreement sets forth a “”professional development schools network”" with the intent of reforming schools, developing exemplary models for teacher and administrator preservice and inservice education, and achieving the highest quality educational results. Through the implementation of this partnership special attention and resources will be focused on the southside schools, most of which are in neighborhoods nearby the campus and most of which are lower achieving than other schools in the district.

The collaboration is managed by a highly experienced former principal reporting to the provost and is overseen by a steering committee comprised of the university presidents, superintendent, education and arts and science deans. Advice is provided by two committees broadly representing interests and disciplines: the professional development school committee and the outreach advisory committee. A needs assessment undertaken among the southside school administrators provided important guidance for the new initiative.

Early projects include establishing professional development school relationships among the College of Arts and Science, the Colleges of Education, and several “”high needs”" elementary and middle schools which focus on reading and literacy. Technology training is being provided by the university this summer to support these efforts. Several joint proposals have been written to provide resources to support the work of the partnership.

One visible example of the partnership is the mentoring program through which faculty and staff have committed to working with youngsters in southside schools. Both the FSU president and the LCS superintendent have chosen to mentor to demonstrate their support for the program.

For further information contact Dr. Laura Hassler, K-12 Initiatives Director or go to http://www.fsu.edu/~k12.

The Center for the Applied Liberal Arts (CALA)

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In the 1999-2000 academic year, we established the Center for the Applied Liberal Arts (CALA) to provide leadership for service-learning opportunities, off-campus internships, international education, and career planning and placement. Through this organizational structure, we are better able to provide students with more opportunities outside the classroom to enhance their learning. Equally important, we are better able to implement a comprehensive assessment model that will demonstrate the learning outcomes of our students and more fully reflect the outcomes where learning inside and outside the classroom are integrated throughout the curriculum.

Website: http://www.eckerd.edu/cala/

Before and after: Four year surveys

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Some schools administer before and after surveys over the course of a semester. At Rockford College, the interval between tests is stretched to four years. Before the Rockford Plunge during orientation, first-year students complete the same study that they see as seniors at a commencement rehearsal. A comparison of the two forms documents service experience and change in attitudes towards service.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

East St. Louis research project

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

When faculty from the University of Illinois first came to East St. Louis in 1987, residents had a simple message for them: Go back home. They had seen faculty before; they had been studied and analyzed and reported on in academic literature. They had seen their forgotten city turned into a national symbol of weakness and urban waste, with stories on national television of police using pay phones because they didn t have radios and of the city renting city hall because they couldn t afford to own it.

In 1990 Ken Reardon, an associate professor in urban and regional planning, became the director of the university s East St. Louis research project, and suggested one critical change. Instead of doing research on East St. Louis, as they had done for the last three years, the university would start doing research with East St. Louis. With that change, Dr. Reardon changed the nature of the project from a study in traditional research, to a national model in participatory action research.

This new approach had a ripple effect. Initially, research had focused on large-scale improvements within the city. University planners had developed enormous projects to encompass whole neighborhoods. When they began working with the community, faculty realized that residents didn t want lofty plans for changing their whole city. They wanted to take on problems one at a time, fixing East St. Louis piece by piece. Small-scale change replaced sweeping proposals.

The way the research itself was conducted also changed. Initially, the university had followed academic research models regularly used in urban planning. Once they began working with residents, they realized that no single model could be applied to East St. Louis. They picked pieces from here and there, and put together their plans as they went, modifying projects to fit the new ideas brought by residents. Reports written to fit academic specifications have had to be reworked and rewritten to be effective for community residents to use them with policy makers and funders.

The outcomes of the action research have been significant. In 1994, through regular meetings with urban planning faculty and students, the Emerson Park neighborhood association, representing the poorest neighborhood in East St. Louis, developed a five-year community development plan. In 1998, after completing the plan one year ahead of schedule, they initiated new discussions with faculty and students for a second five-year plan, which will include a $20 million project to develop 300 homes in the neighborhood. Another typical achievement came earlier in 1998 when the collaborative research team produced sufficient data on housing, transportation, and zoning to convince the St. Louis Bi-State Development Corporation to locate a new stop on their light rail system in Emerson Park a move that is expected to bring new revenue to the neighborhood and make jobs more accessible to residents.

The burgeoning relationship between the University of Illinois and various neighborhoods in East St. Louis continues to grow. A new Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center, opened in East St. Louis and staffed by the University of Illinois, augments action research with training and technical assistance in areas like computer literacy and grant writing.

Through action research that is truly collaborative, constructive, and community-focused, the University of Illinois has helped East St. Louis to build on their assets and increase their social capital as a community. Collaborative efforts and collaborative successes have re-energized neighborhoods and begun a process of transformation. When the university arrived in 1987, East St. Louis residents could think of no reason for faculty to stay. In a recent community retreat in 1998, faculty had a different problem. After asking residents to discuss future directions, and current strengths and weaknesses in the action research they were doing together, residents came up with a list of strengths, and a host of new ideas, but even after much prodding, they couldn t come up with any weaknesses.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: East St. Louis Action Research Project: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/

Establishing a control: A Study of service-learning

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The issue of selectivity mars many studies of service-learning students who engage in service, the argument goes, will already exhibit the dispositions and behaviors that service is expected to develop. In order to avoid this problem, Sharon Hamerich at Butler University split the students in her communications course into two groups: one group of students spent their lab hours in local community agencies, while the other stayed on campus. Each group was tested on such scales as self-certainty, self-perception, social self-esteem, and global self-esteem. Writing samples, word associations, and thought processes were analyzed. Service-learning participants showed greater improvements in all categories except global self-esteem.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

ABC Day: teaming up with elementary schools for a day of service

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

On Saturday, April 10, 1999, members of the Lesley College community joined forces with residents of the city of Cambridge in a unique endeavor which reflected the College’s conviction “”that people matter”" and that we must nurture the “”power of individuals working collaboratively to bring about constructive change.”" (Lesley College Mission Statement). Building on a long history of Community Service Learning and Professional Development School Partnerships between Lesley College and the Cambridge Public Schools, this year under the auspices of President Margaret A. McKenna these communities collaborated on a series of projects designed to meet the individual needs of four elementary schools. Students, teachers, parents, and administrators from the Agassiz, Haggerty, Harrington, and Peabody Schools joined with students, faculty, and staff from Lesley College for a day of service that culminated in a shared meal as well as a special reflective session for all participants.

In the initial planning stages for this day, the schools were asked to engage in a needs assessment that involved school staff, parents, and students to determine a project which met a specific need in the community and, at the same time, engaged students as well as enhanced their learning. These projects were identified as a result of School-Site-Council discussions and joint sessions between Lesley College and Cambridge school representatives, including the student government organizations. The Lesley College Council for Community Service worked with members of the President’s Office to facilitate planning of ABC Day over the course of six months.

The specific project of the Agassiz School showcases Lesley College undergraduate students as active, community citizens. This particular Cambridge community project was concerned with homelessness. Over the course of a month, students throughout the school collected cans from neighborhood residents for a citywide food pantry. On April 10th, after the cans had been collected, this group of students also made lunches for the homeless in Harvard Square. Lesley College students who are members of the undergraduate service club walked with the Agassiz students into the Square, helping with the distribution of food, while sharing in a discussion with the students about the issue of homelessness in our communities.

As Lesley College celebrates its 90th anniversary, the ABC Day is a good example of a campus-wide initiative that clearly indicates the long-standing commitment of the college to the development of active, educated citizens among its students and to the cultivation of collaboration between the College and its surrounding communities.

Higher Education Intergrating Service Curriculum

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The original purpose of the Regis Service Learning Project (Massachusetts Campus Compact) was to create rich student learning experiences which helped the application of classroom learning to concrete, real world experiences. In the second year of the project we have been able to collect data using both pre and post surveys concerning students responses and attitudes toward the service learning within a class. The results of the surveys and interviews suggest a consistently positive view of learning through linking community sites and classroom concepts. The student outcomes and written work products reflect in detail this ability to apply what are seen as theories in class. This year several faculty from diverse academic disciplines including Management, Economics, Physical education, Social Work, Theater Arts and Biology are collaborating in planning and in the evaluations of the project.

Out of common interests, an interdisciplinary team of students has developed a range of service projects creating both functional learning within each area and in transfer of knowledge with students from other departments. Thus students in leadership classes worked directly with Biology students in conducting water testing for the Charles River Watershed, Theater Arts students joined with Social Work students to create a peer counseling through a drama project at Plympton Elementary School in Waltham. Education and Physical Education students worked on several school projects including a health and wellness fair. Management students with assistance from members of athletic teams organized an enterprise promoting students with assistance from members of athletic teams organized an enterprise promoting student survival packages for distribution at final exams. The proceeds contributed to fund several local charitable organizations.

Faculty observed students using drama and counseling techniques to support the adjustment of upper elementary students in an urban setting. We observed management students helping to organized data collected by members of a biology class and we observed the leadership and organization skills of campus service organizations. This application of concepts and strategies is well-documented in-group presentations and summary papers.

An Education Department studies how to implement the principles of service-learning

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Interns from Loyola College with the administration and staff at Lansdowne Middle School engaged in a year long commitment to design and implement projects that would meet the Seven Best Practices Model of Service-Learning. Instructional workshops were presented throughout the year to train and assist teams of teachers and interns in how to view service-learning as an instructional method. This led to a better understanding of the guiding principles which enhanced the quality of the projects. Five teams of 6-8 teachers with interns mixed among the teams worked with students in grades 6-8. Each team gathered information from the students who live in the surrounding areas. This information led to a discussion and decision of what community needs could be addressed. The projects included environmental works in the community, family help and safety, understanding differences, (there is a large population of ESOL students in the school), to a walk-a-thon to raise money for the community. What we learned from the year long study was the need to continue professional development in this area, to align courses within Elementary and Secondary Education Programs to include the principles of service-learning and that finally, service-learning is a valuable way of connecting learning communities together. It is a labor intensive methodology, but the gains in student understanding, staff development and community involvement far outweigh the time it takes to design a quality project.

Engaged Campus Project: establishing benchmarks

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

With the support of a grant from Campus Compact, a team of 21 university and community partners met throughout the fall 1999 semester to create a set of benchmarks for the “”engaged campus”" and to assess the University of Maryland against those benchmarks. Our team was comprised of students, faculty, academic and student affairs staff, city employees, and professionals from local nonprofit agencies and public schools.

While primarily drawing from the experiences and knowledge of the individuals on the team, we also reviewed selected literature about the mission of public research universities, service-learning, and the role of universities in advancing the common good. The benefits of this project not only include the report (nine benchmarks, diagram of three models, and self-assessment), but also the growth in collaboration and shared knowledge that emerged as a result of this committee.

The team compiled a 20-page document as a result of the “”Establishing Benchmarks for the Engaged Campus”" grant project. These ideas were gathered from documents and from four intensive meetings. This report is intended to provide a snapshot in time of the nature and scope of the University s role as an “”engaged campus”". For the full report, visit http://www.umd.edu/CSP/EngagedCampus.

In addition, Dr. Charles Wellford in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences is conducting a campus-wide assessment and has requested that each department fill out forms describing their research/outreach activities that impact the local community.

Developing assessment methods for elementary school teachers

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Through action research, faculty can help members of the community to develop assessment tools for their own work. When elementary school teachers were looking for methods to assess the efficacy of various teaching methods, a pair of faculty members at Michigan State University helped them out. Working together, the faculty and teachers devised assessment tools for use in three areas: literacy education of first graders, written work of fifth graders, and reflective strategies for novice teachers.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Steps Toward Assessing Civic Responsibility on Campus

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This year The University of Montana at Missoula re-established the Service Learning Faculty Advisory Board. The goal of the Advisory Board is to identify key aspects of civic engagement that need to be pursued and implemented or strengthened on campus, and to identify strategies for doing so. Next year, the Board will be expanded to include students and community partners.

This spring, a survey was issued to faculty on campus to measure the level of service learning activity on campus. Findings yielded 40 faculty who indicated they have a community service component in their class representing 18 different Departments on campus. The majority of classes were upper division and the service activities students engaged in represented a wide variety of community needs. Results from the survey will be utilized to identify possible areas for future curricular-based community engagement activities, target grant opportunities to specific Departments/faculty, generate new collaborative community partnerships, and help channel student interest.