Documentation Framework FAQs
How is Community Engagement defined?
In the classification description, the following definition is used:
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.
The term "systematic assessment" is used in various places in the documentation framework. Explain what it means and what is expected.
First, "assessment" refers to the gathering of information or data. The data could be related to community perceptions of the institution, or to measuring/describing the impact of community engagement on the institution, or to students' understandings gained while engaged with community. "Systematic" refers to an ongoing, regular, and routine assessment process, such as an annual community perception survey, or a student assessment at the end of every community engaged course.
What is the difference between tracking or documentation and assessment?
Tracking and documentation are simply recording what occurred, such as how many service learning courses were offered or how many partnerships were developed with non-profit agencies. Assessment involves gathering information about the impact of the partnership or determining student satisfaction with their service learning courses.
What is being asked when the indicator asks "how is the assessment data used?"
Assessment data is used to make decisions, for planning, in prioritizing, to set agendas, and to improve a program, course or process.
We do not call our courses "service learning" or "community-based learning" courses. Is this a problem?
No, we encourage campuses to name their courses and other curricular experiences with labels that make sense. What is important is that your campus has had conversations about what to call the courses and states clearly what is meant by those names and expectations for the courses.
What are institutional (campus-wide) learning outcomes and departmental or disciplinary learning outcomes?
Learning outcomes are statements of what understandings, behaviors, values and attitudes are expected as a result of a learning experience such as engagement in community. Learning outcomes are the basis of assessment and can be stated at a course level, departmental or programmatic level, and at an institutional level.
What is meant by partnerships?
Partnerships are ongoing long-term relationships in which each partner brings individual goals, needs, assets and strategies, and through collaborative processes blends them into common goals and outcomes.
What is expected in the partnership grid by the terms Institutional Impact and Community Impact?
Institutional Impact describes the effect or influence of the partnership on institutional factors—curriculum, research focus, budgetary decisions, programmatic changes, strategic plans, student learning, etc.
Community Impact describes the effect or influence of the partnership on community resources, services, capacity for service, organization, strategic plans, and clients.
What is expected in II.A.4 when it asks for examples of faculty scholarship associated with curricular engagement?
The scholarship examples are those that faculty produce in connection with their service learning or community-based courses or internships. The expectations are for a broad contextual interpretation of scholarship to include curriculum development, assessment of student learning in community, action research conducted in a course, etc. that have been disseminated by means of reports, curriculum materials, faculty development workshops, professional presentations and publications.
What is expected in II.B.5 when it asks for examples of faculty scholarship associated with outreach and partnerships?
The scholarship examples are those that faculty produce in connection with their partnership development and participation or their outreach activities. The expectations are for a broad contextual interpretation of scholarship to include research studies of partnerships, documentation of community response to outreach programs, and other forms of assessment that have been disseminated by means of reports, policies, manuals, professional presentations and publications.
