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Carnegie Community Engaged Self Study
Faculty Activities
Due Date:  May 15, 2024

Introduction 
VCU was established by the Wayne Commission to be an urban-serving, community engaged and community-centric university. Given that mandate and mission, VCU was one of the first universities to receive the Carnegie Community Engaged classification when it was launched in 2005 and was reclassified in 2015. We are now up again for Carnegie Community Engaged Reclassification.  

The Carnegie Community Engaged Classification Process requires a university-wide self-study, which provides us with the opportunity to audit, assess, and advance our community engagement policies, practices, and infrastructure. Quest 2028, the VCU Health Strategic Plan, and our research priorities all emphasize the importance of serving our communities and community partners.  Our focus on transformative learning, internships, capstones, delivering high-level patient outcomes, and advancing the impact of our research and team science requires us to partner with communities across multiple types of engagement. This Carnegie reclassification process will help us examine our engagement efforts and infrastructure and help us identify opportunities for continued growth and excellence.

This survey collects data on the following topics:
  • Examples of academic-community partnerships.
  • Examples of scholarship related to community engagement.
  • The integration of community engagement into curricular structures.
  • The integration of community engagement into credit-based academic activities or curricular programs.
  • Integration of civic skills into curricular and/or co-curricular activities.
  • Civic identity development and pathways.
  • Civic knowledge development for a diverse democracy.

Survey Instructions
  1. We need one survey completed from each department, center, and institute. 
  2. Please discuss the questions and answers as a group (faculty, team, etc.) which will allow each unit to identify strengths and opportunities.
  3. One person will complete the survey on behalf of the department, center or institute. 
  4. If you would like a PDF copy of the survey for discussion and sharing, you can download it here.

 
Survey Definitions
Below we have provided definitions that may be helpful to answering and reflecting on these questions.
 
  • Community Engagement refers to the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in the context and reciprocity.   
  • Community Engaged Teaching/Learning: A pedagogical approach that connects students and faculty with activities that address community-identified needs through mutually beneficial partnerships that deepen students’ academic and civic learning. 
  • Community Engaged Courses include those marked as Service Learning or Civic Engaged in Banner but not only. Courses focused primarily on community engagement also meet this criterion.
  • Academic-Community Partnership refers to sustained collaboration between a faculty or staff member and a community member, organization, or unit external to the university for mutually beneficial exchange, exploration and application of knowledge, information, and resources.
  • Civic Skills help prepare educated, engaged citizens and strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility. 
  • Civic Identity involves the formation and negotiation of personal and group identities as they relate to presence, role and participation in public life.  Civic identity is particularly important and a factor in civic engagement and participation.
  • Civic Knowledge Development for a Diverse Democracy involves preparing students, faculty, staff and community to understand and engage in ways that address critical community issues and contribute to community/public good by providing practical experience with the community.

You can find more information on the Carnegie Community Engaged Classification here.  In the Fall, we will convene meetings to share updates on data collection efforts, what we are learning and identify emerging community engagement opportunities. 
 
1. Who is completing this application?
Column 1
Name of Completer
Email
College or School
Department, Institute or Center
Community Engagement contact in your unit
Email for Community Engagement Contact
2. Provide 1-3 Examples of Academic-Community Partnerships in your unit that meet the following criteria: 

 
1) is connected to credit in some way;
2) illustrates a broad and deep partnership example (i.e., reciprocal, asset-based, mutually beneficial); 
3) includes a community partner who may be open to completing a survey directly from Carnegie; and 
4) was in place in the 2023-2024 academic year. 

 
For each partnership provide the project name, the primary location(s) that the project covers (e.g., East End, City of Richmond, Central Virginia) faculty/staff lead, email and community partner information.  Please note we will send a follow-up Carnegie template to each faculty member identified to obtain additional information required for the application. 
 Project Name
Geographic Location Covered by the Project
Faculty/Staff Lead
Faculty/Staff email
Community Partner
Project One
Project Two
Project Three
3. Provide 1-2 examples of each of the following types of scholarship related to community engagement (include links to the examples if you have them). For students, please indicate if the student is a graduate or undergraduate. 
Example 1
Example 2
Faculty scholarship related to community engagement (publications).
Staff scholarship related to community engagement (i.e. conference presentations, publications, awards, consulting).
Student scholarship related to community engagement, indicate if graduate or undergraduate (i.e. conference presentations, publications, awards).
4. Check all the ways community engagement is integrated into traditional curricular structures in your unit.  Question five will then ask you to elaborate on one of these checked items. 
5. In at least one but no more than three paragraphs, please address the following elements for your example of how community engagement is integrated into the curriculum. If you chose NA above, please indicate NA here. 

  1. Indicate which checked item you want to discuss, then explain how community engagement is integrated into this example.  Provide a web link if available for the example.
  2. Please indicate the faculty or staff lead and contact information associated with this project if we need to follow up.
6. Check all the ways community engagement is integrated into academic activities offered for credit and/or required by a curricular program in your unit. Question 7 will then ask you to elaborate on one of these checked items. 
7. In at least one but no more than three paragraphs, please address the following elements of how community engagement is integrated into the academic credit example selected.  If you chose NA above, please indicate NA here.
 
  1. Indicate which checked item above you want to elaborate on. 
  2. Discuss how it is integrated into the selected activity and the student and community outcomes that have resulted from this. Please provide a web link if available. 
  3. Identify the faculty or staff lead and contact information if we need to follow up for more information.  
8. Check all the civic skills that are incorporated into your unit’s curricular and/or co-curricular activities.  For one of the checked items, you will be asked to discuss in question 9 how those skills are integrated and how student learning outcomes are applied and assessed for that example.
9. In at least one but no more than three paragraphs, please address the following elements for your example of how civic skills are integrated into the curricular or co-curricular activity selected. If you chose NA above, please indicate NA here.
 
  1. Indicate which checked item above you are using.
  2. Explain how those civic skills are integrated into the relevant curricular and/or co-curricular activities.
  3. Explain how student learning outcomes are applied and assessed for that example. 
  4. Indicate a faculty/staff lead and their contact information should we need additional information. 
10. Check all the pathways and opportunities in your unit that are available to help students develop their civic identity.  Question 11 will then ask you to elaborate on one of these checked items.
11. In at least one but no more than three paragraphs, please address the following elements for your example of how civic identity pathways are developed. If you chose NA, please indicate NA here. 
 
  1. Indicate which checked item above you are using and explain how it helps students develop their civic identity.
  2. Explain how community partnerships are incorporated in the answer you selected.
  3. Indicate a faculty/staff lead and their contact information should we need additional information.
12. Check all the examples of civic knowledge development for a diverse democracy that are part of community engaged student learning outcomes inside or outside the curriculum in your unit. Question 13 will then ask you to elaborate on one of these checked items. 
13. In at least one but no more than three paragraphs, please address the following elements for your example of how civic knowledge for a diverse democracy is developed. If you chose NA, please indicate NA here. 
 
  1. Indicate which checked item above you are referring to, then explain how it works to advance civic knowledge for a diverse democracy.
  2. Describe the student learning outcomes attached to this effort and how they are measured.
  3. Indicate a faculty/staff name and contact for additional information should we need to follow up.