Strategies for Deep Civic Engagement with High Impact (Bonner at AAC&U)

Strategies for Deep CivicEngagement with High Impact Ariane Hoy & Mathew Johnson, Bonner Foundation for the AAC&U Personal & Social Responsibility Conference • October 2011 For more information contact ahoy@bonner.org or mjohnson@siena.edu

Current Trends I have to study 84%Too busy with other activities 74% Length and Depth of Involvement I have to work 47% 60%I dont know what is available Barriers to Engagement Lack of transportation 47% Not enough energy 44% Campus Mobilization Too busy with friends 35%What I would like to do is not 31% available It makes me uncomfortable 18% 14% Previous bad experience 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Strongly Agree Agree

Change the Trend Lines:Engaged Learning ThroughStrategy 1: Student Leadership: The Student Experience and Developmental ModelStrategy 2: Academic Connections: The High-Impact Curricular Developmental ModelStrategy 3: Community Capacity: Research and Evidence-Driven Practice

NASCE Tool n = 8159 respondents Total n for study= 11,230 Average Age: 21 years Average GPA: 3.26 8% non-traditional students

Drill TypeDown Frequency Depth

An Issue: Students focused on doing short-term service. How many hours per month do you engage in community service? 40% 35% 32% 29% 30% 25% 19% 20% 15% 8% 10% 5% 7% 5% 0% -5 0 0 0 40 0 -1 -2 -3 n4 n0 1- n6 Be n 11 Be n 21 ha n3 ee ee et tw ee ee ee tw or tw tw tw Be Be M Be

An Issue: Students focused on doing short- term service without much depth. 70 60 50 40 One Shot 30 20 Continuing 10 0 Deep vic Ci r de ElOne Shot alt en h m alt on Continuing He vir er ng En Hu s es Deep ssn s ele iou m lig Ho th Re u Yo

An Issue: Students are working. How many hours per week do you work at your job or internship?30% 27% 22%25% Between 0 and 520% 17% 13% 15% 10% Between 5 and 1015%10% 5% Between 10 and 20 4% 5% More than 20 0% Before XYZ At XYZ

An Issue: College attendance gap.

An Issue: Students are working and... I have to study 84%Too busy with other activities 74% I have to work 60%I dont know what is available 47% Lack of transportation 47% Not enough energy 44% 35% Too busy with friendsWhat I would like to do is not 31% available It makes me uncomfortable 18% 14% Previous bad experience 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

An Issue: Colleges have maxed out the potential service mobilization of students... NOT! Yes: College Yes: High School No: High School 46% 3% 41% Drop 3% Gain 41% 10% No: College

An Issue: Students are satisfied with the service opportunities they have access to at their campus. Not really! 57%Overall, I am satisfied with my personal level of involvement in community service here at ... University. 43% Are not satisfied.

Structure Matters I have participated through… student group 74 service organization 27 sought myself 25 other college entities 25 course 21 organized project 19 led project 18 Structured peer- service trip 13 group avenues for sports team 11 engagement lead to religious group 9 more engagement.

AStrategy 1: Student Leadership Element 1: Placements Element 2: Student Development Element 3: Integrative Learning Element 4: Money

AA solution:Element 1: PlacementBuild developmental,multi-semester/year,intensive, team basedplacements.

Example: Democratic Present ﬁndings to School BoardEngagement Organize public forum on school lunch Policy Research model lunch programs, farm-to-school, obesity Research Evaluate student attitudes toward nutrition Capacity Lead workshops for board, staff, & volunteers Building Summer Manage summer program with high school students Team Help expand to other schools in district Regular Coach elementary students in School Garden Club 1x Plant School Garden for Orientation

Developmental Service Excellence Elevated responsibilities, often tying to capstone project Example Leadership position for site or program, managing a team or project Experience Commitments to multi- semester programmatic role addressing community need Exploration Intentional immersions that provide exposure and result in additional commitment

A solution:Element 2: Student DevelopmentProvide intentional education, training &reﬂection activities.

Training Guides:

Education, Training, Reflection Excellence Active listening Social justice Communication Vocation & career exploration Goal setting Spiritual exploration Organization Connection to academic study Reflection (capstone/thesis) Time management Example Delegation Leadership of civic engagement Event planning International perspective Fundraising Research and deliberative democracy Grant writing Social justice Running a meeting Spiritual exploration Volunteer management Experience Balance/boundaries Analysis of Diversity Budgeting Knowledge of poverty Conflict resolution Understanding of place Facilitation Critical Thinking Planning Political dimensions of civic engagement TeamworkExploreActive listening Knowledge of selfCommunication Knowledge of communityGoal setting Introduction to DiversityOrganization Community buildingReflection Forms of civic engagementTime management

A solution:Element 3: Integrative LearningCohort-based, key integrativelearning experiences along theway.

Cornerstone Activities Senior Presentation Culminating project and reﬂection paper, with public presentation Third Year Leadership Project Often an international service immersion or campus-wide civic engagement initiative Second Year Exchange Multi-campus event involving learning, service, and exposure to political dimensions First Year Trip Cohort immersion into new place involving service, reﬂection, and exposure to issues in context

A solution:Element 4: MoneyProvide ﬁnancialsupport throughscholarships, workstudy, andstipends.

Integration: Michael AusterlitzGraduate of Hobart andWilliam Smith College andMiddlesex County College •Now enrolled at Cornell’s Public Led HomelessnessPolicy Graduate Program Team at HWS Research & Issue Brief on Chronic Homelessness Elijah’s Promise and program Bonner Intern Role Served at Elijah’s Promise in NJ

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find... Co-Curricular is Critical

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find... Dialogue Across Difference is most critical variable

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find...Importance and value of structured and unstructured reﬂection

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find... Importance and value of roles ofFaculty, Partner and Staff Mentors

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find... Average Volunteering Rates in the United States Versus Bonner Graduates 60.0 45.0 49.2 42.3 49.2 30.0 26.3 15.0 0*Average Citizen 26.3% *Average College Graduate 42.3%onner Graduates in Our Sample 49.2% B Persistent community & civic engagement after college

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find... Persistent community & civic engagement after college

Student Impact & Alumni Survey Find...33% Government/public sector32% Non profit organization25% For-profit/Private sector6% Self employed Career Choice

What about these elements stand out asconnections or illustrations of high-impact educational practices? Where do you see the potential links?

An Issue:Co-curricular settingsnot necessarilysupporting intellectualand cognitive abilities(writing, civiceducation, povertyanalysis, politicaldimensions)

An Issue: Community partner agencies need:1. Trained and experienced, higher-level volunteers.2. With the academic and professional skills to take on the design, assessment, planning, and other capacity building activities needed.3. With the developmental maturity to lead teams, connect to other agencies, and move towards issue- based community organizing.

! Community partner agencies need:

An Issue:Threat of having aboutique programthat affects onlyrelatively few(60-80) students

An Issue: Colleges have maxed out the level of service and community engagement they can mobilize among students. NOT!10% of students account for 49% of community service

An Issue:Keeping serviceprogram atmargins ofinstitutional valueand support

Strategy 2: Academic Connection Element 1: Faculty Development Element 2: Curriculum Development Element 3: High Impact Practices

A solution:Element 1: Faculty DevelopmentMoving beyond semester projects:Connecting faculty to service similarlyintentional, multi-year, developmentalprogression.

Tie faculty members in... Issue/ Public Education Site Team Networking Convening, Speakers, Forums, Students & Social Media, Dissemination Faculty Mapping Advisor Policy News & Analysis Capacity PolicyOptions.org Building Program, Planning & Tech Support Community- Based Research & Direct Service Service-LearningAsk faculty for multi-year involvement

A solution:Element 2: Curriculum DevelopmentStructured academic pathways thatintegrate academics and service.

Academic Model:• Intensive• Multi-Year• Developmental• Course Connections• Minor, Certiﬁcate, Concentration

Academic Model: Capstone Integrative Seminars Honors Theses Research Coursework CBR / Methodology Undergraduate Research Projects Courses with Internship Connections Full-time Internships Bridge Coursework Poverty Politics Global DiversityGateway/Lead-In Courses

A solution:Element 3: High-Impact PracticesAll HIPs connect to communityengagement.

Linking High-Impact PracticesFourth Year Capstone Placement Capstone / ResearchThird Year International Service Global Learning Cohort Meetings Undergraduate ResearchSecond Year Exchange Cognate Course Cohort Meetings Learning CommunityFirst Year Trip Seminar

What do you think are the needs (i.e.,learning, resources, planning, guidance) of faculty and staff to effectively integrate HIPs and civic/community engagement?

An Issue: Campus-community partnerships want ways (beyond anecdotes and counting hours) to describe how their programs are making an impact

An Issue:The ﬁeld is moving to integrate mechanismsof impact assessment and evidence-basedprogram models in a climate of scarceresources

An Issue:Moving beyond “mission,” and “pedagogy” to“partnership” and “co-creation of communitysolutions.”(Saltmarsh and Hartley)Technocratic Engagement Community Teaching, Learning, Researching Teaching, Learning, Researching in/for Community with Democratic Engagement

Strategy 3: Community Capacity Element 1: Partner Development Element 2: Public Policy Element 3: Assessment Element 4: Strategic Planning

A solution:Element 1: Build Partner CapacityModel for community partner developmentthat includes multiple types ofengagement by the institution buildingtowards deep partnerships that makedemocratic engagement the norm.

Partner Developmental Model Democratic Engagement Engaged Reciprocal! Ongoing development & evaluation of vision, planning, and capacity building High-impact integration Established Co-created strategic vision and plan Multi-year commitments Team with multiple positions Various types of engagement Emerging Multi-year agreements and placements Positions at multiple levels Exploration of academic connectionsExploratory Technocratic EngagementShort-term & one-year placements

A solution:Element 2: Public PolicyIntegration of public policyand program modelresearch, guided bycommunity partnersneeds, to identify andspread proven programmodels and effectivecommunity solutions.

A solution:Element 3: Assessmenta. Student mobilization,b. Student impactc. Faculty engagement,d. Non-proﬁt effectiveness,e. Community capacity-building and impact.

A solution:Element 4: Strategic PlanningIntegration of evidence and data withprogram and institutional strategicplanning.

Where do we collectively go from here?How can we steer higher education tomaximize its potential as a resource to communities?

Strategies for Deep Civic Engagement with High Impact (Bonner at AAC&U)

by Corella & Bertram Bonner Foundation on Nov 16, 2011

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Strategies for Deep Civic Engagement with High Impact (Bonner at AAC&U) Presentation Transcript