The document discusses using community engagement programs to support student success, leadership, well-being, and civic development. It outlines the Bonner Scholars model, which provides diverse, low-income students with financial aid and multi-year engagement experiences. Evaluation data shows Bonner Scholars have higher retention, develop civic skills, and are more engaged after graduation compared to peers.

1. Supporting Students’ Civic Agency, Leadership,
Well-Being, and Academic Success through
Community Engagement
Ariane Hoy, Vice President
Arthur Tartee Jr., Alumni Network Manager
Rachayita Shah, Community-Engaged Scholarship Director
March 2021
The Corella & Bertram F. Bonner Foundation
www.bonner.org

2. Who’s Here?

3. Name
Institution
Role
One reason you joined this session?
Please share in the chat

4. A national network…and movement
A Community of Practice
Student Success,
Community Impact, &
Higher Education Change
Who We Are

6. Does your institution currently have a college access
program or (i.e., TRIO, Upward Bound, service-
based scholarship, etc.)?
If yes, please also name it in the chat.
Poll and Chat

7. Does your institution have a multiyear community
engaged program for students? It could be co-
curricular, a degree program, or both.
If yes, please also name it in the chat.
Poll and Chat

8. Which of the following fund types might your institution be
able to link with financial aid?
- Work Study
- Alumni or Donor Dollars
- Other Scholarships
- AmeriCorps
- State Level Funding
- Merit Aid
Poll and Chat

9. 1. Today’s Students, Higher Education, and
Community Engagement as a Solution
2.Proven Impacts: The Model, Why It Works, and
Take Aways for Your Campus
Two-Part Agenda with Dialogue

10. Today’s Students and
Higher Education

11. • The nation's fall, total unduplicated
postsecondary enrollment fell from 17.9 million
students in 2019 to 17.5 million students in 2020.
• In 2020, undergraduate enrollment drove
the decline by decreasing 3.6 percent or over
560,200 students from 2019.
• Enrollment gaps are widening because of
COVID-19 and the recession. Bilshay, 2018. “College students predicted to fall by more
than 15% after the year 2025: But high demand likely to
persist for top 100 elite institutions,
Sedmak, 2020. “Fall 2020 College Enrollment Declines
2.5%: Nearly Twice the Rate of Decline of Fall 2019”
Enrollment Challenges

12. Higher Learning Advocates (2018). “How Well Do We Really Know Today’s
College Students?”
Today’s College Students

13. Lumina Foundation (2018).
“Today’s Student.”
Facing Economic Challenges

14. Lumina Foundation (2018).
“Today’s Student.”
Affected by Class and Race

15. Lumina Foundation (2018).
“Today’s Student.”
Struggling with Debts

16. Piketty (2017). Capital in the 21st Century.
“Income from labor
[in the United States]
is about as unequally
distributed as has ever
been observed
anywhere.”
“A socially cohesive and
economically vibrant US
democracy...require[s]
informed, engaged, open-
minded, and socially
responsible people committed
to the common good and
practiced in ‘doing’
democracy.... Civic learning
needs to be an integral
component of every level of
education, from grade school
through graduate school,
across all fields of study.”
AAC&U (2012). A Crucible Moment
A Society with Growing Gaps

17. Community
Engagement
as a Solution

18. •Bonner Scholars Program: 85% of
students from low-income
backgrounds (Pell Grant eligible)
•Bonner Leaders Program: 75% of
students from low-income
backgrounds
•Students earn financial aid and work
study as they participate in a four-
year program
“Access to Education…”

19. •Intensive, cohort experience
•Part-time positions
(internships) in nonprofits
and government agencies
every academic year
•Full-time summer
internships
•Service-learning courses
(and, at many schools,
certificates and minors)
•Capstone projects that
connect academics, civic
work, and their identities
“Opportunity to Serve.”

20. •Each institution recruits a
diverse pool, usually with more
students of color than the
student body
•The program appeals to
students who bring
family and community
experiences in making a
difference
•Students come from diverse faith
and spiritual backgrounds, and
they also report that community
engagement meshes with their
core values
Diverse Students

21. Learn by Doing…and Graduate

22. Discussion:
How might a program like
this fit into your
institutional landscape?

23. The Model and
Why It Works

24. •Besides enrolling diverse low-income students, every Bonner Program teaches six
Common Commitments, which introduce students to the diverse range of ways in
which they can work for positive community impact.
•These Common Commitments align with institutional learning outcomes.
Common Commitments

25. Proven Impact
•Findings based on surveys of first year and
senior students across national network
•Report integrates quantitative and
qualitative data, including significant
findings and quotes
•Report also presents findings in
relationship to other research and
literature, especially from AAC&U
•Download this report, a study on retention
and completion, and published journal
articles at http://www.bonner.org/
student-impact-survey

26. Community Building & Wellness
By joining the Bonner Program as a Freshman, I immediately
gained a huge group of friends. My cohort members, who were
all, for the most part, also Freshmen helped me transition from
high school to college because the Program gave us a reason to
interact and get to know each other. Essentially, the Bonner
Program helped me get through college because of the friends
and family I found within it.
The very first friends I made at college were those in my Bonner
class. Some of these individuals became the truest friends I have
ever had and will cherish for the rest of my life. When I moved
into college, I did not know a soul on campus and Bonner helped
ease the transition into living far from home. Bonner allowed me
to make meaningful connections quickly and encourage
involvement that made my college experience as a whole
extremely beneficial.
From the moment they start college,
students are part of a supportive
community.

27. Civic Engagement
• Our research demonstrates that students are learning from their community service
experiences and partners. These experiences correlate with gains in other areas at
significant levels including:
• Political Engagement (p<.602**); Community Partner Impact on Participant
(p<.492**)
• Community Connectedness (p<.459**); Academic Integration (p<.443**)
• Social Integration (p<.404**); and Harmonious Passion (p<.403**)

28. Diversity & Identity Development
I credit a huge part of my growth and understanding to the Bonner Program.
The difficult conversations we had within the program and the safe space we
created for people to share their stories, their perspectives, and their identities
is something that can never be replicated and something that forever changed
my perspective on diversity and social identities for the better.

29. Social Justice
“I have learned how interconnected and complex are the problems facing our
communities. For example, I cannot have a singular focus on improving
education, but must also be concerned with socioeconomic and health factors
that impact how students perform in schools.” - Bonner Senior
• 96% of seniors report they are able to respect and appreciate people’s diverse social identities.
• 97% of seniors believe it is important to provide opportunities for individuals and groups to describe their
challenges, problems, experiences, and goals in their own terms.
• 97% believe that they can have a positive impact within their communities.
• 96 percent of Senior Bonners reported learning (to a moderate or significant levels) about a social issue and
being able to identify ways to make a positive impact on that issue.
• 94 percent of Senior Bonners reported understanding significantly more about the history, traditions, and
challenges confronting the community surrounding the college.

30. Retention and Graduation
• Retention for Bonner Scholars and Leaders
exceeds that of their peers at institutions
across the network.
• Additionally, the Bonner Foundation conducted
a pilot study of term progression, retention, and
completion, analyzing seven years of
institutional data at seven institutions.
• We found that while students in the Bonner
Scholar Program generally entered college
with lower academic indicators (test scores
and high school GPAs) compared with their
peers, by the end of the first year they
caught up. By senior year, these students’
GPAs often exceeded their like peers (by class
and race).

31. Post-Graduate Success
• Even with high proportions of low-income and first
generation students, often less represented at higher
levels of educational attainment , 46% had gone on to
earn a MS or MAs and 17% had terminal degrees,
with many others planning for a terminal degree.
• One third of graduates reported that the Bonner
Program gave them advantage in finding a job or
influenced the career they chose.
• Bonner Alumni remained civically active, as 90%
voted in the prior election (much higher than the
national average for their age group) and 78% of them
kept volunteering while working in the year before
completing the survey (Keen & Hatcher, 2010).
• Read inspiring profiles at http://www.bonner.org/
alumni-profiles

32. Academic Integration
• Staff and faculty from Bonner Programs
are increasingly integrating course-
based experiences, as well as
promoting the development of
community-engaged academic
pathways (like Minors in Civic
Engagement or Food Justice
Studies).
• Community-engaged capstone
projects can also contribute to
community capacity-building and
impact.

33. Examples of Projects

34. Takeaway #1: High-Impact Practices
Typically, students from low-income, first generation, and historically
underrepresented backgrounds (BIPOC) have less access to the
experiences that most contribute to their learning and success.
How might you scaffold High-Impact Practices that are also community-
engaged experiences at your institution?
Consider:
• First Year Experiences
• Community-Based Internships
• Courses
• Integrated Pathways (Certificates, Minors, Majors)

35. Takeaway #2: Cohort & Mentors
Community-engaged cohorts programs can provide students with
access to mentoring and learning that helps them succeed in college.
A Gallup poll of 30,000 graduates found just six
factors - three support and three experiential -
most contribute to post-graduate well-being.

36. Takeaway #3: Learning by Doing
Community engagement experiences can be high-impact
experiences. Students are learning by doing - and from communities.
The fewer cornerstone activities a student was engaged in the first
year, the lower the satisfaction with the college experience.

37. Discussion:
How might you intentionally
scaffold community engaged
co-curricular and curricular
experiences, mentoring,
and support?

38. To Learn More…
Thank you for joining us!
Visit our website at www.bonner.org
Visit our wiki, with many free resources on how to build and grow
programs at BonnerNetwork.pbworks.com
Consider starting a Bonner Program at your institution. Reach out to
Bobby Hackett, President, at rhackett@bonner.org