This document summarizes a presentation about civic engagement and community partnerships at Metropolitan State University. It discusses engaged learning strategies like service-learning, internships and capstone projects that promote skills and integrative learning. Research shows these benefit academic performance and persistence. The university is committed to civic engagement through its mission, courses, initiatives and partnerships. The Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship coordinates programs in academic internships, service learning, study abroad and community outreach.

1. ARE YOU ENGAGED?
Campus Compact, Upper Midwest
Civic Engagement Summit
May 29-30, 2013
Loras College
Dubuque, IA

2. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship (ICES)
Community Action and Civic Engagement
at Metropolitan State University
Presenters
Jodi Bantley, Community Engagement Coordinator for
Service Learning
Victor B. Cole, Community Engagement Coordinator for
Academic Internships & Study Abroad

3. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
Engaged Learning
• Academic internships
• Capstone courses/projects
• Co-curricular civic engagement
• Collaborative assignments
• Cultural immersion experiences
• First-year seminars
• Learning communities
• Participatory research
• Service-learning coursework
• Study abroad

4. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
By design, effective engaged learning
strategies promote deep, integrative
learning
• Practice and build skills
• Apply new ways of thinking
• Reflect, makes connections, challenge
theoretical constructs
• Understand with a purpose

5. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
Research on engaged learning strategies
• Enhance well-established student success
factors
• Positively contribute to academic performance
and persistence
• Positive correlation between service-learning
and re-enrollment

6. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
Institutional commitment
• “Institutions with a deliberate and explicit
commitment to the success of all students
graduate low-income students and students of
color at much higher rates than their peer
institutions.” Campus Compact Research Brief #1, May 2008
• Graduation rates

7. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
Five elements of institutional commitment
to engagement
• Connection to mission and vision
• Integration at all curricular and co-curricular levels
(and collaboration between academic/student
affairs)
• Integration into faculty promotion and reward
structure
• Professional development opportunities for
civically-engaged faculty
• Infrastructure to sustain reciprocal engagement
with diverse communities

8. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
Metropolitan State University, an engaged
campus
• Mission and Vision
• Core Values and Strategic Plan
• University-wide initiatives
o student organization service projects
o a significant number of courses with a community-
based component
o annual day of service
o mentoring
o civic and community engagement initiatives

9. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
ICES programs and events
• Academic Internships
• Community Outreach
• Community Service Learning
• Literacy Corps & Project SHINE
• Study Abroad
• Youth, Family and Library Outreach

10. Institute for Community Engagement
and Scholarship
Faculty Team
• Course assessments for community based courses
• Civic Engagement Minor
• President’s Circle of Engaged Learning
• Tenure and promotion

11. Mission &
Vision
Community
Connection
Civic Engagement
Community
Immersion
Community-Based
Learning
University-
Community
Service
Service to
Community
Community-
University
Partnership
Circle of Engagement
Metropolitan State University
Visualization of an Engaged Campus
The Circle of Engagement, utilizing a list of concepts/terms, is designed to identify
community connections, which describe the various components of an engaged
campus at Metropolitan State. The university has adapted the Circle for use in the
promotion and tenure process. The list of terms with definitions (which can be
seen on the reverse side), was created through a process that included input and
approval from faculty members, staff, administrators, community partners and
students.
5-5-09sss

12. Social Transformation Engagement
A long-term unified commitment by the university and
larger community to alter social disparities by
working towards social change and justice

13. Civic Engagement
Active involvement in exercising the power of
citizens in public life and learning

14. Community-Based Learning
University-wide approach of teaching, research, or
experiential learning that combines authentic
community or public service activity with academic
instruction, focusing on critical, reflective thinking as
well as evidence of civic responsibility and/or
personal growth

15. Community Connection
Relationship with one or more community
organization(s) and one or more department(s) or
program(s) within the university to accomplish a
shared objective on a short term basis which may or
may not include academic learning

16. Community Immersion
A university course or program that involves
significant student immersion in a community-based
project, program, organization or governmental unit
with a primary focus on reflective learning that
supports or enhances classroom learning

17. Community-University Partnership
A mutually defined relationship, between at least one
university department or program and one or more
community-based organization(s), of sufficient scale
and duration to significantly benefit the community
organization(s) while providing important learning
opportunities and reflection for university students

18. Service to Community
One or more university department(s), program(s) or
courses committed to regular opportunities for
students and faculty to assist community
organizations with their objectives, which may or may
not include academic learning

19. University-Community Service
A university department, program or course and a
community partner are committed to the mutual
sharing of objectives in this reciprocal relationship
which may or may not include an academic
component

20. Institute for Community Engagement and
Scholarship
Contact Information:
www.metrostate.edu/ices / 651 793-1285
Gregory Mellas, Director
Gregory.Mellas@metrostate.edu / 651 793-1292
Evelyn Rolloff, Associate Director
evelyn.rolloff@metrostate.edu / 651 793-1291
Jodi Bantley, Community Engagement Coordinator
jodi.bantley@metrostate.edu / 651 793-1294
Victor B. Cole, Community Engagement Coordinator
victor.cole@metrostate.edu / 651 793-1290