Definitions and Standards

Community engagement describes 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 purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good. Carnegie classification for community engagement

Aligned with the Carnegie Classification of Community Engagement, quality outreach activities and partnerships should aim to:

• strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility;
• address critical societal issues and contribute to the public good.

 Outreach activities and partnerships should also:

• prepare educated, engaged citizens;
• enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity;
• enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning.

Standards are grounded in the research of best practices in the field of community engagement. Questions below each standard offer a way to assess if your program/project meets each standard.

1. Reciprocity: Design and implementation of the outreach activity and partnership should have benefits to both the external partner organization as well as the university community.
2. Reflection: Participants in outreach activities should have structured opportunities to critically reflect. Characteristics of critical reflection are being continuous, connected, challenging and contextualized.
3. Partnership: SJU and community organizations should communicate, plan, and assess programs collaboratively. Moreover, partnership necessitates that collaboration becomes sustainable over time.