Definitions & Key Concepts

Collaboration between KU and its larger communities for the mutually beneficial creation and exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Elective Classification for Community Engagement. Carnegie Community Engagement Classification

Working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference.

Thomas Erlich, Civic Responsibility and Higher Education. Promoted by KU Center for Service Learning.

Active participation in the public life of a community in an informed, committed, and constructive manner focused on the common good.

KU CSL Community Engagement Toolbox

People or groups that share a common place/geographical location, interest, and/or experience.

Community Tool Box

Network of office(s), unit(s), and systems across the institution that enable and advance community engagement through policy, professional development, resource allocation, tracking, and assessment.

Institutional efforts that remove structural barriers so that students, faculty, staff, and community partners can meaningfully participate in community engagement.

Relationships in which campus and community share authority and accountability in defining problems, co-creating solutions, and determining measures of success; all partners benefit.

Educational experience that allows students to participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility.

Bringle and Hatcher, 1995. Promoted by KU Center for Service Learning.