Community-Engaged Scholarship

Possible Models for Implementing
UNF’s Quality Enhancement Plan
Community-Based Transformational Learning

The following models are based on the assumption that (a) the quality enhancement plan must include all of the University of North Florida students in a given category (e.g. all undergraduate students, all lower division students), (b) the plan can start with a pilot and build to complete coverage over the five years, and (c) the category of students that will be covered must be broad enough to have a significant impact on the University’s overall educational program.

In each of the models presented below, the Center for Community-Based Learning and the Office of Faculty Enhancement would provide support to each academic unit as it rolls out its implementation or refinement of community-based learning. When an academic unit’s CBL component is up and running, the Center for Community Based Learning may continue to help in securing and tracking student placements or this responsibility may shift to the field placement offices in the appropriate professional colleges or the Career Development Center.

The Center for Community Based Learning will also be available to help other undergraduate or graduate programs that are not in an ongoing cohort (see below) with student placements and in working with faculty on community-based research projects. The QEP is a major, but not the sole mechanism UNF will take to improve community engagement.

Pairing Programs with Established CBL Records with Programs Beginning to Use CBL
Under this model the QEP steering committee in consultation with the Director for the Center for Community Based Learning will select a set of undergraduate programs that have established records for using community-based learning (e.g. nursing, elementary education) and a set of programs that have an demonstrated an emerging use of or stated interest in using CBL. There may be up to ten programs in this first cohort, at least three with established records in using CBL. This cohort will meet together to set 2-year goals for each program in the group, to share ideas and current practices, and to track progress and problems over the two years. Programs with established records will set goals for improvement of current activities. Other programs will establish goals to broaden or initiate the use of CBL. By the end of the two years, each of these programs will document (a) success in strengthening their CBL offerings, (b) 100% student involvement, and (c) student success in meeting stated learning outcomes. Each program will be allocated $8K in funds to support various activities in their 2-year implementation plan: professional development for faculty, coordination in identifying community partners, etc.

In the second year and third years, two new cohorts will be selected. Each cohort will follow the same practices as outlined above.

In the fourth year of QEP implementation, any academic program that has not participated in the CBL pilot will be asked to join the fourth cohort. Programs from the first cohort will also be able to request $4K of funding for a one-year period to strengthen their ongoing efforts.

After all programs have ongoing CBL components in which each of their students must participate, funding will continue to support further refinement in ongoing programs. Up to 10 programs per year can apply for a $4K grant to support their development activities.

Flagship Programs for the Initial Pilot Group
Under this model the first pilot group will include UNF’s four flagship programs and may include six other programs, some with established records and some without. This first cadre will follow the same procedures as described above. The second, third and fourth cohorts will also follow the procedures described above.

Lower Division Students
In this model the target group will be lower division students as opposed to all undergraduate students. Faculty who teach in General Education courses and faculty who teach required lower division prerequisite courses will meet to develop a strategy to ensure that all lower division students will engage in at least one community-based learning experience. They will also determine how the students’ learning outcomes will be assessed and tracked. Once these decisions are made, the faculty who teach each of the courses that are designated to include a CBL component will be given a stipend to develop that component and provided with professional development experiences/funds to strengthen their understanding and skills in using CBL experiences.

Faculty who are not part of the lower division program will be eligible for summer teaching grants which will support course development and/or redesign aimed at incorporating CBL experiences and developing strategies for assessing student learning outcomes.

Under this model, all lower division students (the target audience) will engage in at least one community-based learning experience. At the same time, faculty from across the University will be encouraged to use CBL within their upper division or graduate courses.