Community Engagement Enhancement Program

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Introduction

Student affairs professionals play a vital role in the co-curricular engagement of students at the University of North Florida. The constructed, out-of-the-classroom educational environments allow for the application of in-class material and knowledge in practical and real-world settings. Events and programs hosted by student affairs staff and the involvement of students in volunteerism, hands-on service, and philanthropy are essential to the University’s distinctions on the Presidential Honor Roll and the Carnegie Foundation’s designation for Community Engagement.

The Community Engagement Enhancement Program (CEEP) was designed to further this aim; specifically, for student affairs professionals who are, or would like to be, involved in community engagement work. With support and collaboration from CCBL, CEEP can be a bridge program that connects student affairs professionals to faculty and academic affairs. Community-based transformational learning (CBTL) concepts and principles have been associated with the academic realm of the university through curriculum, research, and faculty professional development for the past seven years. CEEP can assist with infusing these same principles into the programming efforts of student affairs professionals to advance their work in co-curricular community-based environments.

Community Engagement Enhancement Program Application

Purpose

CEEP is a professional development program for student affairs practitioners that will reinforce strong initiative development and assessment practices via community-based transformational learning (CBTL) principles. The program is developed in the form of two workshops to create a learning environment that fosters dialogue and collaboration among participants to increase knowledge, skills, and abilities around community engagement work.

Participant Outcomes

Those who participate in CEEP can expect to:

Discuss CBTL principles and how they apply to student affairs work
Write learning outcomes that address co-curricular community engagement activities
Produce a new program or integrate CBTL principles with a pre-existing program
Generate a program evaluation or assessment plan that measures anticipated learning outcomes

Eligibility and Registration

All full-time student affairs professionals interested in infusing community engagement principles into their work. Registration dates will vary based on the semester. Upon completing the registration, the participant will receive an email to participate in a pre-test. The pre-test will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and must be done 24-hours prior to Workshop #1. Participants partake in two workshops to learn about CBTL principles, best practices for community engagement, developing learning outcomes, and determining effective reflection and assessment activities.

Community Engagement Enhancement Program Structure

Workshop Session Topics:

Basic Workshop – 3 hours

CBTL Gateways/Community & Partnerships
Learning Outcomes/Project Planning

Assessment Workshop – 2 hours

Reflection activities
Program evaluation and methodology

Upon the completion of both workshops, participants will be eligible for resources to conduct a co-curricular community engagement program; up to $500 can be requested for transportation, marketing, and materials. T-shirts for all program participants will be provided by CCBL. CEEP participants will submit a completed project plan to be approved for resources. Completion of the assessment workshop will ensure the resources will be disseminated. Project funds will be suspended for Fiscal Year 21 to focus on program planning and development with departments. Funds will be reinstated for Fiscal Year 22 for approved projects.

CEEP Participation Requirements

Community Engagement Enhancement Program participants will:

Participate in two workshops related to issues with community engagement (e.g., university processes, operational understanding), how student affairs work contributes to the expansion of community engagement at UNF, and evaluating programs/initiatives associate with community engagement work
Draft a written plan/programming blueprint that includes integrating Community Engagement elements in existing programming or creating a new initiative.
Complete the community engagement project prior to the fiscal year in which they completed the workshops.
Submit a written, final report about the implementation of your CEEP programming blueprint. A synopsis of the programming event will be developed from this report and highlighted on the Center for Community-Based Learning website.

For more information about the Community Engagement Enhancement Program, contact Dr. Alarie Gibbs at alarie.gibbs@unf.edu.