Education Commons^™

Service-Learning Community Partner Impact Assessment Report, 2021, Rebecca Hoppe, Katie Elliott, Lynn E. Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

In 2021, the Service-Learning Office at VCU conducted an assessment of the impact of service-learning on community partner organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The assessment aimed to collect actionable feedback to inform and improve upon current service-learning course practices. Partners (N = 18) were prompted with questions to assess the following topics: operational capacity, economic functioning, social environment, and partnership quality, both prior to and in concurrent with the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative findings suggested an overall improvement in scores from the 2017 assessment. Qualitative findings indicated the importance of relationships, concluding that adaptation, communication, and involvement were key factors …

Debate For Civic Learning, S Bodnar-Deren, E Coston, D Mthethwa, L.E. Pelco, E Peron, M Pyles, T Swecker

Division of Community Engagement Resources

No abstract provided.

Why Service-Learning?, Audrey Trussell, Katie Elliott

Division of Community Engagement Resources

Data from VCU's "High Impact Practices (HIPS) Assessment Model: 2015-16 Pilot Mid-Year Report" offers three compelling reasons for why service-learning matters for student success.

2015-2016 Service-Learning Impact Measure Report, Samantha Poelstra

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The VCU Service-Learning Office distributes the Service-Learning Impact Measure (SLIM) at the end of every semester to evaluate the impact of service-learning classes on student learning. Results are used to guide professional development opportunities, as well as to further improve the quality of and recruit additional tenure-line faculty members to teach designated service-learning classes.

Different Tools For Different Tasks: Strategies For Assessing Student Learning From Civic Engagement At The Student, Program, And Institutional Levels, Lynn E. Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was given at the SCHEV Civic Engagement Education and Assessment meeting on June 9, 2017.

Service-Learning Community Partner Impact Assessment Report, Jennifer Jettner, Lynn Pelco, Katie Elliott

Division of Community Engagement Resources

In the summer of 2017, VCU’s Office of Service-Learning conducted an evaluation of the impact of service-learning on community partner organizations. This assessment aimed to collect actionable feedback from partners and to inform improvements to service-learning courses at VCU that successfully address partners’ concerns. An external researcher conducted phone interviews with a representative sample of 22 community partners. Partners were asked how a specific service-learning course impacted their organization in three areas: organizational capacity, economically, and socially. Partners were also asked about faculty interactions and the likelihood of recommending the service-learning course to other organizations like their own. This report …

2017-18 Guide For Participants: Virginia Commonwealth University Peer Mentoring Program, Lynn E. Pelco, Cristina Stanciu

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The Peer Mentoring Program Guide for Participants provides information for both university faculty mentees and their faculty mentors to help establish and develop a productive mentoring relationship. This Guide is the handbook for the Virginia Commonwealth University Peer Mentoring Program, which seeks to support early career faculty members, enabling them to succeed and thrive in the academy as both scholars and educators. The VCU Peer Mentoring program is part of the VCU Office of Faculty Affairs.

Answering The Question, "To What End?": Building A System Of Enterprise Data Measurement To Track And Assess Our Engagement With And Impact On Our Communities, Valerie Holton

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This was presented at the Florida Campus Compact held February 8-10, 2016.

Smarter, Better, Stronger Together: Working In Community-University Partnerships, Valerie Holton

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was facilitated by Valerie Holton at Florida Atlantic University on April 15, 2016.

A Neighborhood Team Approach To Strengthening University-Neighborhood Relations, Tito Luna

Division of Community Engagement Resources

At an urban university like Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), people and programs often blend into the cultural fabric of its surrounding neighborhoods. Opportunities and challenges inevitably arise. How can a university partner with contiguous communities to develop mutually-beneficial relationships? This presentation describes how a neighborhood outreach director works closely with neighborhoods, a neighborhood liaison group, university police and the City of Richmond. Learn how various university units came together to form the VCU Neighborhood Team.

High Impact Practices (Hips) Assessment Model: 2015-2016 Pilot Mid-Year Report, Lynn E. Pelco, Janice Baab

Division of Community Engagement Resources

A systematic institutional assessment model was developed to investigate the impact of high impact educational practices (HIPs) on undergraduate student success at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The proposed VCU HIPs Assessment Model provides a systematic framework for assessing the impact of high impact educational practices on VCU undergraduates. Recommendations for institutionalizing the VCU HIPs Assessment Model are made.

Smashing Silos: Community Engagement Maps - A Vivo Extension, Tessa Mckenzie, Audrey Trussell, Valerie Holton, Stephen Guilford, Jonathan Deshazo

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This poster was presented at the VIVO 2016 Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Crafting And Enhancing Communications To Support Community-University Partnerships In Higher Education, Audrey Trussell

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was facilitated at the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Conference in Washington, D.C., in October 2016.

Enhancing Impact: Aligning University Engagement Efforts With Community Needs, Jennifer Early, Valerie Holton, Kevin Allison, Catherine Howard

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was delivered at the Coalition of Urban Metropolitan Universities Conference in Washington, D.C., in October 2016.

Incorporating Community Engagement Language Into Promotion And Tenure Policies: One University's Journey, Lynn E. Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was given at the 2016 Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities Conference in Washington, D.C.

Professional Development For Community-Engaged Research And Teaching: An Integrated Model For Administrators, Instructors, Researchers And Community Partners, Lynn E. Pelco, Jennifer Early

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was given at the 2016 Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities Conference in Washington, D.C.

Safety And Protection Of Minors: Developing Policy And Best Practices To Protect Youth On Campus, Catherine Howard, Christina Carter, Meghan Resler, Jaqueline Kniska

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was given at the 2016 Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Conference in Washington, D.C.

Empathy Activators: Teaching Tools For Enhancing Empathy Development In Service-Learning Classes, Robin Everhart, Katie Elliott, Lynn E. Pelco, Deborah Westin, Rowena Briones, Emily Peron

Division of Community Engagement Resources

On February 5, 2016, 25 educators from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the University of Richmond (UR) gathered in Richmond, Virginia, for an annual service-learning workshop. This year’s workshop featured Robin Everhart, PhD, VCU assistant professor of psychology, as keynote speaker. Jumpstarted by Everhart’s research on student empathy, workshop participants explored the concept of empathy and collaboratively developed strategies for integrating empathy into the service-learning experience. This document grows out of Everhart’s presentation and group discussions during that workshop and represents a collection of ideas generated.

So You Walk The Walk, But Do You Talk The Talk?: Crafting And Enhancing Communications To Support Community Engagement In Higher Education, Audrey Trussell

Division of Community Engagement Resources

With community engagement rapidly gaining prominence in higher education, more faculty and administrators are being tasked with communicating about community engagement activities. Communications must be developed to support the institution’s mission while remaining true to principles of mutually-beneficial partnerships. This session explored best practices for developing and implementing a university communications strategy for community engagement. This presentation was given at the Gulf South Summit in Savannah, Georgia on April 14, 2016.

Build It And They Will Come: Infrastructure To Support And Advance Community Engagement And Regional Impact, Valerie Holton

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was facilitated by Dr. Valerie Holton on April 16, 2016 at Florida Atlantic University.

The Role Of Partnerships In Achieving The Vision: Tracking And Assessing Community Engagement, Valerie Holton, Kathleen Shaw

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was given at the Virginia Association for Management Analysis and Planning in Richmond, Virginia on October 20, 2016.

Empathy Activators: Strategies For Developing Empathy In Service-Learning Students, Katie Elliott, Robin Everhart, Lynn E. Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This poster presentation explores the link between service-learning and the development of student empathy. It will share the initial research results of a pilot study on student empathy, service-learning, and key ingredients for cultivating empathy. It also offers instructors concrete ideas for teaching tools that activate student empathy.

Faculty Development For Service-Learning: One Size Does Not Fit All, Lynn E. Pelco, Catherine Howard

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This conference presentation describes the development of the professional development continuum currently being used at Virginia Commonwealth University to build the faculty’s capacity for teaching high-quality service-learning courses. Our professional development continuum was developed over the past 5 years by the staff of the VCU Service-Learning Office and was informed by program evaluation data, the principles of adult learning theory, and an “exposure-experience-expertise” developmental framework. The continuum targets instructors at varying levels of service-learning knowledge and experience so that faculty instructors with more service-learning experience participate in different professional development opportunities than do instructors who are new to the pedagogy.

Innovating The 21st Century: Developing A Mobile App To Collect Student Service Activities To Assess Impact, Jennifer Jettner

Division of Community Engagement Resources

No abstract provided.

Learning Through Serving: Why University-Community Collaboration Is An Educational Imperative, Erin Marie Burke Brown, Sierra Croker, Taryn Dollings, Kaitlyn Donahue, Rachel Dyer, Omequa Eaddie, Rebecca Kellerman

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The objectives of this presentation were to: (1) understand how universities impact communities; (2) discuss importance of university-community collaboration; (3) review best practices for university-community collaboration; (4) explore ways to positively impact communities through university-community collaboration; and (5) learn ways to combine academic and professional goals through civic engagement.

Conversational Community Spanish: Case Studies In Cross-Sector Collaboration, Eleanor Sharp, Laura Pilati, Anita Nadal

Division of Community Engagement Resources

No abstract provided.

Pilot Inventory Of Community Partnerships: Iarslce Conference 2013, Valerie Holton, Kate Agnelli

Division of Community Engagement Resources

Partnerships with community organizations create increased opportunities for universities to promote community-engaged research, teaching, and service. Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) mission states that the university is committed to "sustainable, university-community partnerships that enhance the educational, economic, and cultural vitality of the communities VCU serves." In recognition of its efforts, VCU is among a small number of institutions to be designated as very high research activity and community-engaged by the Carnegie Foundation. It is also a recipient of a NIH-funded Center for Translational and Sciences Award, which promotes community-engaged research.

In pursuit of the university’s goal to become a national model …

Service-Learning In English Language Courses, Audrey Short, Susan Dudley, Lynn Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Gap: Using Service-Learning Teaching Assistants To Foster Effective University-Community Partnerships, Erin Burke Brown, Lynn Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The objectives of this presentation were to: (1) describe the VCU Service-Learning Teaching Assistant (SLTA) Program; (2) discuss the benefits of integrating defined student leadership into service-learning courses; and (3) share best practices and resources.