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Background and RationaleLinking high-impact learning and community engagement

For more than twenty years, the Bonner Foundation has worked with institutions of higher education to develop a comprehensive approach to community engagement. The Bonner Program is built upon a set of interrelated developmental frameworks—for students, community partners, and institutions—that yield an integrated, multi-faceted and sustained approach to campus-community partnerships.

We know that the program works, not only in producing student leaders and alumni who are and remain civically engaged, but also in supporting institutions to build an infrastructure and culture of service and in building the capacity of non-profit and governmental organizations to address issues like poverty, homelessness, educational access, and community development. Our Student Impact Survey and Alumni Survey have helped us understand how a four-year program model, focus on diversity and dialogue across difference, structured education and reflection, and progressively challenging community service positions help us achieve success. We have begun to articulate defined high-impact community engagement practices (HICEPs) that are replicable and scalable. We now look ahead to develop models and strategies to better capture the impact of this work, and the High-Impact Initiative will also pave the way for community impact assessment.

Moreover, we have seeded and worked on various strategies for academic community engagement. These have included community-based research, the

FIPSE funded model for civic engagement minors, and PolicyOptions. Our campuses now want strategies for linking community engagement across the curriculum, and all of the proven high-impact practices can be integrated with community engagement.

This initiative will mobilize change by linking proven high-impact practices with proven high-impact community engagement. This comprehensive, strategic, and developmental approach will provide campus teams with:

• a cohort oriented series of developmental institutes, held each summer beginning in 2012;

• an intentional, focused staff and faculty development opportunity, which will also involve student leaders and community partners;

• on-campus strategic planning and consultation, utilizing assessment and evidence-driven practice;

• an action plan for campus change, backed by Foundation and network resources, that equip campus teams to develop, implement, and assess high-impact practices;

• the opportunity, models, and systems to integrate High-Impact Practices with high-impact community engagement in ways that bolster the institution’s effectiveness and reputation; and

• access to learning from the Foundation’s national network and strategic partners, who will identify and share the models for the most effective practice.

High-Impact Initiative The Bonner Foundation’s

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The ConceptBuilding and mobilizing teams of change leaders to drive strategic integration

The High-Impact Initiative will catalyze and support a three-year developmental strategy for campus teams involving faculty, administrators, students, and community partners at 30 institutions to develop high-impact educational practices that are integrated with high-impact community engagement.  Nine institutions are involved in the first cohort in 2011-2012.

' This initiative leverages the powerful research generated in the LEAP Report and College Learning for the New Global Century, as well as subsequent publications about high-impact practices. This initiative is one way that the Bonner Foundation is responding to the key insights in the

recently released report, A Crucible Moment: Co$ege Learning and Democracy’s Future. We believe that we can build on our twenty year experience—while tapping the most promising research about the practices that result in student learning and success—to harness the power of

community engagement.Each institution involved will build a core

leadership team involving experienced program staff, senior and junior faculty members, community partner representatives, and student leaders. The teams will participate in strategic visioning and planning. They will also attend a series of three intensive summer institutes, during which time they

work collaboratively to map a plan for integrating high-impact practices and high-impact community engagement.

Back on campus and in the community, they will mobilize support of their peer and colleagues to implement their plans. The Foundation will provide strategic support, as well as resources and models. By systematically linking practices such as first-year experiences, course-based internships, writing intensive courses, undergraduate research, capstones with civic and community engagement, the project seeks to help campuses scale effective community engagement initiatives that reach more students and maximize the meaningful impact for communities. 

The Bonner High-Impact Initiative is being designed with the conviction that the thoughtful integration of high-impact educational practices with community engagement can enable individual campuses and the national network to significantly strengthen their Bonner Programs (or other co-curricular developmental programs), as well as institutional civic engagement.

While building and integrating these high-impact strategies, the institution will also build the capacity and infrastructure to provide public policy research and support issue-oriented community strategies for specific program model and issue areas.

The Foundation is working to create a national learning community for campuses with civic partners like AAC&U, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Bringing Theory to Practice, Imagining America, NERCHE, and others.

High-Impact Initiative The Bonner Foundation’s

For more info, visit bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/highimpactinitiative

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The ModelScaffolding Connections at Every Level

High-Impact Initiative The Bonner Foundation’s

Building An Integrated Approach To Curricular & Co-curricular Engagement: An Example

Public Policy Research and a Full-Time Internship Course

Capstone level placement tied to Capstone Course

Diversity and Global Learning tied to a service immersion trip

First Year Seminar tied to a meaningful semester placement

Developmental position for a sophomore tied to a Commons Course or Learning Community

Third-year leadership position involving an Undergraduate Research Assignment in a service-learning course

The four-year co-curricular program offers many ways to intersect with curricular learning. Each institution will craft integrative strategies that build upon their best assets.

High impact student learning and engagement practices, as highlighted by George Kuh and the American Association of Colleges and Universities* (LEAP Initiative), include:

• first year seminars• common intellectual experiences • sequential service-learning coursework • learning communities, • writing-intensive courses• collaborative assignments and projects • undergraduate research• diversity/global learning • internships and project-based learning• service-learning and community-based

learning• capstone courses and projects

High impact community partnership practices include:

• strategic, multi-year relationships with community partners, often built around teams

• developmental multi-year student placements (as in the Bonner Program)

• academic service-learning and community-based research that involve multi-year faculty commitments;

• public policy research to identify best practices, proven program models and relevant information

• evidence-driven program assessment and strategic planning for capacity building for partners.

• structures for engaging community partners in institutional visioning and planning

• capacity building projects (i.e., civic health index)

• cross campus collaborations on projects (i.e., Sophomore Exchange, Capstones), many of which could involve social media and new instructional technologies

Integrated Civic Education and

Experiences

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The four-year co-curricular experience offers many ways to intersect with engaged learning. Each institution will craft integrative strategies that build upon their best assets. The leadership team will work creatively to mobilize connections on campus and in the community—guided by training, summer institutes, data collection and analysis, strategic planning, and foundation networking and support.

Integrate HIPs and HICEPsIntegrate high-impact educational practices and high-impact community engagement. Each institution will

craft ways to link these, building around their own best partnerships, academic offerings, and co-curricular program links.

First Year Seminars First Year Trips / Immersions

Common Intellectual Experiences Site/Team Based Project Design

Learning Communities Cohort Training Meetings

Writing Intensive Courses Policy Research Assignments

Collaborative Projects Issue Briefs/Proven Program Model Integration/CBR

Undergraduate Research Capacity Building Projects

Diversity /Global Learning Service Immersion Trips / Internships

Internships / Project-Based Learning Summer Service Internships

Capstone Courses Capstone Service Projects

Integrate Evidence to Drive EffectivenessUse data and evidence-based practice to drive institutional strategy for full engagement. This data will include

the National Assessment of Service and Community Engagement, Faculty Surveys, Partner Surveys, and other institutional data.

Leverage Teams for Democratic Community EngagementBuild, support, and leverage campus transformation teams. Each team will

leverage the involvement of partners, students, staff, and faculty.

Build a National Learning CommunityBe an active convener and catalyst—spurring partnerships across the field

that move community engagement towards greater impact

The Strategy

High-Impact Initiative The Bonner Foundation’s

Integrative Projects

Faculty

StudentsStaff

Partner

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Allegheny College

Meadville, PA

Berea CollegeBerea, KY

Berry CollegeRome, GA

Carson-Newman College

Jefferson City, TN

Saint Mary’s College of California

Moraga, CA

Siena College

Loudonville, NY

Stetson UniversityDeLand, FL

Sewanee—The University of the

SouthSewanee, TN

Washburn University

Topeka, KS

First CohortNine Diverse Institutions of Higher Education

High-Impact Initiative The Bonner Foundation’s

For more info, visit bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/highimpactinitiative