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The Community Engagement Indicator

Faculty members have the option to identify their classes as having the “Community Engagement” component in the UM-Flint course schedules. The Community Engagement indicator:

  • Demonstrates how UM-Flint academically prepares students with real-world experience for their professional careers and lives as engaged citizens using evidence-based, high-impact practices
  • Helps students search SIS for course sections that provide significant learning experiences in and with the community
  • Enables departmental and institution-wide tracking and reporting about community-engaged classes, including helping departments with annual reporting and promoting successes

Eligibility

Based on existing practices at UM-Flint, course sections are eligible for the Community Engagement Indicator if they have at least one of the three following components in the course syllabus:

  1. The course section contains an assignment that requires all students to work on a project for a real-world client or community partner (i.e. service-learning). Such assignments are connected to specific learning outcomes, provide a structured way for students to analyze and connect the project experience to learning, and address community needs.
  2. The course contains at least two of the following types of experiential learning activities, involving the entire class, that are connected to specific learning outcomes:
  • An assignment requiring students to gather evidence from or make observations in the local, regional, or broader community
  • An assignment requiring students to make presentations to/for a community group, K-12, business, non-profit, government, association or other external audience
  • An assignment requiring students to participate in meetings or events in the community
  • An assignment requiring students to interview people in the community
  • A field trip to illustrate or give students first-hand experience with course concepts
  • At least two speakers or panels of experts from the community (note: University Outreach staff and other University employees do not count)

3.  The course section is a clinical, practicum, or for-credit internship that reciprocally benefits students in the class and the community.

Sign Up

Faculty must sign up for the Community Engagement  Indicator every semester they are offering a course section identified as a Community Engagement course. 

The Provost office supports faculty teaching a Community Engagement course and they are eligible to apply for small grants up to $750 through the Office of Engaged Learning. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Gary Ashley in the Office of Engaged Learning at gaashley@umich.edu.