VALUE Initiative Seeks Feedback on Draft Rubrics

AAC&U's VALUE Initiative (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) is in the final stages of developing a rubric on "civic knowledge and engagement--local and global" as part of a set of 15 rubrics that campuses can use in assessing student e-portfolios, as well as other work.

Many of the other rubrics also relate to learning outcomes associated with high-quality academic civic engagement, such as "problem solving" and "intercultural knowledge and competence." AAC&U and Campus Compact invite interested campuses or departments to test the civic engagement (and other) rubrics between May 1 and June 15, 2009, in order to help shape the final versions of these rubrics, which will be publicly available -- at no charge -- in August 2009.

If you would like to have your faculty, staff, or students give feedback on the rubrics, please email Wende Morgaine, VALUE Initiative Manager, at wendemm@gmail.com.  For more information about the initiative, see http://www.aacu.org/value/index.cfm.

Call for Proposals: International Partnership Institute

Proposals to present at "Reciprocal Partnerships: Transforming Higher Education and Community for the Future" at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon on May 18-19, 2009 are now being accepted. Proposals are due March 9, 2009 and registration for the event is $200.

Developing and sustaining reciprocal partnerships is the basis for effective campus-community engagement. Yet, despite the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's (and others') national call to focus on partnerships a decade ago, this foundational work remains elusive for many campuses and communities. Join community and campus practitioners and scholars to deeply explore engaged teaching, research and service partnerships - their proven mechanisms and strategies for success, persistent challenges, and the scholarship of partnerships.

Interactive work and plenary sessions feature:

- HARRY BOYTE, Co-director, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, University of Minnesota

- NADINNE CRUZ, former director of the Haas Center, Stanford University

- AMY DRISCOLL, Consulting Scholar, Carnegie Foundation for Teaching and Learning

- President/Community Partner Panel

- YOU!

HOST/SPONSOR: Portland State University

CO-SPONSORS:

- Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)

- American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)

- Campus Compact (National & Oregon Campus Compact)

- Campus-Community Partnerships for Health (CCPH)

- International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (IARSLCE)

- The Talloires Network

- Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP)

For more information, please contact Patrice Hudson at pjhudson@pdx.edu or 503-725-5642.

Call for Proposals and Nominations: The Community College National Center for Community Engagement

CCNCCE invites proposals to present at its 18th annual conference, to be held in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 20-22, 2009. Conference presentations are 1-hour or 90-minute sessions, which should be designed to be highly interactive. Proposals to present at the conference must be submitted in electronic form.

In keeping with our theme, Unraveling the Mysteries behind Thriving Partnerships in Service Learning and Civic Engagement, some of the issues you may wish to address in your workshop are:

-Developing effective partnerships in service learning and civic engagement

-Leveraging your program's resources through creative partnerships in service learning and civic engagement

-Opportunities for partnerships with non-profit organizations during the economic downturn

-Strategies for retaining students through service learning and civic engagement

-The role of service learning partners in helping students stay in school

-Incorporating service learning and civic engagement into the curriculum

-Effective evaluation and assessment of service learning programs

-Research in service learning and civic engagement

-Showcase your innovative service learning program or project

For complete information or to submit a proposal, click here.

Deadline for Submissions: March 9, 2009

Notification by: March 20, 2009

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The Community College National Center for Community Engagement wishes to celebrate outstanding campus-based service learning and civic engagement programs that have developed partnerships outside their institutions. The Center seeks nominations for the following awards:

-Collaborations with Social Agencies

-Collaborations with Business and Industry

-Collaborations with K-12 Schools

-Collaborations with Universities International Service Learning

This award is open to all two-year colleges who collaborate through service-learning and civic engagement with social agencies, business and industry, K-12, universities, or internationally.

Please note: This is an institutional award and not for an individual. Winners must attend the CCNCCE Conference to accept their award and to present on their program. Colleges that have won within the past five years in any category are ineligible to apply. All costs associated with this award are the responsibility of the college.

Successful applicants will be selected on these criteria:

-Quality of learning opportunities provided to students

-Contribution of both the institution and its partner(s) to community improvement

-Level of faculty involvement in the collaboration

-Potential to be replicated in other communities

A Nomination Form must be completed, along with a Nomination (see Nomination Form for details) and letters of support from the campus president and collaborating partners. Only one nomination per college will be accepted. Nomination must be in only one category. The Nomination Form, Nomination, and letters must be received by February 20, 2009 in the Center's office. Applicants will be notified by March 6, 2008.

For more information contact Lyvier Conss, Executive Director, at lyvier.conss@mcmail.maricopa.edu or 480-461-6281.