Promising Practices

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Civic Engagement: A Strategy for College Access & Success
Students’ participation in civic engagement activities is linked to a range of positive outcomes in higher education. 

Civic engagement efforts can enhance academic success and increase graduation rates at K-12 schools, community colleges, and 4-year institutions. At Oregon Campus Compact, our goal is to connect students to civic engagement opportunities so that they complete college as active, engaged citizens with skills to enact change locally and globally. 

What makes civic engagement an effective tool for student success?
“To be effective, civic engagement must be intentionally integrated into curricular and cocurricular learning goals, “ writes Christine M. Cress, Professor of Higher Education at Portland State University. 

According to Cress, the types of civic engagement that are statistically proven for promoting student success have three essential elements:

• Intentional campus, community, and conceptual connections.
  
• Collaborative learning relationships between instructors, students, and community participants.
  
• Integration into educational expectations and organizational performance.

What are Oregon campuses doing?
We’re gathering best practices on how to intentionally integrate civic engagement opportunities on campuses. This is not an comprehensive list of initiatives in Oregon, but a working document. Click on the topics above to find out more.

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Resources

• Kuh, G. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities. A chart of high-impact practices is available here.
  
• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
• Diversity & Democracy, a publication of AAC&U
• LEAP Campus Toolkit
• Building Engaged Campuses: A research brief from Campus Compact
• Bringing Theory to Practice: Assessment tools used to assess engaged learning, civic engagement, and student mental health and well-being.
• Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE)
• The Degree Qualifications Profile helps assess civic learning and other student outcomes. For more discussion, see this article.
• Resources from National Campus Compact
• A Promising Connection: Increasing College Access and Success through Civic Engagement, by Campus Compact