Academic Community Engagement for Faculty

Faculty Benefits

Evaluation: The University's Faculty Evaluation System (FES) policy was modified to incorporate civic engagement, service-learning, community-based teaching strategies, or internships.

Recognition: A fourth University Excellence award, The David Payne Award for Academic Community Engagement, has been established to annually recognize an outstanding faculty member who teaches ACE courses. Only faculty teaching ACE courses are eligible for the $5,000 award.

Scholarly Opportunities: There are also many avenues through which to publish research relating to the integration of community engagement and curriculum. Other scholarly creative activities with the goal of contributing to the public good are also recognized as community engaged scholarship.

ACE Course Requirements

• The faculty member identifies one or more course objectives that students will address through their ACE experience.
• A community partner is identified which collaborates with the faculty member in designing the ACE experience (which is mutually beneficial). 
• A statement regarding the importance of community engagement is included in the syllabus.
• The faculty member requires a reflection assignment about the ACE experience that is evaluative and graded as indicated in the course syllabus and included in the final course grade.
• For every one hour of course credit, each student should dedicate a minimum of three hours to the ACE experience. For example, a 3-credit course would require a minimum of 9 hours on the ACE experience per student per semester.

Application and Renewal Information

While The Center for Community Engagement will accept applications and renewals any time during the academic year, there are definite deadlines if the professor wants the ACE designation to appear on the Registrar’s official schedule of classes:

• Spring Courses – October 15
• Summer Courses – March 15
• Fall Courses – March 15

To apply, visit: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx

To renew your course, visit: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx

ACE Course Resources

• ACE Experience FAQs
• Make Your Syllabus ACE-Worthy
• Syllabus Example - Business
• Syllabus Example - Nursing
• Reflection Example - Computer Science
• Reflection Example - Victim Studies

Other Resources:

• General Resume Template for Students' Academic Community Engagement Experiences
• Types and Importance of Reflections - Mississippi State
• Considering Critical Reflection - Campus Compact
• Best Practices (Reflections) - Vanderbilt University
• Supporting Critical Reflection - University of Michigan

Please note that some resources mention Service-Learning. While this term is used on other campuses, at SHSU we use Academic Community Engagement (ACE).

Liability Information

• Primer on State Employee Liability
• Liability Waiver

Publishing Resources

• Guide to Getting Published
• How to Access the Research Guides for SL and CE
• Searching for Journal Titles

Awards & Recognition

• David Payne ACE Award