Creating a Culture of Collaboration: Collecting Community Engagement Data Susan Connery, Director of the Feinstein Community Service Center Christopher Hourigan, Director of Institutional Research

2 Presentation Plan 1.Background on Presenters 2.Background on Johnson & Wales University 3.Background on Institutional Research at JWU 4.What Does Community Engagement “Look Like” at JWU? 5.How Community Engagement Data are Collected 6.Utilizing Community Engagement Data 7.Successes and Challenges 8.Lessons Learned

3 Background on Presenters Susan Connery Director of Feinstein Community Service Center Nineteen years at Johnson & Wales University Christopher Hourigan Director of Institutional Research Four years at Johnson & Wales University Previously worked at William Paterson University and University of New Haven in institutional research

4 Background on Johnson & Wales University Nonprofit, private regionally accredited (NEASC) institution with four campuses: Providence, Charlotte, Denver, and North Miami More than 17,000 graduate and undergraduate students from all 50 states and nearly 100 countries Student centered, Experientially based, Industry Relevant, Employment Focused and Globally Oriented Undergraduate Programs offered in Business, Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Technology; graduate programs in Business, Criminal Justice, and Education.

5 Background on Institutional Research at JWU Serves as the official source of data on all aspects of the University, across the four campuses. Categories of data maintained and used for reporting: admissions, enrollment, courses, degree completions, faculty, etc. Helps to ensure integrity of data used and find efficient ways to maintain data. Helps to define indicators for University and its departments and units. Responds to external requests for data. Helps support assessment by providing consultation on survey design, administration, and data analysis. Conducts institution-wide surveys for University.

6 What Does Community Engagement “Look Like” at JWU? — Philosophy Community leadership Career education Experiential education

7 What Does Community Engagement “Look Like” at JWU? — History Development of Practicum Program CARLISLE Foundation Feinstein Foundation Feinstein Community Service Center (1995) Development of Community Service-Learning Graduation Requirement

8 What Does Community Engagement “Look Like” at JWU? — Organization Feinstein Community Service Center (John Hazen White School of Arts & Sciences) LINC/Space Committees President’s Office Other departments (Athletics, Residential Life, Student Activities, International Center, etc.)

9 What Does Community Engagement “Look Like” at JWU? Statistical Profile 51,665 service hours completed by 2,651 students through academic Community Service-Learning 53,020 service hours completed by 6,463 students through co-curricular service and Community Service Work Study 52,785 service hours completed by 136 students through internships at nonprofit Sites Approximately 60 faculty members offer service-learning through their classes Over $140,000 in donations

10 How Community Engagement Data are Collected CSL registration/grading President’s Office Student Activities tracking Student Employment Office Residential Life tracking Experiential Education tracking Assessment surveys (student, faculty, partner) Institution-wide surveys (NSSE, Alumni Survey, etc.) Economic impact consultants

11 Utilizing Community Engagement Data Data used to understand trends in Community Engagement –How many students are participating and how many hours of service do they perform? –How have these figures changed over time? –How do these trends vary by campus, college, and program? Data used to understand success and importance of Community Engagement and for improvement where necessary –What impact does Community Service-Learning have on community partners and students? –How important are Community Service-Learning experiences to students as they transition to the labor market and to prospective employers? –How can Community Service-Learning be improved to provide greater benefit to students, partners, and others?

12 Utilizing Community Engagement Data Data used to tell story of community engagement’s key role at JWU and enhance reputation –Recruitment of students, faculty, staff to the university; recruitment of faculty and students to civic engagement programs and activities –Funders –Awards –Resource allocation –Governmental lobbying and political relationship building –Economic impact

13 Successes and Challenges Successes –We have data for several years from a variety of sources. –Some data collection has been systematized. –Data that can be used for various purposes. Challenges –Data from regional campuses not collected as efficiently as Providence data. –Hard to capture all community service-learning activity that goes on (e.g., as part of courses). –Difficulty in measuring “impact” and “engagement” –Difficulty in tracking individual volunteers versus group volunteerism –Change in community service-learning graduation requirement.

14 Lessons Learned Institutional Research Pointers for the general research gathering process Resources for developing questions for assessment instruments Types of information available from an IR office/ways they can be a resource

15 Lessons Learned Service-Learning Practitioners Develop good relationships with other departments Give context and explanation about how data will be used when making the request Let contributors know results so that they will know the data is being used, contributed to positive outcomes Engage the president’s office; requests for data carry more weight Make data collection part of regular campus timeline; departments expect to be asked for data at regular intervals

16 Discussion/Questions What have you done at your institutions? What successes and challenges do you have? Please contact Susan Connery at with any future