Resources for Campus and Community Engagement

Community engagement must start with an informed and prepared approach to ensure success and mutual benefit to those involved. Real change happens at the pace of relationships, and community engagement is no different. Here you’ll find resources to get you started. Let us know if you’re seeking a resource not yet listed here, and we’ll do what we can to assist you.

Training

Getting Started for Students, Staff, & Faculty

Community Engagement & Social Justice at Ohio University - This short online module focuses on on best practices for impactful and ethical community engagement at Ohio University. It is designed for students, student organization leaders, as well as staff and faculty who are interested in in coordinating service-learning or volunteer projects, fundraisers, and other community-serving opportunities.
Civic Engagement & Voting: Why it Matters & How to Do it: This short online module is an intro to civic engagement that focuses on:
- Why it is important to participate in elections
- How to register to vote
- The importance of and how to engage in civic dialogue
- And how to exercise rights and responsibilities of citizenship

Community-Engaged Scholars Program

The Community Engaged Scholars program, occurring each Summer and Fall Semester, provides OHIO faculty and staff with professional development training on community engagement as a high-impact practice of experiential learning. It is highly recommended that faculty interested in developing C-Courses enroll in this program.

Participants in the program will:

Learn how community-engaged service-learning can be incorporated into a course curriculum
Design curricular activities and syllabi for C-Courses
Engage with community partners and experienced faculty to learn best practices for community engagement locally and globally.
By participating in interactive workshops, rich discussions, and collaborations with experts, Community Engaged Scholars will develop capacity for community-engaged teaching with transformative curriculum and expertise in community-engaged scholarly activity that strengthens our democracy and contribute to the public good.

Interested? Fill out the interest form here!

Please contact Faculty Fellow Dr. Mike Kopish at kopish@ohio.edu for more information.

Training Opportunities for Community Organizations

The Center for Campus & Community Engagement at Ohio University aims to support professional development and other capacity-building initiatives for community partners and contribute to vibrant Southeast Ohio communities. We are excited to partner with Nonprofits LEAD at Marietta College to work towards a vision where every nonprofit has the tools, resources, knowledge, and support they need to meet the needs of their community.

To this end, the Center for Campus & Community Engagement has dedicated scholarship funding to sponsor community organizations wishing to participate in Nonprofits LEAD programs or utilize their services.

If you identify as a nonprofit organization serving an Ohio University campus community (Athens, Belmont, Fairfield, Lawrence, Muskingum, or Ross county) you are eligible for scholarships to cover Nonprofits LEAD workshops and events. Contact Amy Elliot before registering to secure scholarships: 740.376.4559 or amy@nonprofitslead.org

Community-Engaged Research

Community-engaged Research is a process where research is conducted with the community to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes.  Members of the research team are all equal partners throughout the research process. This is different than community-focused research where research is done on or in the community.  

As part of the University’s initiative for community engagement, we now have four new CITI modules about community-engaged research. This free training is available to all Ohio University-affiliated researchers, including faculty, staff, students and collaborators such as community partners. It is strongly recommended to have all partners complete this training prior to beginning research.  

Community Engaged Research CITI Training Online Module

Tools and Templates

Below you will find self-guided and adaptable resources for faculty and staff, students, and community members to help you develop, sustain, and demonstrate the impact of equitable and mutual beneficial campus-community partnerships. A collection of templates, guidance, and activities are included that vary in relevancy and appropriateness for each audience, but can be adapted to a wide variety of partnerships, including community-engaged research, service-learning experiences, or special projects.

Looking for something that isn't here? Contact the Center for Campus & Community Engagement and we will do what we can to assist you.

Developing Partnerships

Sustaining Partnerships

Communications and Outreach

Evaluation

*If you are involved in community engagement work, please complete these two forms and return them to communityengagement@ohio.edu so we can better demonstrate our collective impact and recognize your work!

Navigating Campus

Transportation

Going somewhere or having a community partner coming to campus? We can help with that!

General Transportation Services Guidelines and Instructions for University employees:

Go to the main Transportation and Parking Service website
Scroll to the bottom, and click on Fleet Rentals
Log in
This is a separate account from your OHIO ID, so if you haven’t made an account, go to the bottom left corner of the menu and click on Sign Up Now!
Complete the form, and you’ll get a confirmation email. Afterwards, use your new log in information.
Choose vehicle: Daily use for a 12-passenger van is $55 plus $0.55 per mile for gas.
Drivers of all vehicles must have a valid driver’s license.

In the event a University department lacks funds to pay for this expense, the CCCE may be contacted for a funding allocation.

Visitor Parking Options

Do you have a community partner coming to your campus? Be sure to offer parking assistance to make their visit easy and pleasant. In the event a University department lacks funds to pay for this expense, the CCCE may be contacted for a funding allocation.

Daily Visitor Permit Request Form

Coupon Code Request Form

Athens Campus and Parking Map

Campus Maps

Meeting/Event Space and Services

Remote Meetings

To increase the ease of accessibility and connection to community partners near and far from campus, a University partner can set up a virtual meeting using Microsoft Teams or Zoom if preferred.

For those on OHIO Campuses, the Ohio University Learning Network (OULN) offers network of dedicated videoconferencing classrooms on the Athens campus, regional campuses, and regional centers that supports high quality, real time, simultaneous interactions between participants in multiple locations. OULN rooms can be scheduled by any OHIO employee or current student. OIT hosts a list of videoconferencing classrooms on their website.

University Event Space

Event space is managed by Event Services. University staff and faculty may reserve event spaces at the internal University rates for community engagement-related events. For more information on locations, rates and availability, visit the Event Services website.

Regional Facilities Rental

For information about renting spaces on regional campuses, please follow the links below:

Live Web Streaming

For any events on campus, live web stream can be available to broaden access to a wider audience. University staff and faculty are responsible for making these arrangements. Ohio University uses YouTube for web streaming. Web streaming is billed at a rate of $100.00/hour for web streaming between the hours of 8 am-5 pm.  Before 8 am or after 5 pm the fee is $125.00/hour. The fee is for the time of the event, there is no charge for the time to setup and tear-down equipment. 

Preference is to have a 30-day notice prior to an event.  When scheduling a room for an event that you would like to be web streamed please schedule at least 1 hour for equipment setup and testing prior to the start of the event.  This time will not be charged.  The fee would be for one camera coverage.

For more information about live streaming and archive options contact Kevin Price, WOUB Education and Media Supervisor.

Glossary and Best Practices

Break down the vocabulary we use when it comes to campus and community engagement, and stay informed on best practices.

Key Terms

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The collaboration between institutions of higher education & their larger communities (local, state/regional, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching)

OUTREACH VS. ENGAGEMENT

ASSET-BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT A framework grounded in the human, social, and physical capital that exists within our local communities and the Appalachian region that approaches challenges through appreciative inquiry and by working with stakeholders to develop holistic, sustainable solutions in our communities.

COMMUNITY

Small or large social unit that has something in common
May be based on geography, culture, religion, or identity
May have different and significant implications in different fields of study

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH A research process where research is conducted WITH the community instead of ON or IN the community. Members of the research team are all equal partners throughout the research process.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING is an approach to education that emphasizes engaged student learning through direct experience and reflection to increase knowledge, develop skills, and elucidate values. Experiential learning activities are intentionally designed to develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes through experience related to a field. Experiential learning may occur in curricular and co-curricular settings.

Contexts for experiential learning may include (but are not limited to) internships, apprenticeships, clinical experience, fellowships, cooperatives, field work, practicums, community engagement (service-learning, community-based research, volunteering), interactive simulations, role-playing, performance, professional internship / student teaching, study abroad / cultural immersion, research (basic, applied, lab, industry, community), live case studies, job training, place-based education, and student organization leadership.

Best Practices for Communications and Media

CCCE recommends “horizontal” relationships between the Ohio University and external community organizations. This signifies an equal partnership in all phases of interaction. More detail will be given in the sections below as to how this looks in action. In theory, however, this should be rethinking the basic idea that the University is “better” than any community organization and that the interaction between the entities results in a one-way gift to the community. This may be the case for simple donations of goods or services, but in project-based interactions, the community organization should be seen as a partner with attributes that are essential and valuable to a successful project outcome. Solutions, methods and dissemination in and of any project should be a result of healthy and equal collaboration. Furthermore, an organization often has clients whom they interact with in the community. A relationship developed with the organization does not necessarily extend to these individuals. Interactions between the University and members of the community should also be thought of as horizontal.

Read the full document with detailed recommendations

Additional Resources

Alden Library Resource Page

Access our Community Engagement resource guide at University Libraries for key organizations and scholarly articles.

CCCE Lending Library

Interested in additional reading? Stop by our office to peruse our bookshelves. Our collection is accessible to students, staff, faculty, and community partners wishing to borrow books.

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