Community Engagement (C) and Public Service (PS) Course Designations in Banner

The designations will help foster a collective understanding of these activities at the institutional level that aligns with our mission, core values, and strategic plan, while simultaneously valuing a diversity of discipline-based approaches. The searchable designations in Banner enable students and faculty to find courses with these community-based components, and they serve to acknowledge faculty who explicitly develop their courses with public service or community engagement components. Finally, they help us track this work at an institutional level, more effectively assess outcomes for both the community and student learning, and provide opportunities for collaboration across units and areas.

The transformation of community engagement at USD over the decades aligns with an ongoing tendency in this field across the nation that emphasizes a more critical and intersectional approach to the work aimed at confronting inequality and disrupting interconnected systems of power. In addition to demonstrating how community engagement is a high-impact educational practice, literature in the field has been increasingly more focused on anti-racism and anti-oppression, and on developing collaborations within a paradigm of social justice, positive community impact, and equitable, democratic, and mutually beneficial university-community partnerships. We recognize partners as co educators in students’ learning process, which underscores a focus on relationship building and the collective determination of our objectives and purpose, in which the wisdom and multiple ways of knowing beyond the walls of the academy are equally valued.

In order to apply for the designation, one must submit the course syllabus and any other materials that help illustrate how the partnership works in the collaboration. The course instructor may also include a statement about the partnership and other details. If the proposal is for a new course or if it involves any changes to an existing course (e.g., the catalog description or prerequisites), the proposal must be approved by the academic unit using its standard curricular approval process prior to applying for the C or PS designations. Contact John Loggins at jloggins@sandiego.edu with any questions or to apply.

Proposals will be reviewed by the Faculty Council on Community Engagement (FCCE). The FCCE is an advisory body convened by the Mulvaney Center with representatives who are regularly involved in community engagement and/or other types of community-based work from each of the academic units. The majority of the members are of faculty rank. This Council meets 2-3 times each semester. The FCCE will review courses using the criteria indicated in the following sections. (Each academic unit, as defined in Policy 1.5, may choose to elect a faculty member to participate in the review of proposals. Such members shall be chosen by vote of the faculty within the individual unit in elections held in April.) After the FCCE has reviewed a course, a report with its determination is submitted to the academic unit. The FCCE decision is considered ratified if there are no objections from the faculty assembly in the unit upon consideration of the report. Any new C and PS designations are then routed to the Provost's office, and finally, to the Registrar.

No. The "C" and "PS" designations are at the course level, and all sections of an approved course must have the necessary characteristics and are expected to maintain them. Once a course has received a "C" or "PS" designation, it keeps the designation unless the course is revised by the department or unit and no longer fulfills the requirements for the designation.

The Community Engagement Institutional Assessment (CEIA) Rubric was created with the purpose of articulating a clear definition of community engagement to help nurture a shared set of values and practices of across areas and disciplines, while simultaneously supporting a wide range of modalities among different departments. This rubric closely aligns with USD’s mission, core values, and strategic plan. The CEIA Rubric is used for reviewing submissions with the following four criteria: (a) democratic, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial partnerships; (b) societal issues and the common good; (c) critical reflection; and (d) civic learning, citizenship, and democratic values. Courses that fulfill either the “emerging” or “exemplar” level will receive the “C” designation (see below). Otherwise, the Mulvaney Center and FCCE will make recommendations and/or work with the submitter to develop the community engagement component in order to reach the emerging level.

As indicated previously, public service is used to describe activities that are “relatively more unilateral and unidirectional in the sense that the university provides services to the public.” For this reason a broader range of course-based activities can potentially be considered public service, and the review involves fewer criteria: (a) planning; (b) benefits to the community; and (c) course integration and student learning.

During the 1985-1986 academic year at USD, the Social Issues Committee was established, and the following year the Volunteer Resources Office came into being. These were key steps in strengthening USD’s presence in the community. However, over the years, the field of service-learning both developed and became more problematized at a national level. The earlier approach based on volunteerism transformed into to a more integrated understanding and practice of curriculum-based community engagement aimed at positive social change in collaboration with community partners. The Volunteer Resources Office eventually evolved into the Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action, and the approach shifted to action-based community engagement centered on the principles and values described above (see question 2).