About this badge

The Engagement Academy for University Leaders badge signifies active participation in a two-part professional and institutional development effort: (1) Attending and actively participating in a face-to-face Engagement Academy and (2) Completing three online modules.

The overall program involves working as part of an institutional team to create a clear action plan designed to deepen institutional commitment to and capacity for high quality community engagement. At each stage of the Academy and online modules, participants learn new concepts and then craft components of their action plan to improve the alignment of engagement strategies with their institutional mission and goals.

Emphasis within modules of the Academy are:

• Understanding how community engagement fits in the strategic direction of the institution as it responds to the needs of the communities—local and global.
• Becoming familiar with the nomenclature and common models of engaged learning and scholarship, and their relationship to partnerships, institutional performance and strategies.
• Understanding the defining values and principles of civic and community engagement and identify characteristics of an engaged institution including policies and structures that support a sustained agenda with measurable outcomes of benefit to the higher education institution and to external constituencies.

The Academy is endorsed by AASCU, CUMU, CCPH and APLU, and has received awards for its innovation and quality.