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Spring 2017

CampusCommunityCollaborate...

A Newsletter from the Office of Academic Engagement

TTU Raiders Engaged Survey Results for Academic Year 2016 are in! 

 

 

A big thank-you goes out to all TTU faculty and academic staff who participated in the 2016 Raiders Engaged assessment and reported on their engagement projects and activities. Data collection took place in late fall 2016, representing the seventh annual assessment of the institution’s outreach and engagement with external communities. Assessment results continue to demonstrate that TTU is making significant progress towards its Strategic Priority to "further outreach and engagement with the communities that it serves."

Compared to the AY'15 assessment, the number of projects reported for AY’16 increased by 34%, from 546 to 732. Reported funding resulting from these projects reached $39.41 million, which represents a 64% increase compared to the previous academic year. Reported faculty hours spent on engagement with community partners more than doubled, increasing from 61,906 to 130,948. Staff hours increased by 15%. The population size impacted by the university’s engagement activities in AY’16 reached 952,482, which represents a 45% increase compared to data reported for AY'15.

Illustrated below are the various Forms of Engagement that faculty and staff reported to have been involved in during AY'16 -  the predominant form being Public Programs, Events, and Resources, followed by Research/Creative Activity, and Experiential/Service Learning.  

Forms of Engagement Reported by TTU Faculty and Staff in AY'16:


The highest Number of Participants served by these engagement activities were K-12 populations. See chart below for a detailed break-out.
  
Populations Served by TTU Faculty and Staff  Engagement in AY'16:

(Source: Institutional Summary Dashboard, Raiders Engaged 2016; provided by TTU Office of Planning and Assessment. For full report visit:http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opa/oe_raidersengaged/outreach_engagement.php  )

The Raiders Engaged instrument will reopen for submission of AY'17 projects and activities during Summer 2017. More information is forthcoming. 

   

Service Learning @ TTU

Service learning courses are designed to help students link their academic study in the classroom with engagement in the community through thoughtfully organized service projects. In service learning, the needs of both the community partner and student are considered equally in the development of projects and service initiatives. In addition, the emphasis on critical reflection asks students to make connections between course content and their experience in the community. 

More and more TTU faculty members are submitting their undergraduate or graduate course for the institution's official "S" designation, thereby increasing opportunities for students to identify and deliberately enroll in a formal service learning class during registration. Between Spring 2015 and Spring 2017, the number of formally "S" designated courses offered  increased by over 60%, and student enrollment in these courses increased by over 53%. If you wish to find out more about TTU's formal "S" designation and submission criteria, contact Ms. Erika Brooks, Service Learning Coordinator at the Teaching, Learning and Professional Development Center (TLPC); at erika.d.brooks@ttu.edu. or visit  www.depts.ttu.edu/servicelearning/  The TLPDC also offers a Service Learning Faculty Fellows Program for faculty members interested in incorporating service learning into their classroom. The application deadline for the 2017/18 cohort is May 30, 2017.
 

TTU Regional Academic Engagement Symposium a Success!

On February 21 and 22, 2017, the Office of Academic Engagement sponsored TTU's first Regional Academic Engagement Symposium at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center. Co-sponsors included the Office of the Provost; the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement; the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center; and the Center for Active Learning and Undergraduate Engagement. Under the theme,“Community-Engaged Teaching, Research and Service: What does it Mean and Why Does it Matter,” the event featured 38 presentations by faculty, staff, and students from Texas Tech University and a dozen other Texas higher education institutions who, together with their community partners, discussed their specific engagement projects and initiatives. Highlighted activities addressed community issues ranging from PK-12 education, college and career readiness, health and human services, natural resources, social and civic life, human diversity and globalization, and more. Presenters highlighted best practices in partnership building and community relations, and shared their success stories along with challenges encountered along the way. Dr. Andrew Furco, Associate Vice President for Public Engagement at the University of Minnesota, provided the keynote address. Over 160 individuals attended the two-day event and appreciated the opportunity to network and learn from other higher education professionals who integrate community engagement into their teaching, research and creative activities.



Janie Ramirez, Outreach Programs Director at Texas Tech's College of Education, and  her community partners from LISD discuss their "East Lubbock Promise College & Career Readiness" partnership project during one of the symposium sessions. 

18th Annual ESC Conference: September 26-27, 2017, Birmingham, AL "This is Engagement: Best Practices in Community-Engaged Scholarship"

Registration is now open for the 18th Annual Conference of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium which brings together university faculty, staff, students, and community partners from across the United States and Canada to share the theory and practice of engaged scholarship.  Visit https://engagementscholarship.org/conference/esc-2017-meeting for more information.

Pre-Conference Events:

Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop (EESW)                        
This intensive professional development program provides advanced doctoral students and early career faculty with background literature, facilitated discussion, mentoring, and presentations designed to increase their knowledge and enhance their practice of community engaged scholarship. Upon acceptance, participants will pay a $100 registration fee, in exchange for which they will be provided with admission to all sessions, materials, and meals during the Workshop, as well as free registration to the ESC Conference (a $350 value). The application deadline is Friday, April 21, 2017. Click here for more information.

Outreach and Engagement Staff Workshop (OESW)       
The Outreach and Engagement Staff Workshop is designed for university staff and non-tenure-track faculty members who, in roles distinct from those of tenure-track faculty, facilitate, manage, direct, and administrate ongoing projects, programs, services, research, and relationships with community partners. Click here or more information.

The Office of Academic Engagement is providing a limited number of grants for faculty or academic staff interested in attending the ESC conference.  For more information, contact Dr. Birgit Green at birgit.green@ttu.edu or 834-2308.  Deadline for applications is August 15, 2017.

TTU Engagement Spotlight!


TTU Office of International Affairs: K-12 Global Education Outreach 

For the past 18 years, K-12 Global Education Outreach (GEO) has provided international cultural programming to schools throughout Lubbock and surrounding West Texas communities, opening a window to the world in what has traditionally been seen as a somewhat insular environment. What makes this program unique is that it engages racially and ethnically diverse K-12 students and their teachers with university faculty, staff, and students - both international and domestic. K-12 GEO endeavors to build a globally-engaged community of learners through engagement  that fosters intercultural understanding and exchange while enriching the quality of life for both the university and local communities across West Texas.  

K-12 GEO partners across disciplines with Texas Tech University’s School of Music, Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and numerous international student organizations under the Office of International Affairs (OIA).  Faculty, staff and students develop curriculum and provide culturally relevant experiences for K-12 students and teachers, while helping bridge cultural gaps and gaining hands-on experience in K-12 education.  External partners include Lubbock Independent School District and another 57 mostly rural school districts, home and private schools, and youth organizations.  Over the past 3 years, efforts to expand the program mission from a pure K-5 outreach program to a K-12 and pre-service teacher education program have resulted in a 51% increase in the number of people served (19,750).  In addition, over 300 national and international TTU faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students are involved annually.


"Our program has been embraced by many of the faculty who conduct international work, who graciously give of their time and expertise," says Kelley Coleman, director of K-12 Geo. As Dr. Stefanie Borst, Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences states, “The greatest incentive for faculty is the ability to utilize the K-12 GEO program to make connections between the university and local community—introducing and teaching them interesting topics and new cultures that they might otherwise not receive.  I believe very strongly that this is part of our service mission as faculty members in higher education.” 

Recently, K-12 GEO received the prestigious Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for “making intentional, significant progress in expanding the reach of internationalization among students, faculty and staff; fostering collaboration across academic, administrative and student services in the interest of internationalization…”  (NAFSA, 2016).  As a result of its success, K-12 GEO was also awarded $50,000 from the Center for Global Understanding (CGU) to expand programming and teacher training across the region.  For more information about the program and partnership opportunities, contact Kelley Coleman at kelley.coleman@ttu.edu.

Africa Expedition with local elementary students.                                    Pre-Service Teachers: Cultural Connections 
                                                                                                                              with South Plains College.       
                         

To submit a story for TTU's Engagement Spotlight, please contact Dr. Birgit Green, Director, Office of Academic Engagement; birgit.green@ttu.edu; or call (806)834-2308.

 

 

Feb 28, 2023