ABOUT US
TOP 10 MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is Campus Compact?
Campus Compact is a nation-wide coalition of college and university presidents committed to the public purposes of higher education. Comprised of over 1,000 member institutions in 47 states, Campus Compact promotes engaged teaching and learning through organized service projects to develop students' citizenship skills and values. In addition, the Compact encourages collaborative partnerships to address community needs, and assists faculty who seek to promote community engagement within their teaching and research (www.compact.org).
2. What is Florida Campus Compact (FL|CC)?
Florida Campus Compact works with colleges and universities in our state to promote the scholarship of engagement through research, academically rigorous service-learning, campus-community collaboration, civic engagement and collegiate volunteerism. FL|CC is a thriving and growing organization comprised of every state university, most of community colleges and more than half of the independent colleges and universities in Florida. FL|CC provides leadership to integrate service with academic study and to link the collegiate experience with community agencies that address a spectrum of needs in cities and towns throughout Florida.
3. What benefits are accrued when higher education collaborates with local communities?
Most business, government and civic leaders agree that solutions to difficult community challenges should ideally emerge from the community itself. Geographically dispersed throughout the state, Florida's institutions of higher education are particularly well suited to facilitate community problem solving by engaging their wide array of human, intellectual and capital resources. At the same time, community involvement can be an effective teaching tool for students who must be prepared to work and live in our community-oriented society. These efforts foster reciprocal benefits for the community, the student and the institution of higher learning.
4. What is "Service-Learning"?
While definitions of service-learning vary, it is generally defined as a teaching method that uses community involvement to apply theories or skills being taught in a course. Service-learning furthers the objectives of the academic course, and addresses community needs as students participate in their service activities. It can also be called "engaged" or "applied" learning, as long as there is a service component, because it is the service that allows the student to apply new knowledge and acquire practical skills. Through course work, the student employs critical thinking and examines the systemic problem or societal issue the service may have been designed to address. Service-learning is a proven and highly effective teaching method. Research reveals that service-learning experiences enhance broader learning outcomes, increase student retention, make learning more relevant, foster civic participation, provide opportunities for career exploration and preparation, and overall improve timely graduation rates.
5. What does FL|CC offer to help campuses implement service-learning and promote community engagement?
- Key information about national trends and research advances in the field of engaged learning;
- State and national recognition opportunities for campuses, faculty, students, community and corporate partners;
- National, state and regional forums and seminars to disseminate best practices;
- Instructional opportunities across campuses for all stakeholders;
- Leverage for financial support for service and academic projects through grants and federal funds;
- Assisting in the creation of sustainable campus/community partnerships;
- VISTA Volunteers - full-time staff placed at a number of campuses in Florida for a period of three years. These AmeriCorps VISTA professionals create and oversee programs that place college student volunteers in communities. This grant program allows FL|CC to leverage federal dollars for Florida higher education through a contract with the Corporation for National and Community Service.
6. Why should Florida's institutions of higher education promote community engagement?
The scholarship of engagement is a growing national trend that enhances research, promotes productivity and improves student success. For example, elements of engagement are being incorporated into Carnegie classifications and other major research funding criteria (i.e. NSF, NIH, National Academies), and many institutions of higher learning are adopting undergraduate research programs that integrate engagement practices. Florida's progress in community engagement greatly improves student learning outcomes while addressing issues of access, diversity, retention, timely graduation, as well as career and workforce development.
7. How is service-learning different from traditional volunteerism?
Volunteerism and service-learning are both vital enterprises benefiting Florida, but each addresses a unique aspect of a broader effort. It is encouraging that more collegiate students are participating in community and philanthropic service opportunities - and with support from FL|CC, more campuses than ever before are now promoting collegiate volunteerism through student affairs offices. At the same time, FL|CC also works to integrate service into course curricula by training campus leaders and faculty in the elements of service-learning so that service is directly tied to specific course goals and objectives. This strategy helps students make clear connections between the relevance of their academic experience and their future professional lives in a participatory society.
8. What are some examples of Service-Learning?
Collegiate coursework in any field or discipline can incorporate a service-learning component. Examples of service-learning include: engineering students developing math and science education modules for district K-12 schools, students creating grant proposals and brochures for local nonprofit organizations, criminal justice students helping teens in the juvenile justice system, students teaching literacy skills to people in homeless and domestic violence shelters, business students developing management plans and marketing materials for nonprofit groups, architecture students collaborating with local governments to design affordable housing and children's playgrounds, and education majors mentoring and tutoring at-risk youth in concert with K-12 partners. FL|CC contributes to our state by training faculty and administrators to develop and support high quality service-learning courses.
9. Why should public and private dollars support Florida Campus Compact?
Florida Campus Compact works to enhance the scholarship of engagement through applied research, academically rigorous service-learning, and campus-community collaboration. Therefore, both public and private funds are appropriate because our work markedly improves the outcomes of higher education and the preparation of our future workforce and knowledge economy. Imagine the economic, educational and social benefits to our state, if every college and university in Florida had the support needed to actively promote service-learning, societal problem-solving and the scholarship of engagement. And, without FL|CC, Florida campuses would miss the opportunity to leverage funds, expertise, and support through connection to a national network of academic leaders in 47 states and 1,000 other institutions of higher learning. Support for FL|CC protects our ability to advance this important work and leverage additional federal and private funds benefiting our state. Financial investment in FL|CC provides support to public, private and independent colleges across Florida and bolsters their efforts to tap into the greatest resource our state can boast - the energy and innovation of our youth. This results in literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits to our state. Constantly expanding programs make it difficult to quantify precisely how many Florida students are engaged in this work; but, conservative estimates suggest that the economic value of these efforts in our local communities exceeds $4 million annually. Support of FL|CC is a wise investment in Florida's present and future with exponential returns on many levels.
10. How is FL|CC funded?
The Florida Legislature first funded FL|CC's annual operating budget in the year 2000. In recent years, we have successfully leveraged these state dollars to gain federal grants totaling approximately $2 million and FL|CC continuously applies for other grant and corporate funds where there is an appropriate connection to our mission. Member campuses also pay modest annual dues, most of which goes to the national compact organization as a part of our affiliation arrangement. To learn more about giving to Florida Campus Compact, please visit our Give to FL|CC page.
ANNUAL REPORT
Click to view Florida Campus Compact's 2003-2005 Annual Report (PDF file, 2.3MB, requires Acrobat Reader)
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