Carnegie Community Engagement Classification

ACU is one of the first recipients of the prestigious Australian Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.

A global benchmark for meaningful community engagement

Since 2006, the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification has been the benchmark for the highest standards in institutionalised and transformational university-community engagement in US higher education. After a successful pilot and contextualisation in Australia during 2019, the Carnegie Classification now supports the higher education sector in pursuing best-practice and impactful community engagement.

Why Carnegie matters

The Carnegie Classification provides a framework for evidencing collaborative university-community engagement that is transformational to learning and teaching, research, and the communities we partner with. The classification involves a rigorous and wide-ranging institutional self-study and reflection on how well community engagement is institutionally embedded and supported and the quality, outcomes, and impacts of community-engaged partnerships. Receiving Carnegie Classification is an affirmation of our mission to pursue knowledge, affirm human dignity, and pursue the common good. Our classification signifies a commitment to continual improvement on the depth, impact, and institutional support for ACU's community engagement.

Professor Zlatko Skrbis Vice-Chancellor and President
"Carnegie is ACU's preferred framework given its consideration of the approach, purpose, outcomes, and impacts of university-community engagement. The Carnegie Classification serves as a means for our institutions to strive for best practice in community engagement that leads to truly impactful and mutually beneficial outcomes. At ACU, we are 'leaning in' to a journey of continual reflection and improvement"
Professor Zlatko Skrbis
Vice-Chancellor, and President

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How the Carnegie Classification works

The Carnegie Classification is supported by the Network for Community Engagement and Carnegie Classification under the auspice of Engagement Australia. The Carnegie Classification defines the broad spectrum of community engagement in terms of:

Process

"The collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial creation and exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity."

Purpose

"The partnership (of knowledge and resources) between higher education institutions and the public and private sectors to:

  • Enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity
  • Enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning
  • Prepare educated, engaged citizens
  • Strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility
  • Address critical societal issues,
  • and contribute to the public good."

Advancing ACU's community engagement

ACU is committed to advancing the institutional support for community engagement and its quality and impact. In recent years this has included:

  • Enhancing the Academic Promotions Criteria to better recognise community-engaged learning, research, and service
  • A detailed review of community-engaged learning (CEL) units and action plan that has furthered the:
    - policy, standards, and modalities of CEL
    - enabling structures, resources, and professional development
    - monitoring and evaluation of the CEL curriculum
  • Advancing the Community Engagement Community of Practice (CECOP)
  • Deepening engagement with international bodies committed to service-learning and community engagement (e.g., Uniservitate, IARSLCE)

What's next?

Community engagement is a key enabler of ACU's Vision 2033 ambitions. In the lead up to ACU's next Carnegie Classification cycle (2030), ACU will strengthen institutional support for community engagement with a focus on:

  • Developing system-wide tracking and evaluation of community engagement activity
  • Deepening collaboration and reciprocal impact with community
  • Refreshing community engagement principles to align with contemporary practice and our mission and identity
  • Evidencing the depth and impact of indigenous community-engaged collaborations

Want to know more about the Carnegie Classification?

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