Proposal for Strengthening Community- University Partnership

St. Cloud State UniversityBrittany Wilson, Team Leader

Rebecca Fonss, Hailey Olson, Amanda Thielen

Welcome!Today we will introduce our initiatives to address the mutual concerns of the community and university regarding student behavior complaints. Our proposal is based on research and theory with practical applications for both communities.

Objectives: University’s Potential Value on Sunnyvale Community with

Use of Comparison Data Application of Theory/Learning Outcomes Immediate Response Long-Term Solution Integration of Social Media in Proposal

SU’s Potential Value on Community

“Greater awareness of local contributions was associated with perceptions of a more favorable relationship with the university”

$1.4 million is spent by students at off campus locations per year

University creates approximately 1,800 jobs either directly or indirectly

Free events and reduced cost events open to the community

Close proximity and access to post-secondary education for high school students

*Model University Data from Scranton University, Scranton PA

Value of Community/University Relationships

Those individuals who have attended an event at the university will be more likely to indicate that the university is an asset to the community.

Researchers asked “What is ‘one thing’ you would like to see the university do?” The results showed that community members wanted the university to “invite” them onto campus (41%).

The results showed a significant difference exists between those community members who have been on campus and those who have not based upon the issues of trust, openness, and investment.

These data suggest that this relationship-building strategy is mutually beneficial because (a) community members attend events that are of interest to them, and (b) the attendees have a more favorable impression of the institution as a result.

(Bruning S. D., McGrew S., & Cooper M, 2006)

Immediate Response to Community Concerns

Sunnyvale University/Community Dayo This initiative will be implemented in the next 2-3

months because it is important that we show a tangible effort to be invested and connected with the community. We will have the opportunity to be visibly present in the community as well as communicate some of our vision and goals to those we are looking to connect with. This will also give us the opportunity to validate concerns and show we will be moving forward to make improvements with all of the Sunnyvale community.

Good Neighbor Campaigno This initiative has already been implemented through

the use of Facebook & Twitter for promotion of campaign initiatives.

Sunnyvale University/Community Day

Day will be organized by Sunnyvale University Activities Committee and the Chamber of Commerce

Purpose: To provide a means for both the community members and university staff and students to come together as one and increase awareness of the roles each of them play

Secondary Purpose: To have fun!

Sunnyvale Community/University Day Cont.

Schedule 9:00am-12:00pm Clean Up Project

o Community members and students join together on community beautification projects

o Those students who chose to participate will get a free SU t-shirt and a meal ticket for any of the community vendors participating in the day

12:00pm-5:00pm Social Gatheringo Food will be provided by community

businesseso Live music from both communities o Trivia games will be provided with

information about the community and the university in order to increase their knowledge of one another

o Prizes will be provided by the university for outdoor games

Additional Programming from 12:00pm-5:00pmo Student Organizations will be

there with booths in order to promote their purpose and increase awareness of their clubs

o Competition amongst the student organizations for best potential community-university partnership projects

o Speaker from the university will address the students about the long-term plans for the partnership

o Panel discussion will be provided for those community and university members who want to have an open dialogue with one another about the partnership

Good Neighbor CampaignGood Neighbor PSA Vid

eo

This campaign is in place to provide

students with tips and strategies to help

them make a more positive impact on their neighbors and understand the rules for living off-campus.

(Hepburn, 2011)

Integration of Social Media

We will incorporate Twitter and Facebook into our Good Neighbor Campaign because approximately 1 in every 13 people in the world are Facebook users.

o Weekly “good neighbor tips” posted on Facebook and Twitter

o Recruit SU students and community members to join FB page and follow Twitter

Additional outreach for the Good Neighbor Campaigno Flyers distributed and news updates, event info.. o Mailed to students who live off-campuso Emailed to all SU students

Long-Term Solution

Future Social Event Programming Sunnyvale KidU Service Learning Program Community Relations Coordinator Off-Campus Housing Contract

Future Event Programming

Future Event Programming Continued momentum

from community dayo Science Fairso Art Fairso Poetry Slamso Live Music Nightso Community

Beautification Dayso And More!

Sunnyvale KidU Opportunity for the elementary-

aged youth in the community to take part in “college classes” at the university

Course topics designed to introduce future career interests and college involvement

Classes taught by SU professors and graduate students

Participating children are recognized for their accomplishments with graduation ceremony and diploma

Sunnyvale’s Service-Learning Program

What is Service-Learning o Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that

integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

Sunnyvale’s Service-Learning Outcomes/Goalso To enhance students' learning by enabling them to practice

skills and test classroom knowledge through related service experiences in the local community

o To enable students to provide needed assistance to community agencies and to the people served by the agencies

o To assist faculty in their role as facilitators of service learning and in their engagement with the community

* Modeled after Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

(Evans et al., 2010)

Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning

SU’s Service-Learning program will be grounded in the tenets of this theory David Kolb’s theory offers insight beneficial in our

proposed integration of experiential learning and community involvement

Kolb defined learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 139)

Kolb examined the different learning styles used by college students and ways for educators to enhance development through challenge and support

(Learn and Serve America)

Creation of Community Relations Coordinator Position

The university will enlist the help of a staff member in the Office of Sponsored Programs to assist with the development and implementation of the grant application and subsequent funding for this new position

As Dean of Students, our office will apply for a grant through the Corporation for National & Community Service o This corporation provides grants specific to Service-

Learning outcomes and opportunitieso The position of Community Relations Coordinator would

start out as grant funded, with the intention of creating a more permanent position once data is available to support its usefulness and therefore secure further funding

(Torres J. & Schaffer J., 2000)

Community Relations Coordinator Responsibilities

The new Community Relations Coordinator will work with faculty to expand on their individual Service-Learning projects and recruit other faculty to use Service-Learning in their courses using the following benchmarkso Design partnerships based on the values of sharing and

reciprocity• Community partnerships that are beneficial to students, fit into

course curriculum and meet a community needo Building collaborative work relationships among partners

• Fostering and improving on established relationships to insure trust and mutual respect between the university and community

o Sustaining the partnerships• Linking partnerships to the mission of the institution and installing

a mechanism for evaluation

(University of California-Berkley, 2012)

Off-Campus Housing Contract

An additional duty of the new Community Relations Coordinator will be to partner with Residential Life to create an off-campus housing contract that contains this honor pledge which aligns with mutually agreed upon university/community mission…

Good Neighbor Pledge - I will take responsibility for myself and the choices I make. Give my best in showing respect for myself and others. Act daily to build a welcoming community and make a different in the lives of others.

Applying Kolb’s Four-Step Cycle of Learning

Concrete Experience:Students are introduced to

proper behaviors and neighbor expectations

Reflective Observation:Students can look into other sources of information such as community members and fellow students for increased

understanding

Abstract Conceptualization:

Students can use a form of social media such as the FB page or Twitter to interact with peers and community members to form ideas and

learning objectives

Active Experimentation:Students actively

incorporate learning into their everyday life through direct experiences such as

experiential learning

(Evans et al., 2010)

Summary Implementation of initiatives presented here

today will support the sustainability of the objectives discussed

Sunnyvale University (Faculty, Staff and Administration) must commit and be invested in this community partnership to successfully accomplish the goals presented

Thank you for your support and investment in these immediate and long-term responses

References Bruning S. D., McGrew S., & Cooper M. (2006). Town-gown relationships: exploring

university-community engagement from the perspective of community members. Public Relations Review, 32 (2006), 125-130. dor:10.1016/j.pubrev2006.02.005

Campus Compact, “Deepening the Roots of Civic Engagement.”, 2008-2011 Annual Survey. http://www.compact.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/2011-Annual-Survey-Executive-Summary.pdf

Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Student Development in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Guarasci, Richard. “How Can Colleges Spark Economic and Community Development.” 22 September, 2012 Huff Post College, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-guarasci/college-community-engagement-_b_1821358.html

Hepburn, Aden (2011). Facebook Statistics, Stats, and Facts for 2011. http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/

Learn and Serve America, http://www.learnandserve.gov/for_organizations/funding/index.asp

Torres J. & Schaffer J. (2000). Benchmarks for Campus/Community Partnerships. Introduction to Service-Learning Toolkit, 101-108.

University of California-Berkley (2012). Partysafe @Cal Good Neighbor Tips. University of Scranton “Economic and Community Impact”

http://www.scranton.edu/about/community-relations/economic-impact.shtml Warwick University Community Relations [Partial Video File].Retrieved from https://

www.youtube.com/user/uniwarwick