Creating Systems to Support Outreach Scholarshipncsue.msu.edu/files/CreatingSystems.pdf · Cummings...

Creating Systemsto Support Outreach Scholarship

Patricia Book, Kent State UniversityHiram Fitzgerald, Michigan State UniversityGinny Horvath, Kent State UniversityLorilee Sandmann, University of Georgia

Preconference WorkshopOutreach Scholarship ConferencePennsylvania State UniversityOctober 3, 2004

Workshop

• What does an engaged institution looklike?– Systems– Alignment– Toward a conceptual model/framework

• What has moved us along—caseexamples

• What will move your institutions along• Resources

An Engaged Institution

• is fully committed to direct, two-wayinteraction with communities and otherexternal constituencies through thedevelopment, exchange, and applicationof knowledge, information and expertisefor mutual benefit.

» Stepping Forward As Stewards of Place, AASCU,2002

Properties of Systems

• “A regularly interacting or interdependentgroup of elements forming a unified wholeworking toward achievement of a goal.”

• Input, transformations, outputs• Boundaries• Feedback• Multifinality and equifinality• Alignment

DiagnosingOrganizational Systems

• The key to effective diagnosis is…– Know what to look for at each

organizational level

– Recognize how the levels affect each other

Organization-LevelDiagnostic Model

Inputs

Technology

Strategy Structure

HR Measurement Systems Systems

GeneralEnvironment

IndustryStructure

Design ComponentsC

ulture

Organization

Effectiveness

Outputs

Cummings &Worley, 8e, 2005Thomson/South-Western

Organization Design Components

• Strategy– The way an organization uses its resources

(human, economic, or technical) to gain andsustain a competitive advantage

• Structure– How attention and resources are focused on

task accomplishment

• Technology– The way an organization converts inputs into

products and services


• Human resource systems– The mechanisms for selecting, developing,

appraising, and rewarding organizationmembers

• Measurement systems– Methods of gathering, assessing, and

disseminating information on the activitiesof groups and individuals in organizations


• Organization culture– The basic assumptions, values, and norms

shared by organization members

– Represents both an “outcome” oforganization design and a “foundation” or“constraint” to change

Alignment

• Diagnosis involves understanding each ofthe parts in the model and then assessinghow the elements of the strategicorientation align with each other and withthe inputs.

• Organization effectiveness is likely to behigh when there is good alignment.

Key Alignment Questions

• Do the systems/design components fitwith the inputs?

• Are the systems/design componentsinternally consistent? Do they fit andmutually support each other?

Creating Systems to Support OutreachScholarship…

• What are the focal issues/systems to consider?

• What are the transactions that need to occur within aninstitution to link systems to support outreachscholarship?– Significant facilitators

– Challenges

• What are critical points of alignment?– What may be essential but insufficient?

• Developmental stages?

Toward a Conceptual Framework

• Structural model

• Function model

Tenure Faculty& Units

P&T Standards

Community Groups

InstitutionalMission

Support Staff

Extension

Academic Governance

Central Admin

Perf. Standards

Non Tenure Faculty & Units Centers & Institutes

Scholarship of Engagement

Definitions,institutional mission,

etc.

Unit Compliance?

External Influences

Structure of Extension-Academic Unit Relationships

Perceived mission?

Perceived status?

Trouble tracks

Forgotten folks

Administrative Officer?

Curriculum &Student involvement

– Leadership– Org. structure

What Has Moved Us Along

• Kent State University

• Michigan State University

• University of Georgia

• The Pennsylvania State University ????

Gauging Institutional Readinessfor the Scholarship of Engagement

Kent State University

Background on Kent State

• Traditional model of facultywork expanded in the 1990s

• Promotion and tenureguidelines revised in line withScholarship Reconsidered

• Growing sense ofrole as a regionaluniversity

• Importance ofstatewide initiativesrelated to thisscholarship

• Reverberating questions of how thisscholarship can be defined, encouraged, andsupported

Institutional Systems

Institutional Commitment

Institutional Leadership

Institutional Systems

• Broad view of scholarshipembedded in documents,policies, and practices

• Opportunities for collaborationand partnerships

• Established programs for facultydevelopment

• Established institutional researchdivision

• Systems for evaluation andassessment

Institutional Commitments

• Mission that includesengagement

• Establishment of an Office ofRegional Development, headedby a new Vice President

• Strategic plan that identifiesengagement as a priority forplanning

• Expectation of unit-based goalsaligned with the strategic plan

Institutional Leadership

• President

• New Vice President forRegional Development

• Provost’s Office

• Faculty Senate

• Faculty Professional Development Center

• Research, Planning, and InstitutionalEffectiveness

• Academic Quality Improvement Project

Moving Forward

• Promoting discussion about scholarship ofengagement

• Engaging faculty leaders in exploring andsuggesting possibilities for the university

• Embedding this work in implementation ofnew strategic plan

Challenges Ahead

• “Growing pains”• Sustaining enthusiasm• Finding new sources of support• Maintaining scholarly quality

Enhancing Knowledge to Serve Society

Office of the Assistant Provostfor University Outreach & Engagement

Engagement is the partnership of universityknowledge and resources with those of the publicand private sectors

• to enrich scholarship and creative activities,• to enhance curriculum, teaching & learning,• to prepare educated, engaged citizens,• to strengthen democratic values and civic

responsibility,• to address critical societal issues,• and to contribute to the public good.

– Adapted from the CIC Committee on Engagement

Definition of Engagement

“ … a form of scholarship that cuts across teaching,

research, and service. It involves generating, transmitting,

applying, and preserving knowledge for the direct benefit

of external audiences in ways that are consistent with

university and unit missions.”

Provost’s Committee on University Outreach, 1993

OUTREACH

Teaching

Service

Research

Divisions of University Outreach &Engagement

ADVANCEMENTCOMMUNICATION AND

INFORMATIONSTRATEGIES

UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY

PARTNERSHIPS

WHARTONCENTER FORPERFORMING

ARTS

SERVICELEARNING/CIVICENGAGEMENT

CENTER FORUSABILITY &

ACCESSIBILITY

Discovery Application Dissemination Preservation

Knowledge

Impact

Community

Outreach & Engagement Scholarship Model

University

The AAU land-grant universityhas a special roleto engage itsstudents/faculty,instructional andresearchresources to …

Educated Person

Educated Community/World

Discovery

CivicEngagement

WorkplacePreparation

GlobalKnowledge

… Improveworkplacepracticeandeconomicstrength

…conductcutting edgebasic andappliedresearch

… Strengthencitizenparticipation,civicresponsibilitydemocraticvalues, anddiversity

… Globalizeperspectivesand improveoutcomes forcommunities

Supportive Services for FacultyEnhancing Knowledge to Serve Society

Engaged Community

PartnersWith facultyresearch teams

ConsultsDevelopcommunity projects

TrainsAsset-basedapproaches tocommunity change

AssistsBuilding Service-Learning/CivicEngagementmodels

FundsSeed grants foroutreach research

CommunityFocus

EngagedFaculty

ScholarshipFocus

DevelopsOutreach measuresand standards ofpractice

MarketsOutreach andengagementactivities

Advocates–For theengagementmission– For crossinstitutionbenchmarks– For measurementstandards

Children, Youth & Families

Community & Family Security

Community Vitality & EconomicDevelopment

Technology & Human Development

Scholarship of Engagement

University Outreach & Engagement

Focal Content Areas: Seed Grant Areas

MSU Institutional Alignment

• No formalpresence inacademicgovernance

• No formalpresence in unitmissionstatements

• No formalacceptance ofO&E as part ofP&T System

• Part of institutionalmission but oftenviewed as service

• Leadership in Officeof the Provost

• Strong operationalprograms

• Budget support• Staff support• Measurement tools

for P&T in System• O&E standard part

of new faculty andadministratororientation programs

UGA

• University-wide, interdisciplinaryinitiatives—Persistent Poverty,Latino ++/-

• Seed Grants (1st round) emphasison scholarship +/-

• Service Learning +/--• UGA Appointment, Promotion &

Tenure Redo 0• Outreach & Public

Service/Faculty +/-

= institutional conversation/def.;integration/alignment(instruction/research)

Your Institutions?

• Individual Institutional Diagnosis—5 minutes• Group Discussion—Facilitator/Reporter; Recorder 10 minutes

each question

1. Do you have a definition of engaged scholarship—characteristics,process to develop it, how communicated/used?

2. Do faculty engaged in the SOE?

3. What systems seem to be working to support outreachscholarship…what is out of alignment…what needs to becreated…what needs to be to happen to create systems?

4. How would you characterize the “developmental” stage of yourinstitution in creating systems to support outreach scholarship?

5. Resources…used/developed/access

• Making the Case for Professional Service, AAHE

• A Larger Purpose Calling the Question: Is HigherEducation Ready to Commit to CommunityEngagement? A Wingspread Statement, 2004

• Clearinghouse for the Scholarship of Engagementwww.scholarshipofengagement.org

Resources

Institutional Mission

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration

No mention orundefinedrhetoricalreference

Outreach iswhat we do ascitizens

Outreach is anelement of ouracademicagenda

Outreach is acentral anddefiningcharacteristic

Adapted from: Holland, B. A. (1997), in Michigan Journal of Community ServiceLearning, 4, 30-41.

Barriers and constraints (from NERCHE)• Import of institutional history, mission, ethos, context, and resources

Leadership – Central Administration

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration


P&T Standards

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration

Outreach tocampuscommittees or todiscipline

Communityoutreachmentioned;volunteerism orconsulting maybe included inportfolio

Formalguidelines fordefining,documenting andrewardingoutreach

Community-based researchand teaching arekey criteria forhiring andevaluation


P&T Standards: Barriers and Constraints(from NERCHE)

• Roles of external regulatory agencies (statewide boards,accreditation bodies, etc.)

• Cultures of disciplines & professions (autonomy, turf protection,work allocation systems)

• National and international prestige systems• Internal reward systems• Faculty careers and careerism (ethos of individualism, discipline-

specific training, split loyalties – university, community,discipline)

• Absence of professional associations and journals for facultycommitted to interprofessional collaborations; threats ofmarginalization and isolation

• Students’ orientations and characteristics (faculty orientations andcurricular innovations as influenced by what students will permit)

• Problems of bureaucratization• Antagonistic relationships between administration and faculty

groups• Accountability systems in, and for, the universities (what

expectations, criteria, and rewards for relevance and impact?)

Central Administration

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration

None focusedon outreach

Units may existto fostervolunteerism

Variousseparate centersand institutionsare organized toprovideoutreach

Infrastructureexists tosupportwidespreadfaculty andstudentparticipation


Curriculum & Student Involvement

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration

Part ofextracurricularstudent lifeactivities

Organizedsupport forvolunteeractivity

Opportunity forextra credit,internships,practicumexperience,special events/activities

Servicelearning andcommunitybased learningfeatured acrossthe curriculum


Tenure Faculty

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration

Outreachdefined only ascampus duties;committees;littleinterdisciplinarywork

Pro bonoconsulting;communityvolunteerismacknowledged

Tenured/seniorfaculty pursuecommunity-based research;some teachservice-learningcourses

Communityresearch andactive learninga high priority;interdisciplinary andcollaborativeworkencouraged


Community Groups

Level 1

Low Relevance

Level 2

MediumRelevance

Level 3

High Relevance

Level 4

Full Integration

Random orlimitedindividual orgroupinvolvement

Communityrepresentationon advisoryboards fordepartments orschools

Communityinfluencescampus throughactivepartnerships orpart-timeteaching orparticipation inservice-learningprograms

Communityinvolved indefining,conducting, andevaluatingcommunitybased researchand teaching


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