Dynamic planning, an approach to steadily put in motion some aspects of a strategic plan, even while the rest of the planning is in progress, has been used successfully over the past five years for implementing the IUPUI Academic Plan. The eleven major strategic initiatives that underlie the academic plan have enhanced the research, teaching, and…

Civic engagement and student success have become a hallmark of Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). In 2008 a new program supporting increased student engagement and deeper learning was implemented, the RISE (Research, International Study, Service Learning, and Experiential Learning) to the IUPUI Challenge initiative…

Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) incorporate a combination of tools, methods, and procedures to evaluate the potential health effects of a proposed program, project, or policy. The university public health department, in collaboration with the county health department, and the local planning organization, developed a curriculum for a…

With recent interest in communities of practice, learning communities, and critical inquiry theory, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) developed, implemented, and studied the relationship of community and the cohort model. This paper shares information about successes and opportunities for improvement. Cohort-based learners across a…

Four members of the ACE Fellows Program class of 2010-2011 share the results of their fellowship projects, all of which were based at urban universities. The projects addressed partnerships between the universities and their urban communities in different contexts, including the creation of college-town developments, establishing a center for…

The Metropolitan Studies Institute (MSI) at the University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate) demonstrates a robust and unique record of community impact through community indicators research and other translational research. The MSI's work drives programmatic priorities and funding decisions, generates revenue, and increases the community's…

Growing numbers of presidents and senior administrators have come to understand the value of having a robust public scholarship agenda as part of their institutional vision. Yet, ever-shrinking resources can make engaged scholarship seem like a risky proposition for young faculty members. What does it take to get them to leave the high ground of…

Web 2.0 is a paradigm of a participatory Internet, which has implications for the delivery of online courses. Instructors and students can now develop, distribute, and aggregate content through the use of third-party web applications, particularly social networking platforms, which combine to form a user-created learning management system (LMS).…

Technology Integration has emerged as the ultimate critical educational challenge for the twenty-first century. Although many universities tout technology immersion in strategic plans, reality suggests that faculty often serve as the key change agents. As online programs increase exponentially, technology best practices become essential for fully…

College students today watch more content, academic or not, on the Internet than on any other media. Consequently, the authors argue that using any of these media, especially YouTube.com in particular, is an effective way to not only reach students, but also capture their attention and interest while increasing retention of academic content. Using…

This article reports on an exploratory study that examines how social networks can be used in foreign language teaching and learning. Qualitative data including interviews, online observations, and students' responses to open-ended survey questions was collected. The data suggests that there are both advantages and challenges associated with using…

The growing need to match pedagogy with the evolving needs of a new generation of learners has stirred and interest in Web 2.0 Blogging can bring a surprisingly rich experience to class projects by increasing collaboration between students and teacher. As a teaching tool, blogging can bring greater complexity to learning that would have otherwise…

The interactive Internet, or Web 2.0, has created opportunities for civic engagement research and information management. This article presents a case describing one university's experience of such research. This article also provides a literature review on the evaluation of civic engagement and a description of the approach used at Widener…

The use of educational technologies is grounded in the assumptions of teachers, learners, and administrators. Assumptions are choices that structure our understandings and help us make meaning. Current advances in Web 2.0 and social media technologies challenge our assumptions about teaching and learning. The intersection of technology and…

Portland State University has become internationally known for its whole-university approach to community-university engagement. Many academic leaders from around the world are now drawing on models for engagement that originated at Portland State. As the university takes stock of its successes, of changing economic conditions, and of the…