Community Engagement Landing Page

Community engagement at Texas Southern University is embedded across teaching, research, and institutional practice through reciprocal and sustained partnerships with community organizations and stakeholders. This approach reflects the University’s mission and is nationally recognized through the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.

Community Engagement Definition

Texas Southern University adopts the Carnegie Foundation’s definition of community engagement as collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources, applied across teaching, research, and institutional practice. The Carnegie definition of community engagement describes collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of 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. Texas Southern exhibits community engagement using the following high impact practices in higher education: 
1. Civic Engagement: Engagement in the community is used to build knowledge, motivation, and participatory behavior in a democratic society.
2. Community Service: Community engagement is done to serve the community. 
3. Service-Learning: Teaching methods where service to the community is attached to academic learning objectives.
4. Community-based Internship: Extended structured experience organized in the community where the primary beneficiary is the student but may serve a community purpose. 
5. Clinical/Field Experience: Field and professional development may be performed in the community where the student is the primary beneficiary and the community is either the laboratory and/or the community partner is a collaborating teacher. 
6. Community Outreach: Activity performed to solicit community participation in a desired activity, event, or program or to disseminate information to the community. 
7. Community-Based Research: Research conducted in the community that may have community implications or benefits.
8. Community–Based Participatory Research: Research conducted in and with the community where the community has input and decision-making authority over the research project's focus, purpose, and methods.
9. Community partnership: A collaboration where desired outcomes and expectations from participating partners are understood and agreed upon. 
10. Community Collaborative: Community interaction for a specific purpose, typically for a shortterm desired outcome.