Tips For A Successful Community-university Partnership

Alabama Poverty Project Higher Education Partnership 

 

COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS CO-EDUCATORS  Co-educators Community partners who facilitate onsite learning and reflection for students, resulting in an integrative teaching approach that provides a foundation for student learning.  Adapted from http://www.csuci.edu/servicelearning/communitypartners.htm  

What are the elements of a successful service-learning partnership?  TIME  • Commit to spending time on the service-learning project.  • Ensure that partnership meetings are efficient and productive by encouraging individuals to be prepared.  TACTFUL COMMUNICATION  • Show respect for the community partner’s work through communication.  • Recognize that each partner will have different strengths and needs, and work toward achieving a common vision.   • Consult a community advisory group to help provide a third party perspective.  • Develop methods of obtaining feedback from the community about their satisfaction with the service-learning project.  •

TALENT  • Give individual skills the proper recognition and utilize them in a way that maximizes benefit to the partnership.  • Affirm and praise the accomplishments and successes of the community partners, both publicly and privately.  •

TRUST  • Develop a shared vision and mutual priorities to establish trust.  • Keep communication lines open.  • Share in the leadership and decision-making power to ensure a collaborative effort.    Adapted from: Plowfield, Lisa Ann, Jean E. Raymond, and Erlinda C. Wheeler. “Time, Tact, Talent, and Trust: Essential Ingredients of Effective Academic-Community Partnerships.” Perspectives 26(2005): 217-20. Also adapted from: Bringle, Robert G., and Julie A. Hatcher. “Campus-Community Partnerships: The Terms of Engagement.” Journal of Social Issues 58(2002): 503-16.

PO Box 55058 • Birmingham, AL 35255 • 205.939.1408 • www.alabamapoverty.org