The University of Pennsylvania is among 240 institutions in the United States selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to receive its 2015 Community Engagement Classification.

Colleges and universities with an institutional focus on community engagement were invited to apply for the classification, first offered in 2006 as part of an extensive restructuring of The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Unlike the Foundation’s other classifications that rely on national data, this is an “elective” classification. Institutions participated voluntarily by submitting required materials describing the nature and extent of their engagement with the community, be it local or beyond. This approach enabled the Foundation to address elements of institutional mission and distinctiveness that are not represented in the national data on colleges and universities.

“As one of the original campuses to have received this classification,” said David Grossman, director of Penn’s Civic House and Civic Scholars Program, “we are proud that Penn’s continued and expanded efforts in civic engagement –- as reflected in the Penn Compact 2020 –- have again earned us this important distinction from the Carnegie Foundation. This recognition reflects the work of countless students, faculty, staff and community partners, all of whom share in this honor.”

“The importance of this elective classification,” said John Saltmarsh, director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, “is borne out by the response of so many campuses that have demonstrated their deep engagement with local, regional, national and global communities. These are campuses that are improving teaching and learning, producing research that makes a difference in communities and revitalizing their civic and academic missions.”

“This is the first time that there has been a re-classification process,” said Amy Driscoll, consulting scholar for the Community Engagement Classification, “and we are seeing renewed institutional commitment, advanced curricular and assessment practices and deeper community partnerships, all sustained through changes in campus leadership and within the context of a devastating economic recession.”

A listing of the institutions that hold the Community Engagement Classification can be found on NERCHE’s website.