| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 35.50 |
| Liaison | Brian Kelley |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2025 |
Christopher Newport University
EN-5: Civic Engagement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 8.00 |
Vanessa
Buehlman Director Community Engagement Center for Community Engagement |
5.1 Percentage of students that participate in civic engagement programs
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s civic engagement programs for students:
CNU's Center for Community Engagement, Wason Center for Civic Leadership, and President's Leadership Program are all dedicated to student civic engagement. For example, the President's Leadership Program includes a service requirement supporting students' development as servant leaders.
Christopher Newport's Center for Community Engagement is the campus hub for student community/civic engagement. The Center's mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize students, faculty, and staff to engage with and positively contribute to our community. The Center does this by establishing long-term, mutually beneficial, and reciprocal relationships with community partners to promote positive social, economic, and civic community-driven change. The Center partners with 120 local nonprofit organizations, public schools, and government agencies. In addition to offering hundreds of volunteer opportunities each academic year, there are many programs through which our students can develop as civically-minded citizens: the Bonner Service Scholar Program, the Community Engagement Fellowship Program, the Service Distinction Program, the Short Term High Impact Internship Program, and the STEM Mentoring Program. In addition, the Center supports faculty in offering courses with a community-engaged learning element. Through these courses, students in the courses work alongside local nonprofits to complete community-identified projects that align with the course.
Center for Community Engagement Website: https://cnuengage.org/
Student Programs: https://cnuengage.org/programs/
Community Engaged Learning: https://cnuengage.org/community-engaged-learning/
Percentage of students that participate in community service and/or other civic engagement programs:
Approach used to determine the percentage of students that participate in civic engagement programs:
Narrative outlining how student participation in civic engagement programs was determined:
CNU students can self-report community service and participation through the Center for Community Engagement's CNU Engage System, a custom-built hours logging/tracking system. While this system does not capture all student participation, it provides a good baseline.
Over the past three academic years, 32% of CNU students self-reported participating in community service and/or civic engagement programs. This is a three-year average from the following data pulled from the CNU Engage System of students/enrollment:
AY 21-22: 1543/4584 = 34%
AY 22-23: 1545/4559 = 34%
AY 23-24: 1315/4503 = 29%
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
5.2 Employee community service program
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s programs to support employee community service:
CNU Day One of Service
Since 2007, on the Thursday morning of Welcome Week, hundreds of first-year students, led by CNU faculty and staff, engage with their new community through active service at non-profit organizations throughout the Virginia Peninsula. CNU faculty and staff are encouraged to volunteer as team leaders, facilitating projects and guiding a team of 8-10 students at local nonprofit organizations.
Faculty/staff participation over the last three years:
2022 - 71
2023 - 52
2024 - 47
Participation is tracked via Google Form registration.
Does the institution support employee volunteering during regular work hours?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s support for community volunteering during regular work hours:
Employees are able to volunteer up to 16 hours of community service during work hours.
https://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/employeebenefits/paid-and-unpaid-leave
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
5.3 Support for public policies to advance sustainability
Narrative outlining how individuals affiliated with the institution have helped develop local or regional public policies that address sustainability challenges:
Narrative outlining how individuals affiliated with the institution have helped develop national or international public policies that address sustainability challenges:
Has the institution advocated for public policies to advance sustainability during the previous three years?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
Documentary evidence of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
Online resource that provides evidence of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.