Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 77.56
Liaison Ruairi O'Mahony
Submission Date Feb. 15, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Massachusetts Lowell
EN-13: Community Service

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.55 / 5.00 Patricia Coffey
Assistant Director of Community & Cultural Affairs
University Relations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount; part-time students, continuing education, and/or graduate students may be excluded):
9,997

Number of students engaged in community service (headcount):
8,493

Percentage of students engaged in community service:
84.96

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (community service hours)? (if data not available, respond 'No'):
Yes

Total number of student community service hours contributed during the most recent one-year period:
214,712

Number of annual community service hours contributed per student :
21.48

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Does the institution include community service achievements on student transcripts?:
Yes

Does the institution provide incentives for employees to participate in community service (on- or off-campus)? (Incentives may include voluntary leave, compensatory time, or other forms of positive recognition):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s employee community service initiatives:

The faculty union contract (https://www.uml.edu/docs/FINAL%20-%20MSP_Contract_07.01.2014%20-%2006.30.2017_tcm18-237366.pdf) indicates that the criteria for promotion and tenure include convincing evidence of excellence or strength in teaching, research and service that includes service to the community. In 2011, the Provost and college deans in collaboration with the executive board of the faculty union, developed a workload policy. “The primary goal is to ensure that all tenured faculty have an equitable total workload, which is defined as the sum of efforts in teaching, research and service.” Each college then developed policies determining expectations in these areas. For example, excerpted from the Workload Policy of the College of Health Sciences: “All members of the faculty . . . are expected to provide excellent service to University constituents: students, faculty, staff members, and community members…..Faculty members are encouraged to provide their professional expertise to professional societies, community agencies and other external organizations. Such service is recognized as an important asset to the university. Impact on workload will be assessed on an individual basis.” The College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is in the process of revisiting their current workload policies. There has been significant dialogue around further specifying what might be eligible for course reductions. The College is proposing to build into the system provisions that would encompass engagement activity. Currently, on a case by case basis, the dean grants course load reductions to allow faculty to work on specific types of service projects.


Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Important: This 2016 data is the most recent data available. It is only collected on campus periodically. Patty Coffey, Director of Community Relations collected this data.

The university was recently renamed a “community engaged” university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching until the year 2025.
See: http://www.massachusetts.edu/news/press-releases/umass-one-two-systems-nationally-honored-community-engagement

UMass Lowell also was designated to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth year.
See: http://uml.edu/News/press-releases/2014/Honorroll121914.aspx


Important: This 2016 data is the most recent data available. It is only collected on campus periodically. Patty Coffey, Director of Community Relations collected this data.

The university was recently renamed a “community engaged” university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching until the year 2025.
See: http://www.massachusetts.edu/news/press-releases/umass-one-two-systems-nationally-honored-community-engagement

UMass Lowell also was designated to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth year.
See: http://uml.edu/News/press-releases/2014/Honorroll121914.aspx

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.