Academic Community Engagement Workshops

The ACE Workshops provide professional development for AU faculty and staff, focusing on enhancing collaboration with community partners. These sessions focus on community-engaged teaching, research, scholarship, and program development, equipping participants with strategies to build and sustain community partnerships, prepare students for community engagement, promote civic learning, and enhance course and program curriculum.

2025-2026 Sessions

The series is a four-part faculty development program designed to equip faculty with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to integrate community engagement and service-learning (SL) into their teaching, research, and coursework. Each 90-minute session blends foundational theory, best practices, and practical applications to strengthen reciprocal partnerships and create meaningful, high-impact learning experiences. Faculty may attend sessions individually or complete all four to earn a Certificate of Completion.

Session 1: Foundations of Community Engagement and Service-Learning

  • Sept. 23, 2025
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • MS Teams

Learn the core concepts and principles behind community engagement (CE) and service-learning (SL). This session will cover key definitions, distinguish SL from volunteerism and internships, and outline the foundations of reciprocal, inclusive partnerships. Participants will review AU case studies, reflect on partnership values, and explore strategies for building authentic, mutually beneficial collaborations.


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Session 2: Integrate Community-Engaged Learning into Your Course

  • Oct. 22-24, 2025
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Multiple times/locations
  • Cll Certificate Eligible

Part of Cll's Certificate in Teaching Excellence for Student Success

Facilitated by the Center for Instructional Innovation

Learn how to design meaningful community-engaged learning experiences that connect academic content with real-world contexts. This workshop will focus on aligning learning outcomes with community-based activities, integrating critical reflection to deepen student learning, and structuring assignments to promote civic awareness and real-life application of course concepts. Participants will review sample syllabi and take part in planning activities to begin shaping their own community-engaged learning course or project.

Note: Attending this workshop will count towards Cll's Certificate in Teaching Excellence for Student Success while also being part of the ACE four-part workshop series.


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Session 3: Partnering for Success: Cultivating Strong, Sustainable Relationships

  • Feb. 12, 2025
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • MS Teams

Discover strategies for creating and maintaining impactful community partnerships that enhance student learning and community goals. This session will explore best practices for collaboration, approaches for addressing challenges, and techniques for fostering long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Participants will share partnership ideas, discuss potential barriers, and identify solutions, with guidance from a campus partner experienced in successful community engagement.

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Session 4: Assessing Impact and Telling the Story

  • April 1, 2026
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • JSAC Hardy Room & MS Teams

Learn how to assess both student learning and community impact using the CRUX Framework — Centering Rippled User Experience for Assessment. Explore user experience (UX) principles, Student Learning Outcome (SLO) assessment strategies, and ways to combine them for deeper insights into student experiences. Discover practical reflection tools, feedback methods, and storytelling techniques to document and share your work, while enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes.

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Past Workshops

Partnering for Success: Cultivating Strong, Sustainable Relationships
February 12, 2025
 

Josh Podvin, Assistant Director for Community Partnerships at the University of Georgia, and Lynsey Steinberg, Director of Innovation at the Georgia Cyber Innovation & Training Center at Augusta University lead the workshop. This session provided faculty with practical strategies and insights for building robust and lasting community partnerships that enhance student learning through service-learning. Viewers learned best practices and hear from an experienced campus partner, and equipped watchers with tools for impactful collaborations.

Event Recordings