Daily News

Springfield College Recognized for Community Engagement

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as one of a select group of colleges and universities throughout the country to earn its community-engagement classification. This classification recognizes Springfield College for its curriculum, which involves students and faculty addressing community needs, as well as outreach and partnerships that benefit the external community and the campus community.

“This classification is highly respected and valued by the higher-education community,” said Springfield College Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jean Wyld. “The essence of a Springfield College education is preparing students for careers and personal lives that improve the lives of other people, and this classification attests to that mission.”

Springfield College is one of 361 institutions that now hold the community-engagement classification. This honor represents a higher-education institution’s excellent alignment among mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement.

There are many examples of community-engagement initiatives sponsored by Springfield College in Springfield on the main campus and at nine regional campuses. One of the largest such efforts in Springfield is the AmeriCorps program, through which students serve as academic coaches for schoolchildren, as well as counselors and health-case managers for community agencies.

The Carnegie Foundation introduced the community-engagement classification in 2006 as part of restructuring the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The basic classifications rely on national data to categorize all U.S. colleges and universities by what they teach, characteristics of their student body, size, and location. It is popularly known as the source of categories in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” issue.

Unlike the foundation’s basic classifications, the community-engagement classification is elective. Institutions may apply by documenting the nature and extent of their involvement with the community, local or beyond. The category enables the foundation to address characteristics of the institution’s mission and distinctiveness that are not represented in national data.