REG - 10.01.6 Community Engagement Academic Graduation Requirement Regulation
1. Purpose
In keeping with North Carolina Central University’s motto of “Truth and Service,” undergraduate students must fulfill a Community Engagement Academic Requirement prior to graduation. This requirement can be met through community-engaged or community-based service. Failure to complete either community-engaged or community-based service, as further set forth below, will render a student ineligible to graduate and delay his/her graduation. The purpose of this regulation is to define the terms and conditions associated with completing the community engagement academic graduation requirement.
2. Scope
This regulation applies to undergraduate students, including re-admitted and transfer students, with the exception of those who are in the following categories:
2.1 The student has completed a four-year degree and is returning for a second undergraduate degree; or
2.2 The student is earning a degree through a distance education program that is fully online; or
2.3 The student who was enrolled at the University prior to the 1995 implementation of the Community Engagement Academic Requirement who re-enrolls to continue a degree program.
3. Definitions
3.1 Approved partner: An agency, organization or entity, which has been vetted and approved by the Office of Community Engagement and Service at North Carolina Central University to provide community engagement opportunities for students. A current Memorandum of Agreement with each approved partner, signed by the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs on behalf of the University and the partner, is retained on file by the Office of Community Engagement and Service.
3.2 Community: Although NCCU is certainly a community, the term is used to refer to individuals, groups, and organizations external to the campus. The scope of community extends beyond local entities, to state, regional, national and global entities.
3.3 Community Engagement: As per the Carnegie Foundation, community engagement refers to, “The collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity”.
3.4 Full-time student: A student who is enrolled in at least 12 course credit hours within a semester.
3.5 Part-time student: A student who is enrolled in 11 course credit hours or less on campus within a semester.
3.6 Transfer student: A student who has earned college course credit with another institution prior to enrollment at North Carolina Central University.
3.7 Community-based learning. This term is broadly defined to include service in which students serve with community partners and/or in a community context. It refers to a service experience that connects what is being taught in the classroom to the surrounding communities. The community-based service is motivated by the belief that all communities have intrinsic educational assets and resources that can enhance service-learning experiences for students.
3.8 Community-engaged service. This term refers to experiences that allow students to engage deeply in their own learning, to practice the transfer or application of knowledge across contexts. These experiences are ones that “combine learning goals and community service in ways that can enhance both the student growth and the common good.”
4. Community Engagement Requirement
4.1 Undergraduate students enrolled full-time at North Carolina Central University for four or more years, must complete an aggregate of fifteen (15) hours of community-engaged or community-based service with approved partners for each semester of full-time enrollment at the University requiring 120 total hours.
4.2 The service requirement for undergraduate students enrolled part-time at North Carolina Central University is prorated for each semester that the student is enrolled as a part-time student. The calculation is based on the number of credit hours per course:
4.2.1 Students enrolled in 1-5 course credit hours should complete four (4) community engagement hours. 4.2.2 Students enrolled in 6-8 course credit hours should complete eight (8) community engagement hours.
4.2.3 Students enrolled in 9-11 course credit hours should complete eleven (11) community engagement.
4.3 Community engagement hours can be served through either community-engaged opportunities (e.g. direct service, service learning course projects, or community-engaged research) or community-based service opportunities (e.g. experiential learning, unpaid internship, practicum, field experience, or clinical).
4.4 The number of hours of community-engaged or community-based service that must be completed by students who transfer to NCCU will be determined by the Office of Community Engagement and Service.
5. Implementation Guidelines
5.1 Students must register through the Office of Community Engagement and Service prior to engaging in service in fulfillment of the community engagement graduation requirement via the Get Connected website. Students will not receive credit towards the required community engagement hours without first registering with the Office of Community Engagement and Service.
5.2 Only approved partners can provide community engagement opportunities for students.
5.3 All community engagement hours are maintained within a portal for ease and accuracy of documentation and reporting.
5.4 Students may continue to serve and accumulate community engagement hours during the semester break periods.
5.5 Community engagement hours earned in a preceding semester are carried forward each semester throughout a student’s undergraduate academic career at the University.
5.6 Honorably discharged veterans, active duty military, National Guard and Military Reserve are awarded sixty (60) community engagement hours towards the 120 hour community engagement graduation requirement.
5.7 Upon graduation, the total community engagement hours completed are notated to the student’s transcript.