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What is a credential in community engagement?

A credential is a digital certification that recognizes and validates an individual’s competency in a specific area of higher education community engagement practice.

How do I demonstrate competency to earn a credential?

Campus Compact’s Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program defines “competency” as the knowledge, skills, and critical commitments that must be mobilized by community engagement professionals to advance higher education community and civic engagement in a manner characterized by equity and integrity. Each credential requires earners to demonstrate their proficiency in a set of key competencies that were identified and developed by two Community Engagement Professional Credential advisory boards and draw significantly from the research of Lina Dostilio and colleagues (20172019) on an emerging competency model for community engagement professionals. While specific submission requirements will vary by core competency area, applications will be framed around the following questions:

  • Knowledge and ethics: What knowledge have you brought to bear in undertaking work in this area? What ethical and critical commitments inform your work?
  • Experience: What experience(s) have you had and what roles have you played in advancing work in this area? For example, how have you developed goals, organized projects, or carried out activities? What evidence can you provide to illustrate this work?
  • Critical self-reflection: What have you learned from your experiences in this area? What successes and challenges did you experience? What dilemmas or tensions may have arisen or could you identify (around questions of equity and inclusion, for example), and what process or strategies did you pursue to work toward their resolution?
  • Personal growth and ongoing professional development: What might you identify as opportunities for personal growth as a community engagement professional in this particular area? What resources or strategies do you believe would serve to advance your learning and competence in this area?

Frequently Asked Questions

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How do I apply to earn a credential?

We are temporarily pausing applications while we overhaul the Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program to improve accessibility and increase opportunities for learning and growth.

How much does it cost to earn a credential?

Each core competency credential application requires a $60 application fee. The fee helps Campus Compact cover a small portion of the software, licensing, and administrative costs it incurs as an independent credentialer.

How do I become fully certified as a Campus Compact Community Engagement Professional?

To apply for full certification, a candidate must earn the three essential core competency credentials (Community Engagement FundamentalsCommunity Partnerships, Equity & Inclusion) as well as earn two additional credentials in areas of their choice (i.e., two among the remaining available credentials).

Get all the details

Still have questions? See our program handbook for more comprehensive details about the program and how it operates.