Core Competencies Areas in Higher Education Community Engagement

A Competency Framework for Higher Education Community Engagement 

Working in collaboration with a diverse group of engaged scholar-practitioners in the field, Campus Compact has developed a Competency Framework for Higher Education Community Engagement that supports individuals and institutions wishing to enhance their engagement practice in a manner characterized by equity and integrity.

The framework offers sets of equity-informed competencies in a range of civic and community engagement practice areas, aligned with the core competency areas of the Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program. Engagement practitioners can use these competencies to scaffold their learning and enhance their capacity and effectiveness. Higher education institutions and centers for engagement can use these competencies to build and benchmark their professional development programming, thoughtfully refine job descriptions, and recognize the nuanced skills and knowledge that civic and community engagement staff bring to their work.

This collection includes listing of key competencies in eight core practice areas: 

• Assessment and Evaluation

• Community Engaged Learning and Teaching

• Community Engagement Fundamentals 

• Community Partnerships

• Engaged Research

• Equity and Inclusion

• Institutionalizing Engagement 

• Program Administration

• Supporting Engaged Faculty Development