Higher education-community partnerships: Assessing progress in the field

Abstract

Urban universities and colleges have increasingly been investing in partnerships with their local communities. As this burgeoning movement emerges from its infancy stages, numerous questions about assessing and funding these efforts arise. The author relies on his experiences as a participant observer, evaluator, and researcher to address the following questions: What are effective measurements of progress in higher education-community partnerships? What is the significance of this movement's stage in development regarding the availability of resources and the appropriateness of assessment? The author also relies on his observations of the field of corporate social responsibility to see if it sheds any light on how one should think about resources and assessment of higher education-community partnerships. Although measurable outcomes of these efforts are essential, process is a major factor, given the significance of relationships to success. For example, if trust and communication do not exist between partners, effective outcomes will remain elusive.