2014 Honor Roll guidance

The 2013 President’s Higher Education

Community Service Honor Roll Guidance

Table of Contents

Overview

Important Dates 2

Goals 2

Eligibility Information 2

The 2013 President’s Higher Education Honor Roll Competition

General Community Service 3

Interfaith Service 4

Application Review Information

Selection Criteria: Categories and Respective Weights 7

Institutional Supports for Service 7

Institutional Commitment to Service Statement 8

Exemplary Project Descriptions 8

Award Information

Presidential Awards (General and Special Focus) 9

Honor Roll With Distinction 9

Honor Roll 9

Application and Submission Information

Application and Submission Process 10

Deadline for Submission 10

Timeline for Review 10

Honor Roll Review Process Chart 10

Privacy Policy 11

Overview

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes institutions of higher education that support exemplary community service programs and raises the visibility of best practices in community-campus partnerships. The President places a high priority on supporting the role that higher education plays in addressing the nation’s most pressing social needs; this institutional recognition program supports those national service and education priorities.

The President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge is a parallel national initiative that was launched in 2011, based on recommendations from President Obama’s inaugural Faith Council. Administered by The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships with the Department of Education, the President’s Challenge invites institutions of higher education to commit to a year of interfaith cooperation and community service programming. Over 400 colleges and universities and nearly 200,000 people to date have been involved in advancing interfaith service in their communities.

Starting this year, the President’s Challenge will be integrated with the Honor Roll, creating a new track of recognition. The President’s Higher Education Interfaith Service Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary interfaith community service. Interfaith Service involves people from different religious and secular backgrounds tackling community challenges together while building meaningful relationships across lines of difference.

The Honor Roll is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the American Council on Education and Campus Compact. The Interfaith Service Honor Roll is administered in partnership with the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the Department of Education, and Interfaith Youth Core.

Both Honor Roll tracks reward institutions for achieving measurable impacts in strengthening communities.

Important Dates

Applications are due TBD 2013 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Award announcements will be made in March 2014.

Background

For more than fifteen years, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)—through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs—has mobilized a new generation of engaged citizens. This year, more than 1.8 million individuals of all ages and backgrounds will serve through these programs. They will help thousands of national and community non-profit organizations, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies meet local needs.

Goals

The 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which recognizes service completed during the 2012-2013 academic year, focuses on community outcomes, such as the changes that result from the service activities. In this way, the Honor Roll encourages colleges and universities to deepen their practice of service.

The 2014 competition seeks to celebrate institutions with high-quality service programs. Characteristics of such programs include using evaluation and assessment, developing collaborative community partnerships, and addressing significant community needs. Applicants should demonstrate results that are measureable and supported by credible evidence.

The Interfaith Service Honor Roll focuses on the above outcomes and programs with special recognition of the interfaith engagement efforts of institutions that support a commitment to interfaith service. Interfaith engagement includes program elements such as post-service interfaith reflection as well as relationship-building efforts such as a religiously-diverse service planning committee.

Eligibility Information

All accredited degree-granting colleges and universities located in the United States and its territories are eligible to apply. Applications are accepted only from higher education institutions, not departments or schools within a college or university. In the case of state systems, each institution must apply separately.

For the Community Service Honor Roll, those colleges and universities participating in the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program, the institution must meet the statutory 7% minimum FWS community service requirement for the most recent available school year. Please check with your Financial Aid office to ensure that your school meets this requirement or has received a waiver from the Department of Education. This is not a requirement to qualify for the Interfaith Service Honor Roll.

The 2014 President’s Higher Education Honor Roll Competitions

Applications for the 2014 competition will be accepted in two categories: General Community Service, which recognizes the quality, quantity, and commitment to community service initiatives; and Interfaith Service. The institution may elect to apply under any or all categories.

General Community Service

Institutions applying in this category can submit applications to document projects that address community issues across a variety of service areas, including, but not limited to, general community service, economic opportunity, education, and interfaith community service. This category is designed to capture the breadth of higher education community service activities and applicants are free to select projects that display the scope of their service efforts.

Applicants in this category should describe how their institutions’ services address significant community needs and produce measureable results. Strong applications will also clearly illustrate the role played by nonprofit partners, students, faculty, staff, and other interested community members in supporting the institutions’ efforts. To be successful in the category, applicants should describe service projects results in outcome-oriented language. For example, institutions might describe how their activities reduced obesity rates, improved financial stability among families, or increased the capacity of citizens to serve in the event of a disaster.

Effective applications will demonstrate the best practices of community-campus partnerships. The project descriptions should clearly describe how the institution uses evaluation and assessments to improve the quality of the interventions. The application should discuss strategies the institution uses to build long-term, mutually-beneficial community partnerships and explain its efforts to enlist other collaborators (e.g. businesses, civic organizations, government agencies, faith-based institutions, etc.). Most important, the application should clearly and convincingly describe how the institution’s activities produce measurable impacts that address needs in the community in which they are working.

General Community Service Activities Examples:

The three project examples illustrate the types of higher education service activities we are seeking.

Weitekamp University has created a long-term partnership with several community-based organizations to monitor and improve water quality in their local watershed. The University has created an environmental board where faculty, staff, local environmentalists and students develop a five-year plan to protect and rehabilitate the watershed. Students from the institution’s environmental science classes conduct water testing each semester. Twice a year, the results of the water monitoring are submitted to the State Department of Environmental Quality to assist with statewide data collection. Students work with campus-based and community-based experts develop a plan that both identifies the source of the impediment and outlines steps to reduce its effect on water quality.

• Illustrates a university’s long-term commitment to addressing a significant community environmental need.

Interfaith Service Honor Roll

Institutions applying in this category may submit applications to document projects in the General Community Service categories (such as education, health) with a focus on interfaith service.

Effective interfaith programs facilitate positive meaningful relationships between people from different backgrounds and increase appreciative knowledge of other traditions. Applicants in this category should describe how their institution’s service work build relationships and increase appreciative knowledge across the religious and secular diversity of service organizers and participants. Strong applicants will document participation of campus and community faith-based organizations as well as faculty, staff, and students of diverse faith and secular perspectives. To be successful in this category, applicants should describe interfaith service in outcome-oriented language. For example, institutions might describe how their activities increased appreciative knowledge of a number of participants, or the number of students who worked with other students of different denominational, religious, or secular perspectives.

Applicants applying for this category should demonstrate the best practices of interfaith service. The interfaith engagement section of the application allows institutions to describe the breadth and depth of interfaith initiatives that that are coupled with their service work. These interfaith initiatives may fall within one of the following categories: Communications, Education, Capacity Building.

Communications initiatives demonstrate the institution’s public commitment to interfaith cooperation on campus. Examples include, but are not limited to, an address by your college or university President on the importance of interfaith cooperation, a web-based communications campaign on the importance of interfaith cooperation, or an interfaith cooperation session incorporated into student orientation programs and materials.

Education initiatives cultivate appreciative knowledge about diverse religious and non-religious identities, positively impacting attitudes and knowledge on diverse religious and non-religious identity. Examples include, but are not limited to, courses available for students to further develop knowledge-base in interfaith cooperation and service, educational panels and lectures delivered for large audiences on campus, and first year seminars incorporating module(s) on interfaith cooperation.

Capacity Building initiatives provide students, faculty and staff with a baseline ability to positively engage religious and non-religious diversity within their own spheres of influence. Examples include, but are not limited to, campus-wide staff training to appropriately engage religious and non-religious identity on campus, faculty professional development opportunities in the area of religious and cultural diversity, or training a core group of students to lead interfaith service events.

Interfaith Assessment and Evaluation

Applicants are expected to include a description of the evaluation methods that convey the sustainable impact of interfaith service programs in the category of Interfaith Impact.

Interfaith Impact measures institution-wide shift toward greater interfaith cooperation and interfaith service. An institution might administer a campus climate survey or measure student learning outcomes through post-participation surveys for interfaith service events.

Institutions should utilize the following questions in post-service participant surveys and will be asked to report on survey responses as part of their applications.

Interfaith Service Participant Survey

1. Did you learn something new today about a denomination, religion, or secular perspective different than your own? (Y/N)

2. Have you attended interfaith events before? (Y/N)

3. Will you participate in interfaith events in the future? (Y/N)

4. Did you meet and/or work with someone of a different denomination, religion, or secular perspective other than your own through this project? (Y/N)

5. Did your experience today positively impact the way you think about others from denominations, religions, or secular perspectives different than your own? (Y/N)

If yes, explain your answer:

Interfaith Service Activities

Examples:

Portland State University students partnered with the Jewish Student Union to bring a multi-faith group of volunteers together for a Habitat for Humanity build.  They worked together on a multi-family unit called “Lents Landing” that was to house nine families. 

• Demonstrates strong interfaith relationships built through a religiously-diverse organizing team. They service project also builds on interfaith themes which grows the appreciative knowledge of service participants.

Shimer College and Illinois Institute of Technology student leaders from student government and faith-based organizations partnered to run a yearlong interfaith service campaign named Better Together to address needs of the Benton House Food Pantry. They hosted a faith-based celebration of service at Benton House featuring singers, dancers, and slam poets and celebrating the work of Shimer and IIT students at Benton House.

• Exhibits extensive cross-campus partnerships with faith-based and secular student organizations as well as a successful partnership across two different higher education institutions. Their interfaith engagement initiatives build relationships through reflective and celebratory events tied to their service issue.

Ohio University’s United Campus Ministry: Center for Spiritual Growth and Social Justice spearheaded interfaith service initiatives with diverse community partners. They organized a 9-11 Interfaith Peace Walk with over 450 participants making stops at various faith communities along the way. During the year, they organized an Interfaith Stream Clean Up in which students hauled hundreds of pounds of trash out of Monday Creek watershed as a reclamation project from the damage caused by the coal mining industry. Students engaged in interfaith reflection and dialogue following the service project. This was coupled with a film screening addressing global and domestic water security issues.

• Conveys an institution-wide approach to interfaith service with both students and academic departments involved in organizing interfaith service. A thorough set of interfaith engagement initiatives from interfaith dialogue to a film screening further enhance the impact of their interfaith service while building knowledge and relationships of religious diversity.

Application Review Information

President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Applications for the Honor Roll will be evaluated in three categories: Institutional Supports for Service, the Institutional Commitment to Service Statement, and Exemplary Project Descriptions. The weights assigned to each category are listed in the chart below. Reviewers will assess the Institutional Commitment to Service Statement and Exemplary Project Descriptions against the criteria listed below. Moreover, the extent to which the applicant responds to the priorities outlined in this Guidance will be a key factor.

Selection Criteria: Categories and Respective Weights

Category	Percentage
Institutional Supports for Service	60%
Institutional Commitment to Service Statement	20%
Exemplary Project Descriptions	20%

Institutional Supports for Service: Factors that make up the Institutional Supports for Service are listed below.

Quantitative Factors:

• the percentage of students participating in academic service-learning

• the percentage of students participating in community service activities overall

• the percentage of students who engaged in at least 20 hours of community service per academic term.* For quarter system at least 13 hours of community service per term.*

• the institution’s latest Federal Work-Study community service participation rate as reported to the U.S. Department of Education (community service participation rate is based on the latest available figures provided by the Department of Education)

• the number of academic service-learning courses offered by the institution

Institutional Characteristics

• whether community service or service-learning is cited in the institution’s mission statement or strategic plan

• whether the institution makes internal budgetary allocations to support service

• whether the institution has at least one full-time staff member responsible for coordinating student community service or service-learning activities

• whether the institution provides scholarships or other financial rewards for community service, such as “matching” the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award

• whether the institution requires academic service-learning as part of the core curriculum of at least one major

• whether the institution rewards the use of academic service-learning through faculty promotion and tenure decisions, or other means

• whether the institution is classified as a Community Engagement institution by the Carnegie Foundation

Please note that in many cases “estimates” are requested. Estimates should be based on the best information available. All requested information and estimates are for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2012.

Institutional Commitment to Service Statement: This statement should describe your institution’s commitment to service, providing the background and context of this commitment as illustrated by brief, varied examples of how it is demonstrated on campus and in your community-campus partnerships. This is the opportunity to explain the culture of service that exists at the institution and the impact that this culture has on the community.

Strong statements MUST include:

Detailed discussion of the institutional commitment to service, including:

• explanation of the commitment of institutional resources to support service;

• explanation of how that institutional commitment is implemented in the campus culture, academic programming and extracurricular activities;

• discussion of the impact and effect of this commitment to service in the community; and

• description of how your institution is using assessment and evaluation to improve the quality of your community-campus partnerships and service activities.

Note: If an application is submitted for recognition in the Special Focus Area, the institutional commitment statement must discuss the rationale for the institution’s involvement in these areas.

Exemplary Project Descriptions: In this section, select three (six if applying under both categories) service projects that exemplify the institution’s commitment to service. These narratives provide the applicant with opportunities to describe briefly specific projects that best illustrate the variety of activities in which the institution is engaged.

Strong project descriptions MUST include:

Explanation of the project and indication of the specific service provided, including:

• who from your institution participates in the service (faculty, teachers, students, etc.);

• who benefits from the service;

• detailed evidence, including quantification, and description of the project’s benefits to the population served;

• how assessment and evaluation are used to improve the quality of the service;

• program practices or institutional support elements that were found particularly helpful or effective;

• indication of whether student participation was during regular academic sessions or during summer or other breaks (indicate frequency of service);

• collaborations with community agencies, including K-12 schools;

• whether the project was supported by Federal Work-Study, CNCS programs, or other Government programs; and

• clear connection to the Institutional Commitment to Service Statement.

Provide details pertaining to each of the three evaluation categories: Project Scope, Evidence (Measurement) of Project Effectiveness, and Impact on Community.

Project Scope assesses the breadth and depth of the project. Factors include: number of students serving (relative to school size), time dedicated to service, institutional staff support, participation and time committed, expertise utilized, collaboration with other organizations, leveraging of college or university, and community resources, and innovative use of creative solutions to address local problems.

Evidence (Measurement) of Project Effectiveness includes the estimated number of individuals served, and measurable effects of service in the community (e.g., number of houses cleaned, renovated, built, etc.).

Impact on Community describes either short- or long-term benefits of the service to the community. The project will be assessed on the evidence provided to demonstrate measurable impacts on the community.

President’s Interfaith Service Honor Roll

Applications for the Interfaith Honor Roll will be evaluated in four categories: Institutional Supports for Interfaith Service, the Institutional Commitment to Interfaith Service Statement, Exemplary Interfaith Project Descriptions, and Interfaith Engagement Initiatives. The extent to which the applicant responds to the priorities outlined in this Guidance will be a key factor.

Institutional Supports for Interfaith Service: Factors that make up the Institutional Supports for Interfaith Service are listed below.

Quantitative Factors:

• the percentage of students participating in courses that integrate interfaith engagement with academic content

• the number of courses offered that integrate interfaith engagement into academic content

• the percentage of students overall who learned something new about a denomination, religion, or secular perspective different than their own

• The percentage of students overall who met and/or worked with some one of a different denomination, religion, or secular perspective other than their own

• The percentage of students overall who experienced a positive impact on the way they think about a denomination, religion, or secular perspective different than their own

Institutional Characteristics

• whether interfaith engagement is cited in the institution’s mission statement or strategic plan

• whether the institution makes internal budgetary allocations to support interfaith engagement

• whether the institution has at least one full-time staff member responsible for coordinating student interfaith service activities

Please note that in many cases “estimates” are requested. Estimates should be based on the best information available. All requested information and estimates are for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2013.

Institutional Commitment to Interfaith Service Statement: This statement should describe your institution’s commitment to interfaith service through intentional interfaith engagement and how this ties in to the commitment to service; provide the background, context, and examples to explain the culture of interfaith cooperation that exists at the institution and how this enhances the service work of your institution and its impact on the community.

Strong statements MUST include:

• Detailed discussion of the institutional commitment to interfaith engagement, including:

  • Explanation of the commitment of institutional resources to support interfaith engagement

  • Brief examples of this institutional culture of interfaith engagement as it is integrated into campus activities;

• Explanation of how that institutional commitment is implemented in the campus culture, academic programming and extracurricular activities;

• Discussion of the impact and effect of this commitment to interfaith service in the community; and

• Description of the conditions in the community that drove your institution to engage in interfaith service

Note: If an application is submitted for recognition in the Special Focus Area Interfaith Service category, the institutional commitment statement must discuss the rationale for the institution’s involvement in these areas.

Exemplary Interfaith Project Descriptions: In this section, select three (six if applying under both General and Special Focus area categories) service projects that exemplify the institution’s commitment to interfaith service. These narratives provide the applicant with opportunities to describe briefly specific projects that best illustrate the variety of activities in which the institution is engaged.

Strong project descriptions MUST include:

Explanation of the project and indication of the specific interfaith service provided, including:

• who from your institution participates in the interfaith service (faculty, teachers, students, etc.);

• who benefits from the interfaith service;

• how assessment and evaluation are used to improve the quality of the interfaith service;

• program practices or institutional support elements that were found particularly helpful or effective;

• clear connection to the Institutional Commitment to Interfaith Service Statement, including an explanation of:

• The different religious and secular perspectives represented by service organizers and participants

• How interfaith engagement was incorporated into the service project

• Detailed evidence, including quantification, and description of the project’s impact on the interfaith culture of the campus

• one compelling interfaith engagement story that encapsulates the positive attitude toward religious diversity of student participants

Provide details pertaining to the interfaith evaluation category of Interfaith Impact:

Interfaith Impact measures institution-wide shift toward greater interfaith cooperation and interfaith service. An institution might administer a campus climate survey or measure student learning outcomes through post-participation surveys for interfaith service events.

Interfaith Engagement Initiatives: This section provides the opportunity to explain, in detail, Communications, Education, and Capacity Building initiatives that advance interfaith engagement and enhance the efficacy of the applicant’s interfaith service programs.

Strong Initiatives MUST list:

• Participation of any or all of the following: partner institutions of higher education, campus faith-based organizations, community faith-based organizations, Faculty, staff, and students of various faiths

• Detailed overview of Communications, Education, and/or Capacity Building initiatives and strategies that will connect these interfaith engagement components to service projects

• Detailed explanation of evaluation methods that measure interfaith impact and the actual interfaith impact measured over the course of the year

• The number of students overall who learned something new about a denomination, religion, or secular perspective different than their own

• The number of students overall who met and/or worked with some one of a different denomination, religion, or secular perspective other than their own

• The number of students overall who experienced a positive impact on the way they think about a denomination, religion, or secular perspective different than their own

Award Information

The General Community Service Presidential Awards will be presented to three institutions that reflect the best practices of community service and service-learning, such as long-term community-campus partnerships and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.

The Interfaith Service Presidential Awards will be presented to three institutions that exhibit the best practices if interfaith service with a robust set of interfaith engagement initiatives and a commitment to measuring the sustainable impact of their interfaith service work. These institutions will successfully build strong interfaith partnerships and participant relationships while growing the appreciative knowledge of religious and secular-diversity across campus.

With Distinction: The Honor Roll’s “With Distinction” recognition will be given to those applicants that display strong levels of institutional commitment, provide a compelling case for partnerships that produce measurable impact in the community, and have a Federal Work-Study community service percentage of at least 15% or above.

In addition, depending on the number and quality of applications received, awards may be made to the top scoring applicants within specific institutional segments, such as 2-year colleges or minority-serving institutions.

Interfaith Service with Distinction: The Interfaith Service Honor Roll’s “With Distinction” recognition will be given to those applicants that display strong levels of institutional commitment to interfaith service and a thorough set of institutional supports for interfaith service and multiple interfaith service programs.

Honor Roll: An institution will be placed on the Honor Roll if the service described is deemed substantial, relevant and meaningful, and achieves measurable impacts in the community.

Interfaith Service Honor Roll: An institution will be place on the Interfaith Service Honor Roll if the interfaith service described is deemed substantial, relevant and meaningful, and successfully builds interfaith relationships and appreciative knowledge of religious diversity.

Application and Submission Information

Application and Submission Process

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Application is approved under OMB Control#: 3045-0120, Expiration Date 9/30/2013. Applications must be submitted online at http://myproject.nationalservice.gov/honorroll. We are unable to accept printed copies of the application. The form cannot be submitted until all required questions are answered. An error message will appear and the system will identify the required questions if an incomplete application is submitted. Applicants should print out the completed application for their records.

Once the application is submitted to the system, it will generate an email message informing the applicant that the application has been successfully accepted. If you do not receive an email within 24 hours, your application has not been accepted by the system. Please contact the Honor Roll Support Line at 202-606-3222.

Deadline for Submission

The deadline for institutions to submit applications is December TBD, 2013, at 5:00 PM, Eastern Time. Nominations received after this the 5:00 PM deadline will not be considered.

Timeline for Review

Deadline for Submission:	December TBD, 2013
Review Period:	December 2013
Awards Announced:	March 2014

Supplementary Information

Applicants are not required to submit supplementary materials, such as brochures, video tapes, or testimonials from project beneficiaries with their applications. Applicants should be prepared to provide documentation of partnerships and other support described in the narrative such as Memoranda of Understanding, and evaluations. Applicants may be invited to provide such information at a later time.

Privacy Policy

An applicant institution’s name, as well as all submission material, may be used for news or publicity programs connected with the Corporation. Information provided in the “exemplary project” descriptions may be published in connection with the Honor Roll on the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and partner organization websites (including the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, The Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Education, and Interfaith Youth Core). Contact information, however, will not be shared with anyone outside the Corporation and partner organizations. Information provided by this collection will be held solely by CNCS staff and partner organizations.

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