ReferencesAstin, A.W., Vogelgesang, L.J., Misa, K, Anderson, J., Denson,N., Jayakumar, U., Saenz, V., & Yamamura, E. (2006). Understandingthe Effects of Service-Learning: A Study of Students andFaculty. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute,UCLA.Hurtado, S., Sax, L.J., Saenz, V.B., Harper, C. E., Oseguera, L.,Curley, J., Lopez, L., Wolf, D., & Arellano, L. (2007). Findingsfrom the 2005 Administration of the Your <strong>First</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>Year</strong> (YFCY):National Aggregates. Los Angeles: Higher Education ResearchInstitute, UCLA.Pryor, J.H., Hurtado, S., Saenz, V.B., Lindholm, J.A., Korn, W.S.,& Mahoney, K.M. (2006). The American Freshman: NationalNorms <strong>for</strong> Fall 2005. Los Angeles: Higher Education ResearchInstitute, UCLA.Pryor, J.H., Hurtado, S, Saenz, V.B., Santos, J.L, & Korn, W.S.(2007). The American Freshman: Forty-<strong>Year</strong> Trends, 1966–2006.Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
CHAPTER 7Institutional Structures and Strategies <strong>for</strong>Embedding <strong>Civic</strong> <strong>Engagement</strong> in the <strong>First</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>Year</strong>Betsy O. Barefoot, Co-Director and Senior Scholar, Policy Center on the <strong>First</strong> <strong>Year</strong> of <strong>College</strong><strong>College</strong> and university educators generally agree that education <strong>for</strong>citizenship is one of the many purposes of higher education. Butthat is often where the agreement stops. Some educators considerthe application of learning to real-world problems a secondary,rather than primary, goal of higher education. Others would arguethat while a focus on civic engagement might be appropriate <strong>for</strong>upper-level students, first-year students are not prepared, either byexperience or maturity, to address these issues effectively.The 33 case studies in this monograph provide real evidenceto support a different view. They explore the many benefits thataccrue to institutions and their external communities from civicengagement, and they offer examples of how to make education<strong>for</strong> citizenship a meaningful part of the first college year. Whilethese cases are rich with important detail, this chapter will summarizeand categorize them in terms of how they link with existinginstitutional structures. Admittedly, the process of categorization issomewhat artificial because of the inherent overlap of courses andprograms. For instance, although first-year seminars and learningcommunities are presented as discrete categories, many learningcommunities include a first-year seminar.These case studies describe civic engagement activities embeddedin discipline courses, honors programs, first-year seminars,learning communities, and extra-curricular initiatives. At a fewcolleges and universities, the theme of civic engagement permeatesthe entire institutional fabric, interwoven with programs andpractices throughout the undergraduate experience.Taken together, these initiatives are a testimony to the creativeabilities of college and university educators to engage students inrich and meaningful curricular and extra-curricular experiences— experiences that intertwine learning with civic responsibilityand service to others. The faculty, staff, and administrators whosupport these ef<strong>for</strong>ts with their time and resources are themselvesexemplars of social responsibility and willingness to collaboratewith colleagues and community citizens.<strong>Civic</strong> <strong>Engagement</strong> in <strong>First</strong>-<strong>Year</strong> CoursesA significant number of case studies explore ways that first-yearcourses can be linked with or centered on civic engagement.While a number of these courses can be categorized as first-yearseminars, others are discipline-based offerings in various departmentsor core experiences in an honors program.Discipline CoursesCali<strong>for</strong>nia State University, Chico, has integrated civic engagementinto first-year writing. Through a sequence of assignmentsfocusing on civic learning, students use writing to inquire into keyissues of our time. Lehigh University also uses first-year Englishto introduce students to civic engagement. The second semesterof the two-semester writing requirement introduces students tothe skills of civic discourse and to their responsibility to participatein American democracy. Robert Morris <strong>College</strong> brings environmentalscience and English students together to work on thethree-acre Eden Place Nature Center, <strong>for</strong>merly an illegal dumpsitein Chicago. While environmental science students study issuesrelated to land use and wildlife, English students design marketingmaterials and write letters requesting community support. Throughthe Madison Academic and Athletic Exchange (MAXX) at theUniversity of Wisconsin, students in English 100 work with highschool athletes as they consider the role of athletics in Americanhigher education. Pace University has acquired support throughProject Pericles, funded by the Eugene M Lang Foundation, tocenter civic engagement in a number of core curriculum technologycourses, and Concordia <strong>College</strong> places service within a singlecore first-year course, Global Studies 118.A Focus on Special PopulationsSome institutions include a civic emphasis within discipline coursesthat focus on a particular language or population. Through itscommunity-based Spanish Language and Culture Program, Pitzer<strong>College</strong> places new students in the homes of immigrant Mexicanfamilies <strong>for</strong> a few hours per week during a semester. The interactionof students with native Spanish speakers increases crossculturalunderstanding and helps build long-term relationshipsbetween students and community participants. Weber State Universityincludes a service focus in its Communication 2110 course:students work with a local school district program that targets atriskelementary and secondary school children.Hampden-Sydney <strong>College</strong>, one of the few remaining all-maleinstitutions in the U. S., engages honors students in a servicelearningexperience at a nearby regional jail. Through a twosemester,first-year honors course, Social Documentary: Image,Text, and Context, students spend significant time teaching basic
Change language