Glossary of Common Terms Related to Partnerships

  1. Community Engagement the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutual creation and exchange of knowledge and resources in the context of partnership and reciprocity.
    • Curricular engagement describes the reciprocal and respectful teaching, learning, and scholarship in which faculty, students, and community collaborate. Their interactions address community-identified needs, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, enhance community well-being, and enrich the scholarship of the institution.
    • Co-curricular engagement describes structured learning that happens outside the formal academic curriculum through trainings, workshops, service, and experiential learning opportunities. Co-curricular engagement requires structured reflection and connection to academic knowledge in the context of reciprocal, asset-based community partnerships.
  2. Community-engaged Partnership supports the principles of community engagement based on reciprocity and the cooperative exchange of both giving and receiving. Community-engagement partnerships recognize the community partner and Bellarmine as co-educators for students through incorporation of community engagement into teaching, learning, research and/or scholarship.
  3. Integrated Community Partnership serve as community-engaged partnerships that involve more than one area of campus (cross-functional/multidisciplinary), advance one of more priorities within Bellarmine’s strategic plan, and make a significant community impact.
  4. Reciprocity describes the university and the community partner working in common interest and respect, in a cooperative exchange of favors, with both giving and receiving.
  5. Inclusion involves intentionally bringing together diverse groups that are actively connected and engaged around issues of equitable access and social justice. For more information, please visit the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Bellarmine University webpage.