By: Lauren Wendling, Collaboratory Customer Specialist &
Dr. Kristin Norris, Assistant Director of School Partnerships, Indiana University System
Collaboratory Scholars was created to honor the knowledge and social networks that students develop while in college. Engaging students to implement and sustain Collaboratory benefits not only the students, but also the capacity of institutions to effectively leverage Collaboratory. Collaboratory Scholars provides students a network beyond their campus and a space to explore new ways of thinking about Collaboratory. Together we will foster the next generation of community-engaged scholars, professionals, and alumni who have a greater appreciation for how their institution fulfills its public mission and the role of higher education in society.
Who are the Collaboratory Scholars?
- Graduate or undergraduate students who are involved with Collaboratory data collection, entry, or use on their campus.
- Students interested in higher education community engagement in all of its facets – data and analysis, assessment, engaged research, engaged teaching, etc.
- Students of all majors and roles within their institution. Those from different academic disciplines, perspectives, and institutions with varying cultures and interpretations of community engagement will learn with like-minded peers.
- Participation in Collaboratory Scholars is free of cost and students may join for as long (or as little!) as they would like.
Why?
- As Collaboratory has grown and expanded across institutions big and small, it has brought together an impressive group of scholars, professionals, and students dedicated to the continued improvement of higher education community engagement. Through conversations with Collaboratory Administrators about and reflecting upon the invaluable role of students in the implementation of Collaboratory on their campuses, the need to intentionally convene engaged students became apparent.
- The creation of a cohort of students to interact, reflect, and think about their work with Collaboratory is a natural step along the path of developing not only the current field of higher education community engagement, but also the next generation of engaged scholars, professionals, and citizens.
What do Collaboratory Scholars do?
- Scholars participate in discussion that encourages them to think deeply about how data collected (via Collaboratory or other tools) can be used to offer evidence of progress, demonstrate collective impact or inform institutional decision-making.
- By engaging in dialogue with fellow engaged students and Collaboratory Administrators, Scholars participate in a community of engaged professionals working to build capacity for the future of higher education community engagement.
- In addition to personal and professional development, as a Collaboratory Scholar, students are equipped to assist Administrators with the implementation of Collaboratory on their campuses to help ensure its success over time.
- As a group, Scholars come together to support each other’s efforts, discuss challenges and strategies for success, and find assistance for their work.
When and where do they meet?
- Scholars are invited to participate in monthly, virtual meetings during the academic year with Scholars at other Collaboratory campuses.
- Meetings are facilitated by Dr. Kristin Norris, Director of Assessment at IUPUI, Lauren Wendling, Collaboratory Customer Specialist, and other Collaboratory Administrators or guest speakers.
- Institutions may also include their Scholars in Collaboratory events like the annual Administrator Summit, meetings at national and regional conferences, and other virtual gatherings like the Collaboratory Coffee Breaks.
Want to get involved in the Collaboratory Scholars?
If your institution is currently using Collaboratory and you have students who would like to participate, encourage them to sign up!
If your institution is not yet using Collaboratory, email [email protected] to learn more about how to leverage Collaboratory to tell your institution’s story of engagement.
