A process-oriented, collaborative, authentic learning approach to community-campus engagement

One of the overarching themes for the Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is to provide students with opportunities to collaborate with community organizations to develop solutions to real-world problems. In the program’s Environmental Engagement in the Community class, students work in teams on a problem/challenge/issue that a client and their organization currently has or needs to address in the future. Clients submit a one-page proposal of their problem/challenge/issue (PCI) that provides the foundation for a student-client meet and greet that uses a speed-dating format. Based on the proposal and following the meet and greet, students use a prioritization process that requires them to complete a comparative analysis and ranking of all projects. Based on these data, project teams are created. Over the course of the 16-week semester, the students develop a working relationship with the client, develop a work plan including SMART objectives to address the PCI, implement the plan, conduct stakeholder analysis, document financial impact of the project using a process referred to as reverse budgeting, and present the outcomes of their project at the end of semester as a poster at the Environmental and Sustainability Studies Showcase as well as create a 6-min video for the client. From 2011 to 2022, student teams completed 126 projects that provided nearly $350,000 in economic benefit. Quantitative and qualitative feedback from 73 community clients indicate the course is well designed and provides an authentic earning experience that serves both the student and the client.