Higher education is at an inflection point. Communities face complex, connected challenges, such as economic inequality, democratic disengagement and environmental vulnerability, that no single institution can solve alone. Colleges and universities bring real assets to that work: teaching, research, partnerships, economic influence and the next generation of leaders. Many campuses still need to get organized, committed and strategic enough to use those assets fully. Cost, access, and trust are real challenges, and meeting them with practical solutions is part of earning the public's confidence.
Campus Action Planning for Civic & Community Engagement (CAP) helps institutions reaffirm higher education's public purpose. It does this by using institutional power and resources as a whole to promote a thriving democracy and community flourishing.
In a virtual setting, CAP teams that have been developing their Campus Action Plans will continue making progress toward their plan while those newer to CAP framework will have the chance to lay the groundwork needed to establish civic and community engagement as an institutional priority and core function.
Over three days of intensive sessions, participants will come together alongside CAP Coaches and Fellows as a large group and in their campus-community teams. Participants will learn with their passionate and committed peers exploring how their campus action plan can elevate community voice, cultivate mutual trust, and advance the public purpose of higher education.
What you'll explore
- The why and what of CAP: the Framework's guiding principles, its six imperatives (asset-based, systemic, interrogative, innovative, future-focused and transformative) and its four-stage planning cycle
- Pre-planning and team formation: how to assess your readiness, build a coalition on campus and form an inclusive planning team that includes community partners
- Self-assessment: grounding your plan in your institution's values, shared definitions and existing documents and data, so it rests on evidence rather than assumptions
- The five CAP domains: a guided domain scan covering institutional identity and core values, faculty and staff engagement, student engagement, community partnerships, and institutional infrastructure
- Power and ecosystem mapping: charting the assets (i.e. people, resources, relationships, and institutions) in your campus–community ecosystem
- Aspirational planning: drafting a shared vision for engagement and turning it into strong, flexible goals
- Scoping and operationalizing: an introduction to prioritizing goals and building action plans you can carry out
What you'll leave with
- A preliminary self-assessment, CAP Domain Scan and campus-community ecosystem map plus tools to keep facilitating the process with your wider team
- A first draft of your engagement vision and goals
- A realistic timeline for your planning process, and ideas for using this thinking even if you aren't ready for a full plan
- Connections with CAP Fellows, Coaches and peer institutions, and a path to continued support from Campus Compact
- Monthly 90 minute sessions facilitated by CAP coaches where you and your peers will share progress and pain points, seek guidance and effective practices, and build a community to advance this work (February - May 2027)
- At least one 60 minute consultation call with a CAP Coach (February - May 2027)
