Evaluating Beyond the Ivory Tower: Lessons Learned from the Scholars Program

Abstract

The Community-engaged Scholars Program is a multi-disciplinary, cohort-based program offering a “learning circle” paired with funding for community-engaged research. It is intended to build scholars’ capacity for community-engaged scholarship, catalyze institutional support for community-engaged scholarship, and benefit community partners. This article reports on the mixed-method program evaluation of the first Scholars Program cohort as well as describes a broader framework for thinking about evaluation of higher education community engagement efforts.