Throughout the university, we offer resources to help faculty develop reciprocal community partnerships, design community-engaged learning, advance engaged scholarship, strengthen research impact, publish and present their work, and connect with national networks.
Connect your teaching, research and creative activity with communities for mutually beneficial impact. Start with what you want to do.
Understand community engagement and its benefits.
NIU Community-Engaged Teaching Toolkit - overview, benefits and guidance for getting started.
Explore NIU community engagement resources.
OERD Community Engagement Toolkits - a gateway to faculty/staff, literature, publications, news and other engagement resources.
Learn about higher education’s civic mission.
Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX), sponsored by Campus Compact and AAC&U, gives access to research, tools and peer networks to advance civic engagement across higher education.
Find and develop a community partner.
NIU Developing Community-Engaged Partnerships Guide - guidance on finding partners and building successful partnerships.
Connect my work with community needs and university resources.
Contact OERD’s Director of Community-engaged Partnerships, Jennifer Groce at jgroce@niu.edu or 815-753-0916.
View existing partnerships.
NIU Partnership Map - Our interactive partnership map provides info about NIU’s local, national and international partnerships.
Design a community-engaged course.
NIU Course Design Guide - integrating course content, learning outcomes and meaningful community engagement.
Prepare students and manage an engaged course.
NIU Course Delivery Guide - student preparation, community engagement and course logistics.
Assess learning and community impact.
NIU Assessment and Evaluation Guide - approaches for assessing student learning and evaluating engagement.
Explore additional engaged-teaching resources.
Campus Compact offers resources, professional development and tools for community-engaged teaching and faculty development.
Develop community-engaged research or creative activity.
IARSLCE connects scholars with research, professional development and a national/international community focused on service-learning and community engagement.
Strengthen the broader impacts of my research.
ARIS provides tools, training and a resource library for broader impacts, research impact and societal impact.
Develop a Broader Impacts plan.
ARIS Broader Impacts resources include peer-reviewed tools and proposal-development guidance.
Publish my community-engaged scholarship.
“Yes, You Can Get Your Community Engaged Work Published!” Videos and resources from NIU’s Spring 2025 Executive Engagement in Residence workshops.
Explore NIU scholarship.
Huskie Commons provides access to NIU publications, including community-engaged learning and research.
Find journals and periodicals.
Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) shares a comprehensive list of scholarly publications.
Put my partnership on NIU's map.
Add your partnership to NIU’s Partnership Map so we can celebrate your work.
Share my work with community-engaged colleagues nationwide.
The Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX) is Campus Compact and AAC&U’s connective platform for higher education’s civic mission and those dedicated to advancing it.
Document community engagement for review, promotion and tenure.
Campus Compact provides resources on documenting and evaluating community-engaged scholarship.
Find recognition for engaged scholarship.
ESC offers awards for excellence in engaged scholarship, including faculty community engagement recognition.
Find funding for engaged scholarship.
ESC's Engaged Scholarship Research/Creative Activities Grants Program supports faculty/staff at member institutions with grants of up to $5,000 for one-year projects.
Build my skills and national network.
NIU’s membership in ARIS, IARSLCE, Campus Compact and ESC gives you access to networks, events and professional development.
See NIU's examples and stories.
NIU Today engagement stories highlight community-engaged projects involving NIU faculty, staff and students. NIU's 2026 Self Study for the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification provides a detailed account of community engaged teaching, learning and scholarship at NIU.
Share my partnership.
Put your partnership on our Partnership Map and share your experiences so we can celebrate your work.
OERD and campus partners can help connect you with the right NIU or national resource for your teaching, research, creative activity or community partnership.
If you are currently a partner or are interested in partnering with NIU on a community engaged project or program, and have a question, contact Jennifer Groce, Director of Community-Engaged Partnerships, at 815-753-0916 or jgroce@niu.edu.