Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh

This book looks at the intersection of student research and community-based learning in a concentrated location over a period of ten years. This study examines the use of an urban neighborhood as a place-based source for engagement partners and opportunities. With a sustained, programmatic commitment to the neighborhood, Northern Kentucky University sought to build trust over a period of ten years with residents, nonprofit agencies serving them, and other stakeholders, who in turn could generate a steady stream engagement opportunities valued by the neighborhood and valuable to students’ learning. Our analysis found that this sustained, programmatic commitment indeed built trust with partners and produced mutually beneficial opportunities. This has resulted in tremendous benefits to the university by creating lasting relationships, impactful work in the community and by retaining faculty and students.

The Intersection of High-Impact Practices: What’s Next for Higher Education? examines high-impact practices and their impacts individually and collectively to demonstrate the added value of connecting high-impact practices. The research presented by Drs. Reilly and Turnbaugh-Langley illustrates that student success is not just a function of participation in one or many high-impact practices, but rather the order, timing, and interaction of these practices that yields the highest impact. These chapters discuss various high-impact practices such as study abroad experiences, student research initiatives, and internships to explore how these kinds of activities augment and enrich the success of students. The authors also speculate on where schools could increase the funding for these high-impact practices to maximize the institution’s return on investment. Ultimately, this book strongly advocates for not only the benefits of high-impact practices, but making sure students have multiple experiences with them.