Comprehensive Standard #3.4.2 (Extension and public service)

The institution's continuing education, outreach, and service programs are consistent with the institution's mission.

Compliance Certification

The College of William and Mary is in compliance with this comprehensive standard.

Explanation

The College's Mission Statement recognizes the importance of service to the community, state, and nation. Continuing education, outreach, and service programs are provided primarily through the College's Schools of Business Administration and Education, as described below. Departments and programs within Arts and Sciences occasionally provide significant outreach efforts through special funding as, for example, in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute program in Science Education.

School Of Business Administration

The Center for Corporate Education (CCE), formerly known as the Center for Executive and Professional Development, serves as the executive education outreach component of the Graduate School of Business. The objective of the CCE is to provide executive education and professional development programs to businesses and corporations in both global and domestic arena" (School of Business, Center for Corporate Education). A primary goal of the Center is to develop high-quality, research-based education programs for businesses, corporations, government organizations, community groups, and state agencies. CCE programs are consistent with the College's mission of preserving, transmitting, and expanding knowledge, combining the best features of an undergraduate college and a research university, and providing public service to the state and nation.

School of Education

Consistent with the Mission of the College of William and Mary, the School of Education has a three-fold commitment to teaching, research, and service. The Mission Statement of the School of Education describes its unique service role as follows:

Through a variety of outreach activities, the School of Education provides model programs in direct service to children, adolescents, and their families, as well as technical assistance and professional developmental opportunities for educators in K-12, higher education, and agency settings.

Cognizant of this mission, the School of Education hosts seven major centers and numerous outreach projects through which faculty and staff members serve children, families, and practicing professionals. Specific information about the goals, structures, and activities of the following School of Education outreach centers may be found at their websites: The William and Mary School Leadership Institute, Center for Gifted Education, New Horizons Family Counseling Center, Project Hope, Special Education Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC), the Virginia Educational Technology Alliance (VETA), and the Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition (HTSAC).

Through these centers and numerous other projects conducted by program faculty, the School of Education provides education-related services at the local, state, national, and international levels. In recent years, School of Education outreach programs have served annually more than 500 families, 1400 school-age children, and 20,000 practicing professionals. Specific examples of different types of outreach programs are provided below.

The New Horizons Family Counseling Center is a university based, student operated, family counseling teaching clinic now in its third decade serving the families of at-risk students from the public school systems of Williamsburg-James City, Newport News, Hampton, York, Gloucester, and Poquoson. Approximately 250 families receive free services each year through this New Horizons clinic. The primary Center is housed with the School of Education in Jones Hall; additional satellite centers operate in area public schools.

For seventeen years, the Center for Gifted Education has offered Saturday/Summer Enrichment Programs (SEP) for high ability learners providing specialized opportunities in science, mathematics, and the arts and humanities for students entering preschool through grade 10. Each year, there are more than 1,000 registrations for SEP courses.

Several programs exemplify the quality and extent of faculty engagement in the world of practice in K-12 schools. In 1994, the School of Education in partnership with eight local school districts, the Virginia Department of Education, and the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, created the School-University Research Network (SURN) to improve teaching and learning for all students through collaborative field-based research that informs the delivery of educational services. Over the past eleven years, SURN has grown to include 28 school districts throughout the Peninsula, Northern Neck, and Southside regions of the state. An Advisory Board comprised of superintendents and key instructional leaders from the participating districts establishes common research and professional development priorities, and teams of faculty and K-12 personnel collaborate in the design and implementation of specific initiatives. The SURN website (School-University Research Network) describes the range of programs provided. In any given year, approximately one-third (24 of 36) of the School of Education faculty is directly involved in SURN activities.

A second example is the Partnership in Leading and Learning in Rural Schools (PILLRS) an eight-year project supported by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund (1999-2008), enabling the School of Education to work intensively with small, low-performing school districts in the Northern Neck region of the Commonwealth. This comprehensive, in-depth program has focused on critical needs identified collaboratively with K-12 school partners. Project activities have involved school boards, superintendents, central office administrators, principals, and teachers in school improvement efforts. Nineteen faculty and staff members from the School of Education have worked with school colleagues on design and delivery of professional development programs, teacher and administrative evaluations systems, school climate analyses, curriculum and teaching assessments, and other initiatives. Evaluation reports document the effectiveness of the first five years of this school-university partnership in the improvement of student and school performance.

School of Marine Science

The School of Marine Science and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Advisory Services work to provide unbiased scientific information to help policymakers, industry, and citizens effectively manage and conserve coastal and estuarine resources for present and future generations. VIMS scientists provide advisory services not only within the Commonwealth of Virginia, but at national and international levels as well.

Administratively, VIMS offers advisory services through its Aquatic Breeding Center (ABC), Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM), and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) program. VIMS also administers and operates the Marine Advisory Program (MAP) of Virginia Sea Grant and the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERRVA). Individual faculty, staff, and student throughout the institution also provide advisory service.

References