Engagement Map Intake FAQs

Use the links below to jump to the different sections of the intake form for definitions and guidance for the UNL Engagement and Outreach map. The map is updated once a quarter, so your entries may not appear quickly. If you are part of Extension, your data for the map is collected via PEARS. Have more questions? Email engagementcollaborative@unl.edu

You can easily filter the UNL Engagement Projects Microsoft List to see which projects are already on the map using the following options:

• Select the funnel icon along the tab toolbar, just above the data header row. This will bring up a filter menu along the right side of the screen. You can filter by your college, department, your name, or another category to see what data already exists. 
• You can also select a specific data header title to see a drop-down menu. Select the Filter by option to open up a menu of options for that data category in a right side menu. 
• If you need to edit an entry on the list, select the checkmark at the beginning of the row and select the Edit button in the top toolbar and make the changes necessary. These changes will need to be approved before they appear. 

*Required

Provide the name of the engagement or outreach project. 

Examples: 

• Child Nutrition Training Academy
• Answers 4 Families
• Federal and State Income Tax Institute
• NHRI Leadership Mentoring
• Downtown Revitalization Plan for David City

*Required

Academic Engagement and Experiential Learning: Activities in which students apply learning in community settings, such as field-based professional preparation and applied classroom learning, in which students collaborate directly with community partners to address real-world issues.

Questions about the project:

• Are the UNL/NU students in your class involved in a project collaborating with a non-UNL community partner? (see definition of community partner below) 
  • If yes, then it belongs on the map!  
  • Examples of these kinds of projects: 
    • Capstone or class projects with community partner(s) 
    • Volunteerism projects with community partner(s) 
    • Introductory or issues-based research project as part of the class with community partner(s) 
    • Internships, student and practicum teaching 
    • UCARE, FYRE, or undergrad highest distinction projects with a community partner(s) 
  • Examples that do not belong on the map: 
    • Job shadowing, or observation in a classroom; the UNL/NU participant must contribute something to the partnership

Scholarship and Research-Engaged Projects: Activities focused on collaborative knowledge generation, such as faculty and student research or creative work that aspires to be co-created with community organizations, schools, nonprofits, or industry partners, rather than conducted on them, to promote the public good. 

Questions about the project: 

• Does your research project involve a community partner? (see definition of community partner below) 
  • If yes, it goes on the map! 
  • Examples of these kinds of projects 
    1. Parents and Teachers as Partners 
    2. On-Farm Research 
    3. Defend the Core, Grow the Core 
    4. Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape 
    5. UCARE, FYRE, or undergrad highest distinction projects with a community partner(s) 
• Examples that do not go on the map 
  • Secondary data analysis of community partner data (e.g., school/business data) 
  • Discovery research funded by a community partner (e.g., Cattlemen’s Association) 

• Grey area projects that do go on the map, but are categorized as Targeted Outreach Projects

  • Public lectures on or off campus 

  • Events on or off-campus open to the public, that involve UNL faculty, staff, and students like concerts, research slams, data walks, community forums, and symposia.

Targeted Outreach and Extension Projects: Activities focused on structured educational partnerships, services provided, and knowledge transfer, such as formal university-led programs, Extension programming, workshops, and certifications delivered to community audiences in an effort to solve problems, enhance skills, or promote economic/community development. 

Questions about the project:

• Are you bringing non-UNL people to campus for a service or programming? 

  • If yes, then it belongs on the map! 

    • Examples of these kinds of projects 

      • Math Day 

      • Language Fair 

      • FEWS² events 

      • Child Nutrition Training Academy 

      • Osher Lifelong Learning classes on campus

      • College of Law clinic events

      • Future Farmers of America Career Development Events 

      • Professional Development workshops open to non-UNL-enrolled attendees on campus

      • Events on campus open to the public, that involve UNL faculty, staff, and students like concerts, research slams, data walks, and symposia.  

  • Examples that do not belong on the map 

    • Recruitment visits that only provide tours and information about campus 

• Are you traveling to a community in Nebraska to provide a service or programming?   

  • If yes, then it belongs on the map!

    • Examples of these kinds of projects

      • Nebraska Extension programming (engagement map data is gathered through the PEARS platform)

      • College of Law Clinic events off-campus

      • Osher Lifelong Learning classes off-campus

      • Center for Children, Families, and the Law events

      • Northeast Nebraska Ag and Natural Resources Education Compact events

      • VITA events off-campus

Public Service Projects: Activities focused on direct community support and advocacy, such as direct services and advocacy efforts that leverage university expertise to meet community-identified social, health, economic, and civic needs, often through long-term partnerships or volunteerism. 

Questions about the project

• Are you or your UNL/NU students providing public service for/with a community partner? (see definition of community partner below)
  • If yes, then it belongs on the map!
    • Examples of these projects include
      • Engage Lincoln
      • Medical Students United with Neighbors Across America
      • Dance Marathon
      • Board service for nonprofits
      • Volunteer projects that are not connected to courses or research projects, but affiliated with UNL

Community Partner Definition: Definition of a community partner includes, but is not limited to: children and their families (including students, schools, and childcare providers), teachers, and administrators; business professionals; industry representatives; local and state government officials; non-profits; youth/community organizations; commodity groups; and the general public. 

*Required

Please choose the name of your college from the drop-down menu. If you are a part of a unit that is not a choice, please choose "Other Units" from the menu. Other Units include, but are not limited to, the State, Sheldon, and Quilt Museums, the SLICE Office, UNL Alumni Association, and Nebraska EPSCoR. 

*Required

Please provide the name of the primary person responsible for the project. The form uses the Microsoft lookup, so it is similar to typing a name in the To field in Outlook. 

Please provide the name(s) of the community partners from the project. These partners could be the recipients of the project (e.g., a school where your team provided programming) or helped implement the project (a nonprofit your team worked with to host an event for the community at large)  

Examples include:

Scottsbluff High School, Legal Aid of Nebraska, Civic Nebraska, Union Pacific

If your project took place at a Nebraska K–12 school, school district, college or university, or, if you brought students/teachers/administrators to campus from those schools, please search for the name of the institution here. Once you start typing, it should auto-populate. If your project happened at multiple schools, or students/teachers/administrators from multiple schools participated on campus, please create a separate entry (row or form) for each school that participated with the different name of the school in each row. Once the name of the school is selected, the name of the community where the school is located should auto-populate in the form or sheet. 

Approximate the number of UNL/NU students involved in the project. Usually this will be the number of students enrolled in a experiential learning class, the number of student researchers involved in a research project, or the number of students volunteering for a specific event.