The IMPACT! program has the following goals:
- We aim to make the university feel smaller by creating a community of learners who take courses together, live close to one another, and share common interests. Students become a network of social support for each other and their sense of belonging and academic learning is enhanced.
- We aim to support students who have a passion for service, so they will be encouraged and enabled to act on that passion.
- We aim to make learning richer and more meaningful by grounding it in real life experience. Our core community partners have carefully designed service opportunities for students that offer increasing challenge and opportunities over time. We want to reciprocate by offering them help in recruiting students to serve with them.
- We aim to engage students in thinking about issues of social justice and how they can work in the world to address issues of injustice. We encourage students to consider the following questions: What is going on in the world, and how do I fit into it? What will I do to address it?
- We aim to enlarge our view of knowing through contemplative pedagogy and practice; this work occurs through an emphasis on attention and focus, cultivating empathy, and gaining a deeper understanding of relationships and connections.
- We aim to prepare students to take on leadership roles in CSL on campus, through programs such as the Citizen Scholars Program, Student Bridges, and the UMass Alliance for Community Transformation.
