Community Learning Network, Temple University

The Community Learning Network (CLN) is Temple University’s home for Community Based Learning. The CLN creates opportunities for students, faculty and local organizations to partner through courses, internships and research, combining academic knowledge and community work for deeper learning and community benefit.

Our Mission: Transforming Knowledge Into Action

The Community Learning Network catalyzes civic engagement by promoting campus-community collaborations between faculty, students and community partners. The CLN is committed to creating access and connections between the academic community and the neighborhood and city in which we are situated, going beyond “town and gown” to create lasting relationships that produce dynamic change in both communities for the common good. We are committed to creating a culture of Metro Engagement, on our campus and beyond. The Network is an academic unit that works with faculty and students to connect their teaching, learning and research with local community based organizations by:

• Maintaining relationships with community based organizations
• Supporting faculty development and implementation of Community Based Learning courses and Community Based Research
• Providing students leadership opportunities

Collaborative partnerships between Temple faculty, students and community based organizations provide a number of potential benefits for these groups and the university as a whole:

Faculty benefit by:

• Expanding research opportunities within and beyond the campus
• Extending academic expertise to societal challenges in local communities
• Bringing real world context to the classroom

Students benefit by:

• Activating the efficacy of academic knowledge through purposeful action
• Going beyond university boundaries to make strong connections with neighbors and communities
• Developing civic awareness through collaborative projects

Community Partners benefit by:

• Increasing capacity to deliver core services
• Accessing strategic support and consultation for actionable research
• Expanded opportunities for professional development and continuing education

The University benefits by:

• Being recognized nationally as an academically engaged institution
• Advancing Metro-Engagement within the Academic Strategic Compass
• Fulfilling its ethical obligation to be a ‘good institutional citizen’ in the region