On Jan. 7, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching awarded the Community Engagement Classification to the University of Massachusetts Boston for a second time.
Through a rigorous university-wide evaluation, the Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) and the Carnegie Committee were able to gather the data required to meet the criteria of this classification.
The classification process focuses not only on ensuring that all of the qualified applicants have substantial engagement in community partnership on the local, national, and international level, but that this is reflected in the academic structure.
UMass Boston was among the first institutions in the nation to receive the classification in 2006, with the other UMass campuses following in 2008. The University of Massachusetts remains the only state system with all of its campuses currently holding this classification.
The Carnegie Committee collaborated with every unit on campus in order to collect the required data. While doing so, they acknowledged the re-classification process as a welcomed self-evaluation that would highlight achievements as well as areas of potential enhancement. Through this acknowledgement the university proves once again that even when receiving recognition for its accomplishments, progression is key.   
True to the diligent ethics established by its founders, UMass Boston has been continuous in its efforts to build and maintain relationships with the outside community.
Receiving this second classification is an achievement in the realm of higher education. It speaks to the diverse efforts the university has made, to provide its students with not only a post-secondary education but rather a higher education that influences civic engagement and societal awareness. 
“It’s about making our academic curriculum and degrees relevant to the community’s needs, our scholarship/research relevant to the issues that are of most concern to communities, and making learning relevant to students’ lives,” said Office of Community Engagement Outreach Coordinator Kathleen Banfield.
The recognition received from the Carnegie Foundation is a much appreciated honor. This achievement produces an invaluable alliance between the university and its partnerships, one that the university can rely on going forward.
UMass Boston’s classification will be publicly acknowledged once more this upcoming spring at the university’s Fourth Annual Community-Engaged Partnerships Symposium on April 8, where many individuals who work to make these productive partnerships will be in attendance.