Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services Project
Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services (BJHCHS) is one of the most
respected health service providers in the region; its mission is to offer comprehensive,
affordable, and accessible health services to the community. BJHCHS has partnered
with the USCB Center for Human Services Evaluation to conduct a portion of their Needs
Assessment – this is a detailed process that helps an organization identify gaps between
current and desired outcomes. USCB is conducting the qualitative portion of the needs
assessment data collection on behalf of BJHCHS.
SE USDA RFBC Evaluation
Locus in partnership with Georgia Minority Outreach Network leads the Southeast USDA Regional Food Business Center.
USDA Regional Food Business Centers will have three main responsibilities as stated by the USDA:
- Coordination - The Regional Food Centers will act as regional hubs coordinating across geographic areas with USDA, other federal, state, and tribal agencies with relevant resources, regional commissions, stakeholders, and the other Regional Food Centers. They will engage with stakeholders and partners to develop and implement strategic and funding plans for serving the region through technical assistance and capacity building. They will conduct outreach to underserved communities and businesses.
- Technical Assistance - The Regional Food Centers will provide direct business technical assistance to small- and mid-sized food and farm businesses (producers, processors, aggregators, distributors, and other businesses within the food supply chain) and food value and supply chain coordination. Each Regional Food Center will identify priority areas for technical assistance (e.g., aggregation/distribution, specialty crop processing for institutions) for the region it plans to serve.
- Capacity Building - The Regional Food Centers will provide financial assistance through business builder subawards up to $100,000 to support projects focused on regional needs and businesses that are working towards expansion and other investment. These subawards may support staff time, business planning activities, software implementation, the purchase of special purpose equipment, such as food safety, processing and packaging equipment, and value chain coordination, and other expenses associated as outlined in the RFA.
Gullah/Geechee Agroculture Outcome Evaluation
The aim of this study was to determine potential workable strategies to address capacity issues and sustain family farming across Gullah/Geechee generations. Beyond the negative impact on the immediate community, this disruption also has negative impacts on the larger farming ecosystem.
This report outlines the activities conducted as a part of a 3-year research project funded by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) organization. Those activities included farm mapping and story documentation, capacity analysis, equity analysis, and awareness and outreach tool development.
Experiential Learning Evaluation at USCB
The University of South Carolina Beaufort’s 2018-2023 Quality Enhancement Plan was entitled Students Connected: Fieldwork for the Future. The development process began with proposals solicited from members of the University community, which were based on review of the literature from best practices at other institutions, assessment of need at USCB, and alignment with institutional mission. The goal of Students Connected was to improve students’ learning through experiential education rooted in community issues. Our QEP was closely tied to the University’s values and mission, as well as goals set forth in the USCB Strategic Plan for broadening experiential opportunities for students, growing partnerships with community organizations, and providing for students’ success.
Students Connected had three central goals:
- Enhance and expand experiential research and service-learning opportunities for students across all disciplines,
- Collaborate with local organizations to engage students in research that affects community-based project outcomes, and
- Integrate knowledge learned from these experiences into curricula and facilitate calssroom and community-wide discussions.
These goals were then reflected in the Students Connected Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). By participating in various components of Students Connected, students would be able to:
Consider the Issue: Students will critically analyze regional issues by drawing from multiple perspectives.
Collaborate with Others: Students will collaborate with their peers, faculty, and community leaders to comprehend, assess, or address regional issues.
Commit to Participation: Students will engage in activities that promote and benefit the region.
Conceive of a Solution: Students will apply their knowledge and skills to develop methods for addressing regional issues. Students may also implement and evaluate these solutions as possible.
reConsider in Light of Experience: Students will reflect on the process and products of their work with regional issues.
Students Connected was directly assessed using rubrics adapted from the Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) and indirectly assessed through internal surveys, focus groups, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) data.
The CHSE’s purpose now is to maintain an answer to the question, “to what extent do all graduates participate in experiential learning?” Results are forthcoming.