The Citadel is among the more than 230 U.S. colleges and universities that received the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement (CE) Classification, an elective designation awarded by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that highlights an institution’s commitment to community engagement. A listing of all the institutions that currently hold the classification endorsement can be found here.
“The Carnegie Community Engagement Classification affirms that community engagement is not peripheral to The Citadel’s mission — it’s central to how we teach, learn and serve. Carnegie recognizes institutions that don’t just serve communities, but work with them intentionally, reciprocally and for long-term impact,” said Christina Soyden Arnold, Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement at The Citadel’s Krause Center. “It’s important to remember this is not a reflection of the Krause Center and its programs solely, but of the college as a whole. This classification shows that our campus is doing the work and that we are current in best practices for service learning and community engagement.”
The CE Classification is awarded following a process of self-study by each institution. The classification has been the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 19 years with classification cycles in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2024, and now 2026. The 2029 cycle will be for first-time applicants.
“Higher education is a vital economic engine for us all. Our colleges and universities not only fuel science and innovation, they build prosperity in rural, urban and suburban communities nationwide,” said Timothy F.C. Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. “We celebrate each of these institutions, particularly their dedication to partnering with their neighbors — fostering civic engagement, building useable knowledge, and catalyzing real world learning experiences for students.”
In the 2026 cycle, 237 institutions earned the CE Classification, joining the 40 institutions classified in 2024 for a total of 277 institutions that currently hold the designation. Of the institutions recognized in 2026, 48 are receiving the classification for the first time, while 189 have previously held it. The 2026 cohort includes a diverse range of institutions, with 157 public institutions, 80 private colleges and universities, and 81 Minority Serving Institutions represented among the recipients.
“The institutions receiving the 2026 Community Engagement Classification exemplify American higher education’s commitment to the greater good,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “The beneficiaries of this unflagging dedication to public purpose missions are their students, their teaching and research enterprises, and their wider communities.”
The application for the 2029 Community Engagement Classification will be available January 2027. Applications will be due April 2028, and the announcement of the newly designated campuses will be made in January 2029. Click here for more information about the application and the timeline.
About the Carnegie Classifications
The Carnegie Classifications are the nation’s leading framework for categorizing and describing colleges and universities in the United States. Utilized frequently by policymakers, funders and researchers, the Classifications are a critical benchmarking tool for postsecondary institutions. ACE and the Carnegie Foundation announced a partnership in February 2022 to reimagine the Classifications to better reflect the diversity of postsecondary institutions and more completely characterize the impact that today’s institutions have in society.
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