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CU Boulder recently announced two new Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, or Carnegie Classifications, in��sustainability ���Ի���community engagement, with another in the works for leadership for public purpose.

Here are five things you should know about those classifications.

What exactly are the Carnegie Classifications?

The Carnegie Classifications, offered as part of a partnership between the�� and the��, are the nation’s leading framework for describing U.S. higher education institutions. There are three types:

• Institutional Classification, which organizes colleges and universities into groups of similar campuses based on the types of degrees they award, field of study and size, i.e., associate, undergraduate and/or graduate-level institutions.
• Student Access and Earnings Classification, which organizes colleges and universities into one of six classifications based on the types of students they enroll and how well former students are earning in the labor market as compared to their peers.
• Research Activity Designations, which place institutions into one of three groups based on their research expenditures and research doctorates awarded (Research 1 or R1, Research 2 or R2, and Research Colleges and Universities or RCU). CU Boulder is an R1 institution.

There are also three elective classifications that institutions can apply for:��

• Community Engagement, which is a way for colleges and universities in the U.S. to gain recognition for institutionalizing community engagement.
• Leadership for Public Purpose recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an institution-wide commitment to developing ethical leadership capacity in service of the public good through coordinated policies, practices and programs.
• Sustainability, Carnegie’s newest classification, is an innovative initiative designed to recognize and celebrate higher education institutions that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and climate action as integral to their academic missions.

How prestigious is a Carnegie Classification?��

Since 1973, the Carnegie Classification has been seen as the gold standard for organizing the U.S. higher education landscape and has played a key role in shaping higher education.��

Prior to the classifications, the American higher education system looked very different, with only a few ways to sort institutions and no organization on the national level. The Carnegie Classification changed that, ushering in a new era of rankings for higher education institutions that are considered foundational in a variety of research and policy uses nationwide.

What does it mean for CU Boulder—what are the benefits to faculty, staff and students?

Recognition through the Carnegie Classifications is evidence that CU Boulder “has made real, documented commitments to excellence,”��said David Meens, assistant vice chancellor for public and community-engaged scholarship.

“The application process itself provides an invaluable opportunity to bring people together across campus, and to engage the voices of our external partners,” Meens added. “What we learn from the process, including the formal feedback we receive from Carnegie, sets the baseline and establishes goals that we will need to address in future reclassifications.��

“So while we can be proud of this well-deserved recognition of the innovative and excellent work of our faculty, staff and students, it also presents a call to action toward an even more impressive future: There is so much more that we can achieve together.”

CU Boulder serving as the operational home of the sustainability classification is particularly meaningful in that it means Carnegie recognizes the institution’s long-term excellence in this realm and the institution’s role as a leader in the sustainability and climate action space. As the host institution, CU Boulder will support program management, application review and the development of a nationwide community of practice around sustainability in higher education.

More information about the classification, and the application process, is available on��CU Boulder’s sustainability website.

How does CU Boulder compare to other institutions who have achieved the community engagement classification?

CU Boulder is one of only 277 institutions nationwide to be recognized with the Carnegie Classification for community engagement. Of those, 63—or 23%—are comparable R1 public institutions, and 3—or 11%—are Association of American Universities (AAU) peer institutions. It is also the fourth institution in the state of Colorado to receive it.

How do the Carnegie Classifications tie into our institutional priorities?

These elective classifications recognize CU Boulder’s deep commitment to its public purpose of transforming lives in service of a just and sustainable world, tying either directly or indirectly into��all four institutional priorities: aligning our resources and infrastructure to our mission, achieving global leadership in sustainability impact, scaling research and creative work excellence, and fostering the success of all students, faculty and staff.