The primary incentives for participation in the Fellows are:

 

(1) an inviting atmosphere,

 

(2) genuine and thoughtful discussion about important issues,

 

(3) individual and group support for ongoing and emerging campus-community collaborations,

 

(4) an expanded professional and community network, and

 

(5) free coffee/tea and snacks.  

 

Some of the organizations that employ Fellows also provide additional incentives, such as:

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• A modest stipend (~$500)

• Credit toward a future "step" increase in pay

• Hourly wages

• Credit toward required continuing education hours

 

We feel a bit uncomfortable that some Fellows receive additional incentives for participation while others don’t. It feels unfair, but also like an unavoidable reality for a program that involves people with very different professional expectations and requirements.

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Our principles and practices for incentivizing participation include:

 

Focus on the incentives you can offer everyone equally.

 

The five primary incentives listed above are the most important. Try to provide these consistently.

 

Don’t obsess over money.

 

The recruits who have inquired eagerly about monetary incentives seem to either drop out or not even sign up. Those that stick with the program see the many values in the process and enjoy the primary incentives, and don’t seem focused on monetary incentives.

 

Talk with Fellows about their organization’s professional development structures.

 

Encourage Fellows to consider and articulate to their organization’s leadership how the program fits in to their systems.

 

Help the program “count” in new ways.

 

For example, we applied for the Fellows to be an official “Faculty Education Workshop” for Whatcom Community College employees in 2017-2018, which meant they would now get paid to participate. We’re working toward having Fellows program count as continuing education “clock hours” for K-12 staff in Washington starting in 2018-2019.