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VA Engage Journal

The VA Engage Journal promotes engaged scholarship for undergraduate students.  The journal providing a forum for undergraduate students to publish in community based research, case studies and action research with guidance and mentorship from faculty at the home institution.  Any undergraduate enrolled full or part-time at a two or four year college or university in Virginia is eligible to submit an article.

VA Engage Journal was founded in spring 2011 and is published once annually.

Peer Reviewed

Manuscripts submitted for peer review examine issues and problems related to community-based learning, participant action research and/or guided community based research with faculty mentoring.  Reviewers generally evaluate manuscripts on the basis of these criteria: relevance to the purpose of the journal, which is to promote the scholarship of engagement and the dissemination of quality undergraduate research; help educators in colleges and universities to make decisions or gain insight into ways of more effectively involving undergraduate students in engaged scholarship; quality of scholarship; soundness of argument (not just description); clarity, conciseness, and readability; originality; and usefulness to college and university staff and faculty, higher education scholars and policy makers, and others interested in emerging discipline of engaged scholarship. Such manuscripts may include review manuscripts, reports of empirical research, and methodological manuscripts.

Areas of Emphasis

Authors are encouraged to consider the types of articles published by the journal outlined below:

Best Practices

Best Practices manuscripts are reviewed by editors on the basis of how well authors provide a scholarly interpretation and implication of the results/outcomes of institutional efforts for educational practice and support a clear thesis with evidence that the initiatives have made a significant educational impact. They should include the following elements: (1) description of the innovative aspects of the program; (2) identification of the learning objectives; (3) discussion of the process by which the program was developed and implemented; (4) an analysis of the key factors responsible for the program's success; (5) a summary of significant results or outcomes; and (6) discussion of implications for future practice and replication. These manuscripts must demonstrate how best practices should be implemented based on documented evidence in the research literature.

Opinions and Perspectives

Essays, which are reviewed by editors, generally present little or no data or findings. They may be examinations of existing theories or research findings; elaborations of relevant literature; theoretical analyses of practice; or original arguments or conceptual analyses relating to ways colleges and universities influence the moral and civic learning and behaviors of college students and/or the development of moral and civic values during the college years.

Student Reflections

Student essays, which are reviewed by editors, are short reflections on ethical issues, personal challenges or dilemmas students encounter in engagement.  Students might respond to what have been significant engagement activities in their college career, how engagement experiences help the student to develop more awareness and commitment to engagement and/or the scholarship of engagement and/or recommendations for enhancing the impact and effectiveness of engagement for colleges and communities.

General Submission Guidelines:

  • The submission should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words.  Case studies should be between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Student essays should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.
  • The submission (including references) should conform to APA format as seen in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition).
  • All text, including references, is double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 point font with one-inch margins.
  • There is nothing in the manuscript file other than the title page that identifies the authors. 
  • The title page includes complete contact information for all authors, including mailing addresses, email addresses, phone and fax numbers.
  • The abstract is 250 words or less.
  • The submission includes the following: a signed submission form and a brief author's bio for each author noting name, position title, organization, and e-mail address. The name, rank, title of the faculty mentors(s).
  • Completed submission forms are emailed to adstel@wm.edu.
  • The submission should be emailed to: adstel@wm.edu.

Review Process
All manuscripts go through a peer review conducted by students and faculty. Following their assessment, submissions are either accepted "as is" or returned to the author with comments and suggestions for revisions. Revised manuscripts may then be resubmitted for review; manuscripts not accepted "as is" or for revision and resubmission will be rejected.
 
Submission Deadline for Summer/Fall 2013
June 15, 2013


Faculty Reviewers come from a wide range of disciplines and a wide range of college and universities in Virginia.  Up to two faculty can be selected from each school.  Faculty will be assigned submissions based on their area(s) or expertise.  The Journal will additional faculty reviewers if the topic of a submission requires an expertise not already covered.

Student reviewers are selected from faculty/administrators from VA schools.  Up to two students can be selected from each school.