Academic Civic Engagement is the relationship between an academic institution and its community, both on-campus and off-campus. To quote from Service Matters: A Sourcebook for Community Service in Higher Education (Campus Compact, 1996), "...higher education has a responsibility to develop the next generation of active citizens, and campuses must be good citizens in their own communities. When a campus achieves both these aims they are what we call a truly 'engaged campus.'"

Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) at Carleton College is an approach to education focusing on community-based learning, community-based research, and service learning.

• Community-Based Learning is academic work that includes a community as a site for observation (and reflection) and community members as subjects for such observation. Examples: students in an educational studies course may be asked to observe a public school classroom; students in an environmental studies class may visit a local dairy farm and explore question of farm production; alternate terms include "field education."
• Community-Based Research is academic work that uses a community as a site for study and community members as subjects for such study. Examples: students in an anthropology class may be asked to observe interactions among members of a Carleton sports team; students in a literature class may be asked to interview a local senior citizen to construct a memoir.
• Service-Learning is both a teaching method and a learning process that combines community service and academic learning. It is rooted in academic courses which are based on curricular concepts, theories, and methods. Service-learning focuses on critical thinking, reflective thinking, civic responsibility, commitment to the community, personal and career growth, and an understanding of larger social thinking. It meets a community-identified need that contributes to a positive change.