Campus Compact » Program Models Service-Learning Implementation

Civic Engagement and Public Value Core Requirement

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:07:41 +0000

Since 2002, Pace University has required a 3 credit Civic Engagement and Public Value as part of the core curriculum for all undergraduate students. These courses are discipline specific, seek to explore the role of citizenship and community engagement and require a community work component.

Courses are reviewed and approved through faculty curriculum committee and supported through the Center for Community Action and Research at Dyson College. Each year over 100 sections of Civic Engagement courses are taught, there are currently over 90 unique approved courses, and each of the five schools (Business, Computer Science, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Nursing) provide at least one course offering.

Center for Democracy & Humanity

tdomf_26a6d — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

URL: http://democracy.mwcc.edu

The Center for Democracy and Humanity at Mount Wachusett Community College in North Central Massachusetts envisions a world where the values of democracy are embodied in the daily lives of individuals and communities.

In the fall of 2002, MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino announced the “Decade of Civic Engagement,” a college-wide effort to foster increased civic responsibility among its students, faculty, staff and greater community.

The Center for Democracy and Humanity was recently established to oversee the many programs and services offered by the college as part of the Decade of Civic Engagement. The Center coordinates programs and activities to ensure optimum efficiency and collaboration. In addition to the college’s many outreach programs, college faculty are committed to infusing service learning into their curricula and academic endeavors.

To promote civic engagement within the college and its broader community, the Center for Democracy and Humanity employs four strategies:

Student engagement
Resident engagement
Capacity building and
Systemic change.

In the Classroom

With civic engagement and service learning in the classroom, students gain practical experience that sets them apart in a competitive job market, communities benefit and classroom learning is reinforced. Students also become more knowledgeable, self-confident, active and engaged citizens with effective critical thinking skills. this effort is guided by a team of faculty advisors.

The Center’s Academic Programs

Citizenship Academy – The Citizenship Academy introduces high school students to higher education, civic engagement and community service. While earning college credit, students learn the basics of thinking and writing with clarity as well as how to become engaged in their communities. The academy offers Composition, Economics, Political Science and Sociology courses–all with a civic engagement/service learning component. The academy’s unique curriculum allows students to focus on issues pertinent to their lives and communities.

Service Learning – Service Learning programs involve students in organized community service that addresses local needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of civic responsibility and commitment to the community. by developing reciprocal partnerships, the program strives to serve the community and enrich the students’ educational and civic engagement experiences. Over 1,200 MWCC students have participated in Service Learning experiences, performing more than 7,000 hours of service to the community. In the coming year, faculty mini-grants will be awarded for new and innovative integration of service learning within the curricula.

AmeriCorps Scholars – Through the AmeriCorps, a number of students are chosen each year for the Scholarships for Service program that engages students as part-time AmeriCorps members. The program is designed to both acknowledge and advance campus civic engagement efforts, placing students at the core. Students are required to complete 300 hours of service with a local non-profit organization during the school year as an intensive means of meeting critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment.

In the Community

Center for Democracy and Humanity Community Development and Outreach Programs:

Community Builders and Project Volunteer – Community Builders is a partnership between the United Way of North Central Massachusetts and MWCC to educate, inform and inspire a greater community involvement through new and innovative strategies. Community Builders’ activities increase community action through volunteer promotion and recognition, and by providing tools, awareness and training to community organizations that depend on volunteers for their success.

Institute for Nonprofit Development – To build a more vibrant North Central Massachusetts, the Institute for Nonprofit Development supports organizations to strengthen their capacity to fulfill their missions and impact their communities. A membership-driven organization, the Institute provides training, technical assistance, resource libraries and coalition building services to nonprofits serving the region.

Molly Bish Institute for child Health and Safety – The mission of the Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety is to ensure the health and safety of all children in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To meet this mission, the Institute provides hands-on, practical learning opportunities for parents, caregivers and children, and provides a clearinghouse of child health and safety information.

Twin Cities Latino Coalition – The Twin Cities Latino Coalition is a cross-sector collaborative effort involving local educational institutions, private business, public institutions and non-profits to achieve: increased Latino parental involvement, increased Latino K-16 student educational success and sustainable educatinoal systemic change through the implementation of a strategic plan. The Coalition actively works with Latino young people, parents and multicultural leaders to support parents and children’s independence, academic achievement and active civic engagement.

United Way Youth Venture – Youth Venture aims to change society’s views of youth by catalyzing a mass movement of young people who have the vision and drive to make a difference. Youth Venture emplowers young people ages 12-20 by providing them all the tools necessary to create “ventures” – civic-minded organizations, clubs or businesses to change schools and communities. Unique to North Central Massachusetts is Youth Venture’s partnership with ten schools, which work with educators, administrators and students to integrate Youth Venture into their curricula and achieve a graeter impact across the community.

What’s Next Speaker Series – Born out of a plan to bring several notable experts in the field of social change under a single theme, hundreds of residents have attended the What’s Next Speaker Series – public forums that introduce students, residents, community leaders and decision-makers in North Central Massachusetts to innovative thinkers and doers from around the country and world. The goal of the series is to show change is possible, spark creative problem-solving and inspire action.

Contact

Lea Ann Erickson
Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs
(978) 630-9322
l_erickson {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Amy Casavina Hall
Director of Civic Engagement and Outreach
(978) 630-9201
a_casavina {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Fagan Forhan
Coordinator, Center for Democracy and Humanity
(978) 630-9595
f_forhan {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Joanne Foster
Coordinator, Institute for Nonprofit Development
(978) 840-3221 x200
j_foster {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Andrea Hart
Program Assistant
978) 840-3221 x197
ahart {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Karin Olivera
Coordinator, Community Builders and Project Volunteer
(978) 840-3221 x201
k_olivera {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Sayra Pinto
Executive Director, Twin Cities Latino Coalition
(978) 840-3221
spinto {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

Rebecca Cyganiewicz
United Way Youth Venture AmeriCorps*VISTA
(978) 840-3221 x203
youthventure {at} mwcc.mass(.)edu

The Center for Democracy and Humanity’s offices are located at

110 Erdman Way
Leominster, MA 01453
Tel. (978) 840-3221 x197
Fax (978) 840-4398

EaglesConnect Service-Learning Program

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Florida Gulf Coast University, our 10th state university, opened in 1997. One of the defining characteristics of FGCU is a strong institutional commitment to civic engagement as defined in our mission statement and guiding principles. An undergraduate service-learning graduation requirement is the vehicle used to engage students, and the end goal is, of course, to graduate citizens with a continued interest in community involvement.

The graduation requirement will transition from an hour-based requirement to a course-based or program-based requirement in 2006-07. At the present time, 36 service-learning courses are offered on a regular basis. Three of these courses are sequenced and required of all students at the freshman, sophomore, and junior levels.

URL: www.fgcu.edu/connect/

Contact: Linda Summers Director, Center for Civic Engagement 239.590.7016 or lsummers {at} fgcu(.)edu

Liberal Learning in Action

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 11 May 2005 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this program is to support development of experiential, community-based initiatives in courses that allow students to apply liberal learning to improving the quality of life in the local community or state of Indiana. Small grants are awarded to faculty through a competitive process for course-based projects that provide students with the opportunity to work directly with a community organization or engage in other activities that contribute to the quality of life in the community. The project is funded through a gift from the Lilly Endowment

Website: www.indstate.edu/focind/mini_grants/mini_grants.htm

Contact:
Nancy Brattain Rogers
Center for Public Service and Community Engagement
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN 47809
812-237-2334
nancyrogers {at} indstate(.)edu

Service-Learning Scholars

tdomf_26a6d — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0000

The Norwich Service-Learning Scholars, comprised of a team of students, are committed to amplifying and promoting student voice in the integration of community needs and university curriculum.

The Scholars undergo a competitive selection process and, once selected, are under contract for one year. They speak with profesors, students, and student groups, they promote service-learning through campus media, flyers, advertisements, and the SL newsletter, and they represent service-learning students on the Service-Learning Initiatives Committee.

They receive an intensive one-day training in service-learning, meet bi-monthly as a team, work office hours in the Service-Learning Program, and arrange for guest speakers on campus for their own professional development as well as that of other students. They also speak with campuses and groups interested in service-learning and their program, such as at the Vermont Campus Compact Student Leadership Conference. There they presented a workshop on “”Student Leadership in Service-Learning.”"

Website: www.norwich.edu/servicelearning

Contact: Michelle Barber, mbarber {at} norwich(.)edu

Community Service Learning Center

tdomf_26a6d — Tue, 02 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0000

A comprehensive program in a public research university serving curricular and co-curricular needs related to community service learning and civic engagement.

website:http://cslc.wsu.edu

Contact: Melanie Brown, Director, melanieb {at} wsu(.)edu

Service Learning Program

tdomf_26a6d — Tue, 02 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0000

The Service Learning Program, housed within the Institute for Urban Life, was created in the spring of 1994 to facilitate service learning in selected courses and departments throughout the University. Each semester,700-800 students from 50-55 courses across the curriculum are engaged with more than 100 agencies and schools in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.

At Marquette, service learners participate in the community in several different ways. They may work alone, in pairs, in small groups, or with their entire class. The three models of service activities used most commonly here are the following:

Placement model: Students choose from among several placements that have been chosen for their courses and usually work at these sites for 2-3 hours per week throughout the semester. The service they provide is the conduit to their learning. They gain access to populations or issues related to their courses and, in return, provide needed assistance to the organizations and/or their clientele.

Presentation model: Students in certain courses (e.g. Physics 1 and Substance Abuse) take material they are learning in class and create presentations for audiences in the community, usually young people. The service learners work in small groups and choose from among several sites, which have been set up by the Service Learning office. Sometimes professors require students to do their presentations more than once (to give them a chance to evaluate and make adjustments); others have them present in class before going into the community.

Product model: In some courses, service learners–working alone or in groups–produce a tangible result for their agencies. In Virginia Chappell’s Writing for the Non-profit Agency, students create handbooks, annual reports, or other written materials. Michael Havice s Television Production students write, film, and edit videos for non-profit organizations. In Principles of Database Management, PC Reddy’s students develop or modify databases for their agency clients.

Project model: Working in groups, service learners collaborate with community members to devise and implement a project. In Fr. Tom Krettek’s Philosophy of Community class, service learners work with groups of middle and high school students to identify and work on issues of concern to them. Students from Chris Stockdale’s Classical and Modern Physics class work with young people in an after school program to create science projects and demonstrate them to their parents and to other students.

Program staff include an administrator, an assistant administrator, and 14 students. The student staff consists of two Staff Managers who serve on the adminstrative team, run the office, and train and guide the Student Coordinators, and twelve Student Coordinators, who facilitate the service learning process with three caseloads: 8-10 community agencies, the service learners who sign up for those agencies, and 3-4 faculty and their courses.

website: www.mu.edu/servicelearning

Contact: Bobbi Timberlake (414) 288-3261
Kim Jensen Bohat (414) 288-0250

Civic Engagement Task Force

tdomf_26a6d — Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 +0000

The mission of the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning (http://csl.iupui.edu) is to involve students, faculty, and staff in service activities that mutually benefit the campus and community.

Programs are designed based upon the following program goals:
To support the development of service learning classes.
To increase campus participation in community service
activities. To strengthen campus-community partnerships.
To advance the scholarship of service.
To promote civic engagement in higher education.

In Fall 2000, the Dean of the Faculties and the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Institutional Improvement appointed a Civic Engagement Task Force to (a) examine methods to document civic engagement activities, (b) evaluate the quality of civic engagement activities, and (c) envision a civic engagement agenda for the campus and its surrounding communities.

One of the earliest challenges of the Task Force was to define civic engagement as “”active collaboration that builds on the resources, skills, expertise, and knowledge of the campus and community to improve the quality of life in communities in a manner that is consistent with the campus mission”" (IUPUI Civic Engagement Task Force, 2001). Civic engagement includes teaching, research, and service in and with the community.

Civic engagement, as a scholarly activity, is the work of all schools and departments. Academic units are expected to report on civic engagement activities in annual reports that are part of institutional planning and budgeting. The Center for Service and Learning has key responsibilities to be a catalyst for civic engagement, to collaborate on the assessment of civic engagement, and to work with faculty to document civic engagement as scholarly work, but civic engagement is promoted as being the responsibility of all academic units.

Staff from the IUPUI Office of Informational Management and Institutional Research designed a web-based Institutional Portfolio (http://www.iport.iupui.edu). The CETF consulted with this group to create a Civic Engagement Inventory (http://www.iport.iupui.edu/civic/) as a means for representing civic engagement activities to internal and external audiences. Faculty and staff across campus were asked to enter activities into the interactive database and are asked to update information on a continuing basis.

The Civic Engagement Inventory organizes civic engagement activities along a number of key dimensions: academic unit, types of civic engagement activities, social issues, keywords, community partners, and geographic location. Campus-community activities can be searched by issues, or searched by community agency. The database allows the community access to campus resources associated with civic engagement activities.

The Institutional Portfolio includes Performance Indicators to benchmark and document campus progress towards measurable goals for a) enhancing capacity for civic engagement, b) enhancing civic activities, partnerships, and patient and client services, and c) intensifying commitment and accountability to Indianapolis, central Indiana, and the state. Performance indicators have been an integral part of campus accountability practices and provide a systematic way to gather information that can chart progress toward institutional goals.

IUPUI/George Washington Middle School Service Learning Initiative

tdomf_26a6d — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000

In Fall 2001, the IUPUI Office of Neighborhood Partnerships (ONP) received a grant from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Community Partnerships to develop the IUPUI-GWCS Service Learning Initiative. The IUPUI-GWCS Service Learning Initiative built upon a pre-existing partnership between IUPUI, George Washington Community School (GWCS), and the two neighborhood associations of WINC and WESCO to support teachers from GWCS in implementing service learning into their class curriculum. GWCS teacher participants receive support and training from IUPUI faculty and staff (i.e., School of Education, Center for Service and Learning) through workshops, one-on-one consultation, and a summer graduate course: Service Learning Ideas for K-12 Educators. Teachers then work with community partners from WINC and WESCO, and the staff of the IUPUI Office of Neighborhood Partnerships to design and implement service learning projects in their classroom.

To date the IUPUI-GWCS Service Learning Initiative has involved 8 teachers and over 250 students in the communities of WINC and WESCO through projects that have included a Nutrition Education Campaign and Food Drive, a Neighborhood Park Clean Up, and Safety and Literacy Education Programs for Preschoolers. Outcomes from the IUPUI-GWCS Service Learning Initiative are intended to increase student learning, support the professional development of teachers, integrate service learning into the middle school curriculum, strengthen teacher understanding of community resources, address community needs, strengthen campus-community relationships, and contribute to the ongoing commitment of IUPUI to actively collaborate with the community and schools to improve the quality of life in west Indianapolis.

Contact: Meg Easter-Dawson, measter {at} iupui(.)edu or http://csl.iupui.edu

Models of Good Practice for Service-Learning Programs

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

13 Themes of Success in Service-Learning

-Excerpted from AAHE Bulletin June 1998/9 article “”Models of Good Practice for Service-Learning Programs”" by Mary Kay Schneider

http://www.aahe.org

Academic Service Learning at the University of California at Berkeley

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The serivce-learning research and development center will contact all UC Berkeley Deans and Department Chairs to identify faculty who teach or who are considering teaching service-learning courses. The Center will then contact all identified faculty to offer support for their service-learning activities. Service-learning resources available through the service-learning center, the Cal Corps Public Service Center and the Office of Educational Development include consultation on curriculum development and assessment; customized lists of relevant community agencies at which students can be placed; service-learning instructional minigrants of up to $1,000; and opportunities to network with other service-learning faculty through seminars and forums. They will utilize the WRCCC minigrant to fund efforts to initiate or expand service-learning for the entire UC system, UC Berkeley will lead a system-wide effort among the nine UC campuses to develop a compendium of service-learning activities throughout the system.

Website: http://gse.berkeley.edu/research/slc/

Building Service-Learning

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

College of the Canyons proposes to provide development grants and training for five faculty members with the goal of increasing the number of faculty who integrate service learning within existing courses and programs. The five courses will expose approximately 160 students per semester to service-learning opportunities. The increase in service-learning opportunities for students will increase the number of placements in community agencies in the Santa Clarita Valley. Also, the five faculty development grants and training will increase the number of faculty who intergrate service-learning from one to six, a 500 percent increase. A volunteer, community service and service-learning center will be established by the college. It is hoped that they will be able to move from a level I institution to at least a Level II institution by the end of the three-year effort.

Website: http://www.coc.cc.ca.us/offices/sl/aboutus.asp

Collaborative efforts

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

A variety of resources are available to support courses that utilize academic service-learning. UC Berkeley defines academic service-learning as the integration of community service activities into the academic curriculum. Support for service-learning is provided through the collaborative efforts of the Service-Learning Research and Development Center at the Graduate School of Education, the Cal Corps Public Service Center, and the Office of Educational Development. Faculty, graduate student instructors, and students are encouraged to access our resources.

Website: http://gse.berkeley.edu/research/slc/

CSU Monterey Bay America Reads Program

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

CSUMB participates in the America Reads initiative through its active membership in the Monterey County America Reads Task Force and through the coordination of our work study students and service learners in literacy work in two school districts. The Task Force includes all institutions of higher education in the county. The Task Force is fortunate to have 2 Vistsa volunteers coordinating placements for all members. This year, as a new university, we have has a very small work study pool and have hired four work-study students as America Reads tutors. We also devote a section of our required lower division course, SL 200 Introduction to Service in Multicultural Communities to America Reads theme: Youth and Literacy. Each semester 20-22 students are placed in the Monterey Peninsula Unified or Alisal Union school districts as volunteer tutors at the second and third grade level. MPUSD and Alisal Union have become enthusiastic partners and offer excellent on-going training for both the work study students and the service learners. Each semester we sponsor a reflection for both the work study students and the service learners.

Establishing an Office of Community Services Programs (CSP): developing community service-learning on campus

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

We decided that the approach had to be systematic. First, a number of community service programs were consolidated into a single office. As a result, Cooperative Education, Human Corps, and internships were merged into the Office of Community Services Programs (CSP). Second, a new director was recruited to manage the CSP Office and charged to proceed with all deliberate speed. Third, to support her efforts, the University and the CSUB Foundation funded three half-time positions for the office.

The new director has lived up to our expectations. Almost immediately after her appointment she applied for and received a Campus Compact grant, and an outside grant that will provide a strong support base for the CSP activities over 5 years.

During the past year and a half, the CSP Director has put on three workshops that have trained thirty faculty on how to integrate community service learning into their classes. For the first workshop, Campus Compact monies allowed us to bring in an expert to the campus to advise the faculty on the myriad of possibilities in community service-learning. Since the first workshop, CSUB has relied on its own faculty to facilitate the workshops. Campus Compact and outside grant money also provided small internal grants to assist faculty in revising their courses. The CSP Office has provided the oversight and coordination for each of the faculty involved. This effort has significantly expanded our community service capabilities. Twenty courses have already been revised to include a community service learning option. Another 10-15 will soon follow. Participating faculty have come from many disciplines, including Psychology and Sociology, disciplines that one would expect to be interested, but also from Chemistry, Art, and Mathematics. We expect to bring 10 to 15 faculty into this process each year.

The CSP Office has also been busy developing potential placements in the area. The Director and the part-time staff have been at the center of this broad-based activity. The placements being secured fit into several categories. Some are paid cooperative education placements at nearby corporations; others are internships directly related to particular majors; finally there are placements that fall broadly under human service and community service-learning. While there is still much to be accomplished, the time is now in sight when enough placements will be available to support a university-wide requirement.

This two-year effort has heightened our community services capability across the institution and much progress has been made. However, much remains to be done. We are confident that community service-learning is here to stay at CSUB, thanks to the efforts of key faculty and staff who have pushed hard during the initial phase these past two years.

Website: http://www.csub.edu/CSP/

Ethnic Conflict and Models of Multiethnic Cooperation

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This political participation grant funded “”Ethnic Conflict and Models of Multiethnic Cooperation”", a service learning class for Pitzer College students which encouraged participating students to conduct research on multicultural curriculum and ethnic conflict resolution programs. The course also provided students with a unique opportunity to help the Alhambra School District to assess the effectiveness of its policies for dealing with racial and ethnic conflict.

Partnership with the Stone Soup Project

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

With a handful of volunteers and a $50 budget, what was to become “”Stone Soup”" of Fresno, California, started in 1992 with a simple summer recreation program. The goal was to address the many serious problems which confronted the El Dorado Park neighborhood in Fresno, California. This two-block square area, less than 1 mile west of California State University, Fresno, is home to about 7,000 people, many from Southeast Asian refugee backgrounds. The residents of this area face a number of issues, including high unemployment and poverty, language barriers, illiteracy, gang and crime problems, and low academic performance.

Stone Soup is a collaborative of dozens of area churches, schools, government agencies and nonprofits, all with the goal of improving the lives of the residents of El Dorado Park. California State University, Fresno joined this partnership in 1993 and has become one of the major contributors to the program.

Now a formal nonprofit, Stone Soup offers a vast array of year-round services to the El Dorado Park residents. There are dozens of academic enrichment and recreation activities, job training programs, a senior service center, medical and dental clinics, nutrition and parenting classes, and a number of other projects.

Approximately 70 faculty and staff and over 300 students volunteer with Stone Soup each year. Faculty and students come from a variety of academic disciplines, including: Counseling, Social Work, Sociology, Child and Family Studies, Gerontology, Liberal Studies/Education, Health Science, Nutrition, Criminology, Theater Art/Drama, and many more. Students participate at Stone Soup as volunteers or through dozens of different service-learning and internship courses. There are also a large number of students who work at Stone Soup as part of the Federal Work Study program and through different scholarship and grant requirements. Everyone involved has had the opportunity to enrich their own lives and enhance their level of civic engagement.

The university has also assisted Stone Soup with financial support through grant funding, and we have acted as the fiscal agent for other grants obtained by the nonprofit. The partnership between Stone Soup, California State University, Fresno, and the other cooperating organizations and agencies is a model for highly effective and efficient nonprofit partnerships. The organization has had a significant impact on the area, as represented by the greatly diminished crime rates, improved academic achievement of the area youth, and the steadily improving socio-economic status of the neighborhood.

In recognition of their outstanding achievements, Stone Soup of Fresno and the partnering organizations have been honored with several prestigious awards, including: the Herman Goldstein POP Award, the Youth Citizenship Award, and the John Martin Fresno Area Reading Council Award. One of the most prestigious awards received by the Stone Soup project is the President s Service Award, conferred by President Clinton in 1995. In recognition of the university s contributions to the collaborative, Stone Soup gave the award to the University for housing and display. The partnership between California State University, Fresno and Stone Soup has been one that greatly benefits everyone involved. Our faculty, staff and students have significantly increased their knowledge of, appreciation for, and involvement in the El Dorado Park neighborhood and the community at large. Stone Soup has benefited from the many resources, both human and otherwise, contributed by the University. First and foremost, however, the residents of El Dorado Park have seen a dramatic change in their neighborhood and their lives. This partnership with Stone Soup has helped provide residents with the opportunities and resources they need to improve and enrich their lives in many ways.

Students for Community Service web site: http://www.csufresno.edu/scs/

Service Learning – A New Initiative

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The University of San Francisco recently elevated its Service-Learning Task Force to a Service-Learning Committee. Much of the year involved the transition from a task force to a committee, developing new policies and procedures, etc. The SLC hoped to continue with Faculty Incentive Grants. The committee applied for funding and is waiting for a reply. The SLC also continued with faculty development workshops, sponsoring a teleconference and a panel discussion on Challenges in Developing Service-Learning Placements. USF is in the process of revising its General Education Curriculum. Representatives of the SLC are on the committee establishing procedures for proceeding with the revision and hope to incorporate a service-learning component in the revised GEC. USF continues to update and expand its Service-Learning website, as well as its community service database.

Website: http://www.usfca.edu/studentaffairs/10years/NoFrames/NF-CommunityService.html

Specific Verification: service-learning contracts

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

We can provide samples of service-learning contracts to instructors who want to verify student service. In addition to documenting hours and activities completed, this written agreement signed by both the student and site supervisor defines placement goals, learning objectives, and the roles and responsibilities of the volunteer and the agency.

Website: http://gse.berkeley.edu/research/slc/

The Summer of Service Leadership Academy

tdomf_26a6d — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Summer of Service Leadership Academy (SoSLA) is a four-week intensive workshop that deepens students understanding of the surrounding community and service learning practice and develops their capacity as community builders.Students engage in conflict reolution and diversity trainings, developing skills essential to suport CSUMB service learning courses, foster community partnerships, and strengthen the ethic of service on campus.

During the academic year SoSLA graduates are eligible to participate in our University Service Advocates (USA) program. This year 18 USAs function in course support roles for service learning. Faculty assist with the placement process, work in selected community programs, and involve the campus community in social action projects. This spring we begin a program in which 5 USAs are trained as classroom facilitators or peer teachers for SL 200 sections.

Website: http://service.csumb.edu/