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/
