Service Learning FAQ
Questions for Everyone:
How is service learning different from internships?
How is service learning different from volunteerism and community service?
Questions for Faculty:
Where can I find suggestions on evaluating student performance in service learning courses?
How many service hours should be required in a service learning course?
Questions for Students:
How can I use my work-study award toward community service?
Why should I use my work-study award toward community service? Isn’t it easier to work on campus?
Are there specific organizations I must work with to earn my community service work-study?
Questions for Everyone:
Q: How is service learning different from internships?
A: Both service learning and internships fall under the umbrella of experientially-based learning, and both have their theoretical foundations based on the works of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and David Kolb. However, with internships, the primary beneficiary is the student; although the company or organization derives some benefit, the focus is truly on the student’s professional growth and development. In service learning, on the other hand, both the service “provider” and “recipient” are mutual beneficiaries. There is genuine reciprocity, and both parties “needs” are met: the student increases his/her understanding of academic concepts and develops professional skills, and the organization has an unmet need met by the student. Service learning typically involves reflecting on one’s experiences and understanding, and it is also oriented toward promoting a student’s sense of citizenship and social responsibility. Service learning is always done at a not-for-profit organization or school, whereas internships can be done in either corporate or non-profit settings.
Q: How is service learning different from volunteerism and community service?
A: Service learning is different from volunteerism because of the reciprocity of the endeavor, the learning objectives it advances, and the reflection involved. In volunteering, the primary beneficiary – or at least the intended beneficiary – is the service recipient. In service learning, both the server and served benefit – the student from advancing his/her understanding of issues and theories, and the community organization receiving the service. Students advance their understanding of the issues they’re encountering in the community through course readings /discussion as well as reflection on their experience.
Questions for Faculty:
Q: When should I contact SLCA about incorporating service learning/community-based learning into my course?
A: As soon as possible! We encourage you to contact us at LEAST 3-4 weeks prior to the start of the new semester, with the understanding that that may not be enough to identify community partnerships to fit your needs. Ideally, a semester of planning allows us enough time to build a high quality and effective service learning program. To jumpstart your planning, please take a few minutes to fill out SLCA’s Service Learning Planner.
Q: Where can I find suggestions on evaluating student performance in service learning courses?
A: How you evaluate student performance in service learning courses largely depends on your goals and learning objectives for the course. However, the important thing to know is that as a professor, you are grading the student on his or her demonstrated learning, not on service. It helps to think of the service as a text, just like any other text you would select for a class. You would not grade a student for simply reading a text, just like you would not grade a student for performing service. Instead, you would grade the student on how they demonstrated their understanding of the concepts of the text – in this case, the service and how it relates to theories or concepts learned about in class.
Some suggestions for assignments include reflection journals, papers, creative projects, or presentations that require students to analyze, reflect on, and critique their experience and its relation to academic coursework. Our office has a number of resources related to service learning assignments, including sample syllabi and books on service learning assignments. Click here for our list of books and resources we house in our office.
Although you won’t necessarily be grading the students on their service, you’ll still want to make sure that it’s actually happening, and that’s another place where we are a resource. SLCA manages students’ service hours through service learning agreements, which are much like internship contracts in that they clarify responsibilities and expectations of both the student and the community partner. These agreements also ask students to articulate academic, community, and personal learning objectives, in an effort to make sure students are thinking about their service learning project as an academic, civic, and personal learning opportunity.
Utilizing these agreements, at the end of the semester our office asks the community partners to evaluate the students, and we ask the students to evaluate the community partners. These agreements and evaluations are excellent tools for tracking student progress and compiling data for assessment. A summary of this assessment data can be provided to you at the end of the semester.
Q: How many service hours should be required in a service learning course?
A: While we do not have a specific requirement, we have found a minimum of 15 hours to be the most beneficial for students as well as for our community partners. Some organizations require fewer hours, however, they still invest an extraordinary amount of time and resources into training and supervising volunteers. We encourage faculty to respect this commitment when planning service learning courses.
Questions for Students:
Q: I want to be involved in the community, but the financial realities of attending college in a city make it difficult! What are my options?
A: This is a common problem our students experience! Here are a few options, outlined below:
- Service Work-Study: if you receive a work-study award as part of your financial aid package, that award can be earned by working at a non-profit organization in the community. This is only possible through work-study, not through Emerson Employment, because work study is a federal program and the federal government mandates that some work study funds are directed toward community benefit. Check out this page (Link to Service Work Study page) for more info, and see this page (link to student job listings) for current work-study jobs.
- Scholarships for Service: Scholarships for Service is an AmeriCorps program run through our office which grants students a $1000 education award (which you can either apply directly toward tuition or reserve for later use in the repayment of educational loans). This is awarded after the successful completion of 300 hours of service during a school year. Service that can count toward the hours includes service work-study hours, non-profit internship hours, meetings for service-oriented student groups such as Imagine, and direct hours in the community. Sign-ups and orientation for this program will go on in September, so email Heather_Flynn@emerson.edu as soon as possible.
- ACT Leaders: ACT Leaders is a non-tuition credit activity which will earn you one credit for your 2 hours/week of community service plus attendance at weekly meetings/trainings. Although this is not direct income in your pocket, you can earn up to four non-tuition credits (free credit hours), which may save you money down the line by allowing you to take one less course.
- Service Learning: Service learning course work includes community projects as part of the course text and assignments. Again, although this is not direct income in your pocket, it integrates community involvement into your academic work.
- Do something you enjoy! For example, if one of your hobbies is painting and you try to make time for it one way or another, volunteer to teach painting at a community center, or offer to help paint a mural at a youth center. If you enjoy knitting, teach knitting to teens or donate knitted items to shelters or family nurturing centers. If you enjoy web design, offer to design/update the website for a non-profit organization. The possibilities for contributing your talents and hobbies to the larger community are endless, and we can help you find places that are seeking your talents and interests.
Q: How can I use my work-study award toward community service?
A: Emerson College encourages you to consider utilizing your work-study hours to make meaningful contributions to non-profit organizations in the Boston area.
*NOTE: The same requirements of on-campus work-study apply with regard to completing time sheets and not exceeding your award total, and you must still go through the Student Employment to process your contract. For an updated listing of available jobs, including Community Service Work Study jobs, please check out the Student Employment website. (LINK to Student Employment Page)
Q: Why should I use my work-study award toward community service? Isn’t it easier to work on campus?
A: Service work-study is beneficial for a number of reasons. First, using service work-study helps provide local organizations with the consistent volunteer help they need at little or no cost. At the same time, you are able to do meaningful work while still being able to afford college necessities; instead of having to juggle a job and volunteer work or make a choice between the two, you can do both at once with less stress!
Additionally, service work-study helps you establish connections outside of campus in ways that will help develop your resume and further your career exploration. In many cases, you can even use your major-specific skills to provide a service – helping with a non-profit’s web page or marketing, working with children or elders on acting and creative writing, and so on. These connections and skills will be invaluable.
Finally, community service work-study could provide additional monetary benefit in the form of an education award through AmeriCorps. If you complete 300 hours of service during an academic year, including your service work-study in that tally, you are eligible for a $1000 award that can go toward repayment of student loans or directly toward your tuition bill. Although in some cases, your work-study award will not allow you to work over a certain number of hours, your paid service hours, combined with some additional service, can be used to apply for the AmeriCorps Education Award.
If you are interested in the AmeriCorps Education Award, you must attend a training session.
Contact Heather_Flynn@emerson.edu for more information.
Q: Are there specific organizations I must work with to earn my community service work-study?
A: In order to receive service work-study, Emerson must have an agreement, in the form of a contract, with the organization. Emerson already has agreements with several organizations, and just like Emerson jobs, these organizations are REQUIRED to post their available jobs online via the Student Employment website (LINK)
Q: I’m interested in volunteering in the community but I have no idea where to start – there are so many options! How do I decide?
A: Our Office is happy to meet with you to better understand your interests and scheduling needs, and make suggestions based on your unique concerns and on feedback from previous Emerson volunteers. Feel free to call (*8266) to set up an appointment. Additionally, we manage a web-based volunteer opportunity databank (LINK) where community organizations post their available opportunities and tailor them to Emerson’s academic programs in communication and the arts.
Also, our office and the Office of Off- Campus Student Services has fliers that highlight volunteer opportunities by neighborhood. There are a number of other web-based volunteer search engines, such as http://www.volunteersolutions.org and http://www.idealist.org, that allow you to search by zip code and area of interest. Local organizations like Boston Cares, http://www.bostoncares.org, allow you to “sample” different volunteer opportunities (such as tutoring, working with the elderly, working with the homeless), which enables you to explore your interests before making a long-term commitment with an organization.
