Information and Support

• What is Community Service Learning?
• How is Community Service Learning different from an Academic Internship?
• How is Community Service Learning different from Volunteerism or Community Service?
• Benefits of Community Service Learning
• Services Provided by OCSL
• Recording of CSL Hours in Student's Official Transcript
  

What is Community Service Learning?
Community Service Learning (CSL) is a teaching method that incorporates academic study and community service experiences. Students enrolled in a course offering a community service learning opportunity split their time between classroom instruction and service in the community. Students utilize the service experience as a course text for both academic learning and civic learning. Through service and guided self-reflection, students learn about themselves and their relationship to the community around them. Community service learning allows students to engage with real-world issues and social problems, and to work with community organizations to become "part of the solution."

How is Community Service Learning different from an academic internship ?
An Academic Internship seeks to increase the student's knowledge and experience in a particular field of study by providing students with practical experience in work settings relevant to the discipline or future profession. While internships and CSL involve students in the community to supplement students' academic learning, internships are not about civic learning. Internships develop and socialize students for a profession, and tend to be silent on student civic development.

How is Community Service Learning different from volunteerism or community service?
Volunteerism or Community Service is the engagement of students in activities that focus on the service being provided as well as the benefits the service activities have on the recipients or community organizations. The students receive some benefits by learning more about how their service makes a difference in the lives of the service recipients; however, there is no tying the service experience back in to the academic content of a class.

Benefits of Community Service Learning

Benefits for students include:

• Students receive "real life experience" and new job skills
• Academic knowledge and insights
• Develop skills to work with diverse populations
• Opportunities to learn from community teacher
• Exploration of career options
• Critical thinking skills

Benefits for faculty include:

• The development of innovative approaches to instruction
• Provides opportunities for collaboration and research
• Provides opportunities for publication

Benefits to the university include:

• Fulfills SFSU mission and goals
• Provides the opportunity for the University to get involved in meeting community needs and really become "the City's University."

Services Provided by OCSL

Course Development Assistance: OCSL staff is available to offer general information on ways to incorporate community service learning components into courses with appropriate reflection of learning outcomes. See below for some helpful CSL resources.

• Guiding Principles of Community Service Learning
• CSL Course Components (Coming Soon)
• Developing a Reflection Component for Service Learning Programs

Site Development and Risk Management Process Assistance: This section contains a summary of the guidelines and forms that were developed specifically for SFSU and adapted to conform to guidelines provided in the CSU Best Practices for Managing Risks in Service Learning. This new risk management process is part of a CSU system-wide effort to minimize faculty and university liability in CSL and to provide safe and positive learning experiences for students taking CSL courses. Adhering to this Risk Management process will ensure that you, as CSL faculty, are fully protected by the CSU.

• Partnership Identification and Process
• Placement Process

Partnership Identification and Process:

Step #1: Faculty should contact the staff at OCSL in order to determine if current community partners need to have a formal contract with SFSU before placing students at Community Based Organization (CBO). OCSL office can be reached via telephone at (415) 338-6846 or via e-mail at ocsl@sfsu.edu.

Step #2: A faculty member who is seeking a new partnership with a CBO can contact OCSL for assistance. OCSL staff can assist faculty by a) identifying agencies in the Community Connections Database (CCDB) or b) if no agency in the CCDB matches the type of agency the faculty is seeking, OCSL will seek CBO's from the immediate vicinity needing student volunteers.

The Community Connections Database is an on-line electronic database, which provides listings of community service placement opportunities. Instructions on how to access the CCDB coming soon.

Step #3: The CBO's representative meets with OCSL staff or faculty to learn about defining student learning opportunities at CBO and SFSU's CSL Risk Management (RM) requirements. This meeting must take place at the placement site and the "Checklist for Community Organization Visit Checklist (CSL-1)" must be filled out at the time of site visit. This form is a tool for assessing the requirements, risks, and basic safety factors of a site prior to student placement. This form must be returned to OCSL immediately after site visit. Click here for forms.

SFSU faculty can request assistance from the OCSL to meet with CBO and go over learning objectives and RM requirements.

Step #4: OCSL will contact the CBO directly to pursue an "Community Service Learning Agreement (CSL-2)." The CBO and SFSU must enter into a formal understanding by signing this agreement. The agreement specifies expectations to each party and formally indicates how issues of liability and worker's compensation will be handled. This contract must be renewed every five years. OCSL will be responsible for getting this contract renewed.

Faculty should be aware that a completed signed agreement (CSL-5, CSL-2) will be required prior to placing students with any community partner.

Placement Process:

FACULTY SHOULD BE AWARE THAT A COMPLETED SIGNED AGREEMENT (CSL-2) WILL BE REQUIRED PRIOR TO PLACING STUDENTS AT ANY CBO.

Step #1: Each student must complete the "Community Service Learning Plan (CSL-5)" form by registering with the CCDB or by signing the hard copy given by the faculty member.

By Registering with the CCDB: Students will be able to register with OCSL and will acknowledge that he or she has read and is familiar with student rights, responsibilities, and guidelines for student conduct. Students will be required to acknowledge that they have read all of the SFSU requirements and will also be able to download a two-page agreement for faculty, community partner, and student signature. This two-page form is not required, however, it is provided to ensure a quality placement for students.

• The two page form (CSL- 5) must be signed by the student, site supervisor, and course instructor.
• Form must be returned to course instructor and kept for the duration of the semester.
• After semester ends, form can be destroyed by course instructor.

By hard copy from Course Instructor: The form can be downloaded from our web site. To download the CSL-5, please click here.

• The complete form must be signed by Student, site supervisor, and course instructor.
• Form must be returned to course instructor and kept for the duration of the semester.
• Form must be returned to OCSL at the end of semester for filing with the Risk Management Office.

Step #2: Before the end of the semester, faculty member should provide student with a form that documents the student's activities and hours of service. OCSL has developed such a form for faculty to use. The "Student Guidelines to Notation of CSL Hours in Official Transcripts (CSL-7)" is used by students to record their hours of service. Form must be completed by the student, site supervisor must sign, and form should be returned to faculty before the end of the semester. This form can be used by faculty to record, in the on-line e-grade, the students CLS hours for that course.

For more details on Risk Management procedures, please click here.

In-class presentations: OCSL staff is available for in-class presentations. These presentations instruct students on the benefits of CSL, student guidelines, how to access the on-line CSL placement database (CCDB), proper placement etiquette, and expectations.

Student Placement and Monitoring: OCSL staff is available to help faculty with monitoring of student placement.

Access to Curriculum, Materials and Guest Speakers: OCSL maintains a small library of articles, model syllabi, faculty curriculum development applications, books and curriculum materials on community service learning and is available to help faculty access national service learning web sites.

Funding for Community Service Learning - Creating Community/University Partnerships: As part of the San Francisco Urban Institute, OCSL is available to bring together faculty with community partners to develop community service learning university/community projects and partnerships. OCSL is available to help faculty identify funding sources and to provide assistance, in conjunction with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, in the preparation of grant proposals.

Outreach and Networking: OCSL offers educational events such as conferences, presentations, and faculty trainings.

Access to State-Wide and National Networks of Community Service Learning Scholars: OCSL has a limited number of Travel Award scholarships available for faculty to attend California Campus Compact (CACC) summer institutes on community service learning, as well as to participate in national community service learning conferences. For more information about the award, please click here.

Resource Library: Publications regarding community service learning are available for check-out. Publication resource list coming soon.

If you would like to check-out some of these resources, please contact OCSL at (415) 338-6846 or via e-mail at ocsl@sfsu.edu.

Recording of CSL Hours in Student's Official Transcripts
If a student completes a CSL option in an approved CSL course, the CSL hours he/she spends serving in the community can be noted on their Official Transcript right next to their grades. Before the end of the semester, faculty member should provide student with a form that documents the student's activities and hours of service. OCSL has developed such a form for faculty to use. The "Student Guidelines to Notation of CSL Hours in Official Transcripts (CSL-7)" is used by students to record their hours of service. Form must be completed by the student, site supervisor must sign, and form should be returned to faculty before the end of the semester. This form can be used by faculty to record, in the on-line e-grade, the students CLS hours for that course. For more detail information about the Transcript Policy, please click here.

 

Forms

Community Service Learning (CSL) Faculty Placement Forms

OCSL has developed forms to assist faculty with the development, placement, and monitoring of students taking CSL courses. Faculty teaching CSL courses are advised to review the Risk Management Policy section first. For more information, procedures, and CSL forms, please click here.

Assessment / Evaluation

OCSL provides faculty with survey instruments to evaluate the impact of community service learning on student learning and on meeting community needs.

• Beginning of Semester CSL Course Evaluation form for Students
• End of Semester CSL Course Evaluation form for Students
• Student Evaluation Form for Community Placement

Community Service Learning Awards for Faculty, Students and Community Partner Recognition Award

Faculty members (tenured, tenure track and lectures) are nominated for their unparallel efforts in the institutionalization of CSL at SFSU. Students are nominated for their positive impact they have had on a community organization while performing their community service learning. Community partners are nominated for their efforts in the promotion and facilitation of community service learning for students and staff members of their agency. Please click here for award guidelines and the nomination forms.

 

OCSL Community Scholarship Faculty Grant Program

The Office of Community Service Learning (OCSL) has joined with the Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development to solicit applications for the Community Scholarship Faculty Grant program. Funds from these grants support efforts to foster faculty community scholarship and to support the expansion of community service learning (CSL) courses at SFSU.

1. Participatory Action Research Grants (Category A): These $4,000 grants are designed to support SFSU faculty to assist with the development of participatory action research activities-a collaborative approach where professional researchers and members of an organization work together to define the problem to be examined, co-generate relevant knowledge about the problem, execute research techniques together, and take specific action to promote change.
   
2. Faculty Curriculum Development Grants (Category B): These $4,000 (individual faculty) or $7,000 (group) grants are designed to support not designated CSL courses with special emphasis on Civic Engagement and/or Community Partners as co-educators.
   
3. Faculty Travel Awards (Category C): Awards of $500 each are available to support travel to conferences at which individual faculty members will be making scholarly presentations related to CSL. While presenters will be given priority in funding, in absence of these applicants, grants will be given to individual faculty to attend CSL training conferences. All faculty are eligible to apply. Unlike the other two awards (Category A and B), applications for these awards are accepted throughout the year on an ongoing basis and there are no application deadlines. Applications will be processed in the order in which they are received, and CSL Travel Award allocations are made until earmarked funds are exhausted.
   

For more information and deadlines, please click here.