About USM Community-Engaged Learning

USM classifies community-engaged classes into two categories, academic service-learning and community-engaged learning. Faculty/directors should report classes that are academic service-learning for the ASL designation. CCE also tracks community-engaged learning classes (see description below) - please contact cceFREEMississippi to tell us about your course! 

Designated Academic Service-Learning (ASL) classes are indicated on the Class Schedule. Students regularly seek ASL classes because of the Citizen Scholars distinction. Any class can also be offered as ASL with a special agreement between a faculty member and student (see Add an ASL Track). Faculty teaching designated Academic Service-Learning classes may report use of High-Impact Practices. 

Links

List of USM Service-Learning Classes 
Apply for Academic Service-Learning Designation
Online Resources 
Faculty Training (Seminar on Service-Learning)
Track Student Service Hours
Funding Opportunities
Other Ways to Get Involved

  

Service-learning addresses critical community needs. reinforces course content and increases student engagement.

Service-learning is a “course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs, and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility” (Bringle and Hatcher, 1995, p. 112)..

Service-learning partners usually include nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies, PK- 12 schools, or the philanthropic arm of a for-profit organization. The experiences should be designed to meet both student and community partner needs, which often means that co-ops, internships, and/or clinical practicums designed solely for student benefit are not considered service-learning.

The basic criteria for a service-learning course are that:

• service supports the attainment of one or more academic course objectives
• service addresses a community-identified (local, regional, global) need
  learning involves structured student reflection on the service experience and its relation to course goals and/or the academic discipline
• learning involves reciprocity between course and community that has the potential to result in students' enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility
• service contribution is a minimum of 15 hours, which may consist of planning a project, producing a product, or serving at a site

Faculty or community partners interested in learning more about service-learning should contact Christy Kayser at christy.kayser@usm.edu or 6-6467.