Service Learning Designator Application Procedure

Service-Learning Designator Application Procedure
Gettysburg College
DRAFT
November 16, 2005
Submitted to APPC by Dan W. Butin on behalf of the Service-Learning Subcommittee

OVERVIEW
Course-based service-learning at Gettysburg College consists of a relevant connection between service-learning and academic course objectives, reciprocity between a faculty member and community agency, and the opportunity for reflection and sharing within the process and/or product of a course. A course receives a service-learning designation when it demonstrates fulfillment of each of these four areas. The service-learning subcommittee is charged by APPC with evaluating proposals and recommending courses for the service-learning designator. It does so with the following criteria in mind:

• Relevance to the course is demonstrated through a rationale of how and why service-learning would enhance the course.

• Reciprocity is demonstrated through the joint completion (with your community partner) of the Agency/Faculty Partnership Checklist.

• Reflection and sharing are demonstrated through the explicit articulation of such practices in the course syllabus.

EVALUATION PROCEDURE for NEW COURSES
The deadline for submissions is January 17, 2006. A submission for the SL designator for a new course should include the following:
1. Rationale for using service-learning in your course (1 page maximum)
2. Agency/Faculty Partnership Checklist filled out and signed by both faculty and community partner
3. Syllabus, with
a. 15 hours (minimum) of service required for all students
b. Orientation required (generic and site-specific)
c. Reflection explicitly built into the course
d. Sharing/final product explicitly built into course

It is understood that many faculty may only be in the beginning stages of developing their service-learning component at the time of the application deadline. In particular, it may not be possible to finalize the service-learning component with the agency partner so many months in advance of teaching the course. As such, a faculty member may submit an Action Plan for completing the partner checklist and syllabus containing the relevant service-learning information prior to the beginning of the actual course in lieu of the actual checklist and syllabus. The action plan should contain a timeline for checklist and syllabus completion.

PROTOCOL for ANNOUNCEMENT of COURSES with SL DESIGNATOR
The service-learning subcommittee will forward their recommendations to APPC by January 31. Upon approval by APPC of the committee¿s recommendations, an SL designator will appear with the course in the announcement of courses and on the registrar¿s homepage (http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/registrar/index.html).

Faculty must submit their completed partner checklist and final syllabus to the service-learning subcommittee prior to the start of the academic semester in which their course is being offered. This submission will serve as the basis for determining and maintaining the course¿s SL designation on the registrar¿s homepage (allowing students, faculty advisors, and administrators an accurate accounting of courses having an SL designator).


RE-APPROVAL PROCESS
The SL designator is linked to (a) the course, (b) the instructor, and (c) the community partner.
1) LEVEL 1: If there are none or only minor changes in any or all of these, only a cursory re-evaluation is necessary for re-approval: syllabus must be resubmitted with agency approval expressed through a letter of commitment
2) LEVEL 2: if there are major changes in one or more of these, a more thorough re-evaluation is necessary for re-approval:
a. Course changes: rationale, checklist, and syllabus must be resubmitted
b. Instructor changes: rationale, checklist, and syllabus must be resubmitted
c. Community Partner changes: checklist and syllabus must be resubmitted

Internal timeframe and procedure:
January 17, 2006 Deadline
January 19, 2006 first-round evaluation of applications~ assumption that 80% can be approved with none or minor changes

Jan. 19-26, 2006 working with other submissions to finalize submissions (may include non-submissions)

January 30, 2006 final-round evaluations of applications

January 31, 2006 submission of recommendations to APPC

February -June, 2006 periodic workshops and one-on-one consultations with faculty to support checklist completion and syllabus construction

September 1, 2006 Deadline for final submissions (Fall courses only) of Partnership Checklist and Syllabus

January 15, 2007 Deadline for final submissions (Spring courses only) of Partnership Checklist and Syllabus

January 17, 2007 Deadline for re-approvals for 2007-08 academic year

 

AGENCY/FACULTY PARTNERSHIP CHECKLIST

To guide a discussion between potential agency and faculty partners.

Turn in with your final syllabus and orientation plan at the beginning of the semester in which the course is being taught.

 Share contact information

Include name, title, address, phone number, fax number, email address Identify how best to contact one another Define how often you would like to be in contact throughout the semester

 Share materials

Agency/program name
Agency mission, goals, clients and project descriptions (location, times, etc. included)
Agency current needs/wish list
Course title/number
Course objectives and service-learning goals
Syllabus, including course meeting times and locations, assignments and deadlines and course calendar

 Define the purpose of the partnership

How does the partnership advance the goals of the agency? In other words, how will the student project(s) benefit the agency? What goals of the agency will be met by student involvement?
How does the partnership advance the learning of the students? What course learning objectives are met through the service-learning experience at the agency?
How is reciprocity ensured? How will the agency and the faculty member be sure that they are both benefiting from the partnership and that their goals (as defined above) are being met?

 Identify support needed for students

Orientation and training plan, including who is responsible for informing students of their role in the community agency, any agency-specific information needed and a generic information of service-learning.
How will students be monitored? Who will track their hours and be sure that they are fulfilling the requirements of the project?
Plan for mutual reflection  how will the agency (staff and clients) and faculty partner be involved with the students reflection activities?(See page 29 of the faculty guide or page 23 of the community agency guide for useful links to reflection resources).
Misc. logistics (such as language requirements, transportation issues, directions, schedule).

 Discuss and agree on expectations for those involved in the partnership projects.

(for suggested expectations, see pages 19-21 in the faculty guide for service-learning or pages 11-13 in the community agency guide for service-learning)
For students
For agency staff partners
For faculty partners

 Discuss and agree on accountability measure for students. Include them in the syllabus.

(see sample student-agency contract on page 31 of the faculty guide for service-learning or page 25 in the community agency guide for service-learning)
Accountability measures to the community agency partner.
Accountability measures to the faculty partner.

 How will the agency and faculty partners assess (formally or informally):
Student learning?

The outcome of the partnership project did the project meet the stated goals as discussed above in define the purpose of the partnership The process of the partnership did the working relationship between the faculty, community agency and students function well? (for resources regarding assessment, see page 29 of the faculty guide or page 23 of the community agency guide)

 Create a plan for sharing the cumulative learning from the partnership and closure

(for resources regarding public dissemination and closure, see page 29 of the faculty guide or page 23 of the community agency guide)
Are there opportunities for the students to continue their service with the agency beyond the semester?
How will the students share what they have learned with agency? With the broader community?
How will closure be brought to the relationships between the students, the agency and the clients at the end of the semester?

Agency Partner Signature Faculty Partner Signature



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