Service Learning Designator

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).


Please submit materials to Kathleen Cain (kcain@gettysburg.edu; Box 410; x6823).