The Center also serves as coordinator of the service learning programs by maintaining and developing partnerships between college, student, and community, and offers assistance to faculty in developing courses. These have been offered to students since the fall of 1992. Approximately 50 students per semester enroll in these classes, representing an average of 6,000 volunteer hours to the community. The courses are a blend of academic study and community service, under the supervision of a faculty member within the discipline. Core requirements include 50 volunteer contact hours per credit hour, a learning plan, a reflective journal, an analytical paper and attendance at three reflective sessions.
Credit is given for the learning that is demonstrated through completion of the core requirements.
A twenty minute videotape for orienting students to these courses is available for viewing and is a requirement for this class. These courses are also being marketed as an extra credit option for a regular class of the same discipline, plus several faculty are offering co-enrollment with any 282 course. Integration of service learning into existing courses allows students to participate in community service in lieu of a research paper, class presentation or exams. These courses have grown from none in 1993 to involvement by over forty faculty in the Fall '99 semester. Volunteer hours given to the community via these options average approximately 33,000 hours per semester.