|
ACADEMIC
CONNECTIONS:
RESOURCE HANDBOOK FOR STUDENTS
Welcome Academic Connections
Team!
What does academic connections
mean to you? It may mean participating in service that pertains
to your major, getting faculty involved in service related
issues, designing educational service trips or developing
service-learning and community based research projects. Regardless
of the strategy, creating academic connections will take your
ordinary service projects a step further. Let’s do it!
1. Evaluate what’s happening
at your campus. What kind of activities is your school doing
to build academic connections? What kind of activities would
you like to see your school doing? Even if your college has
several different activities—including student involvement
in service, faculty involvement through a few courses, and
community involvement in a few academic projects—there
is probably another level of involvement that can be attained.
Check out the table below and then you can decide what kind
of activities will take your campus to the next level!
Note: This chart is adapted
from the matrix on Civic Engagement developed for campuses
to use by Barbara Holland.
| |
Level
One
(lowest levels) |
Level
Two |
Level
Three |
Level
Four
(highest levels) |
| Student Involvement |
Student involvement is mostly part of extracurricular
student life activities |
Campus has organized support for volunteer
work (like a center) |
Students have opportunity for extra credit,
internships, practicum experiences |
Service-learning courses integrated into
the curriculum; student involvement in community based
research |
| Faculty Involvement |
Campus duties; committees; disciplinary
focus |
Pro bono (volunteer) consulting; community
volunteerism |
Tenured/senior faculty pursue community-based
research; some teach service-learning courses |
Community research and service-learning
a high priority for faculty; interdisciplinary and collaborative
work |
| Community Involvement |
Random or limited individual or group involvement |
Community representation on advisory boards
for departments or schools |
Community influences campus through active
partnership or part-time teaching |
Community involved in designing, conducting
and evaluating research and service-learning |
SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTION:
- Realize your own power.
- Create a partnership with a professor.
- Design a Trip
- Create an Academic Connections Board
- Create a Course/Class.
- Develop a Minor or Certificate
HELPFUL DEFINITIONS
AND LANGUAGE
- Service learning
- Community-based Research
RESOURCES
- Definitions
- Getting Started
- Examples of Service Learning in Existence
- Resources to Present to Faculty
- Service Plan Resource Ideas
- Making the Case
|
