Service learning is the integration of service experiences into academic courses. The goal of service learning is twofold: to enliven students’ educational experiences and strengthen communities.

Example: Students in a biology class plant trees and grasses in wetlands areas with a conservation group. Learning topics include ecosystems, biodiversity, coastal erosion, plant life cycles, environmental degradation.

Example: Students in an introductory sociology class tutor children and adolescents in local schools and afterschool programs. Learning topics include race and class public schools, child and adolescent development, socialization, human behavior, social institutions, inequality.

Example: Students in a writing class in the English department serve food and socialize with guests at a local shelter. They use their experience to write a final essay on homelessness.
Relevant skills include participant-observation, effective communication, listening, analysis, critical inquiry.

What are the benefits of service learning?

Ideally, the benefits are mutual.

How agencies benefit:

1. More volunteers
2. Capacity building
3. New energy and creativity
4. More personal attention for clients
5. Ability to strengthen existing services or develop new services
6. Connect to university resources

How Loyola students & faculty benefit:

1. Apply and understand concepts from class
2. Develop a sense of social responsibility
3. Self-discovery
4. Learn about social justice and injustice
5. Learn about the agency’s clients
6. Learn how nonprofit agencies work

How are service learning students different from ordinary volunteers?

Loyola students do a lot of wonderful volunteer work in the community. Service learning students do so in conjunction with an academic course they’re taking. Usually, their service work is part of their grade. Therefore service learning students may need things ordinary volunteers don’t: a steady schedule, ongoing supervision, signed timesheets and performance evaluations. In return, however, service learning students have an added level of accountability for the quality and consistency of their work.

How are service learning students different from interns?

Internships help students get work experience and acquire useful skills. Internships, practicums, field education, and clinical experiences are often stand-alone learning experiences without a substantial class component. Interns usually spend most of their time working at their company or agency and less of their time on class activities like reading books, doing assignments, writing papers and meeting with professors. Many internships require 70-120 hours of work per semester. Sometimes interns are paid.

Service learning enhances the academic content of a regular class in an academic department. Time spent on service learning is part of a student’s overall out-of-class work for a course, like studying, reading books, doing homework and writing papers. Service learning usually requires 10-30 hours of work per semester. Service learning activities are always uncompensated.

Does the Office of Service Learning provide interns?

No. 3-credit internship courses are offered in many departments at Loyola. Please contact academic departments directly if you would like to request an intern. To host an intern successfully, your agency should have a job description for the internship, a list of scheduling possibilities, and a supervisory structure.

For general internship inquiries and connections to more departments, contact Loyola’s Career Development Center at career@loyno.edu or 504-865-3860.

How can we work with Loyola service learning students?

There are 2 ways you can work with Loyola service learning students. When students in a class volunteer regularly at several different agencies throughout the semester, this is called a service learning “placement.” When all the students in a class work together on a project for a single agency, this is called a service learning “project.”

What’s the difference between a service learning project and a service learning placement?

In service learning placements, students in a class volunteer regularly throughout the semester at a partner agency. The Office of Service Learning facilitates a mutual selection process at the beginning of every semester. Agencies must invest time and energy in recruiting and selecting interested students. Generally, placement work takes place off campus and involves hands-on work with agency clients. Professors determine the total number of hours students must commit to service learning placements. Typically, this is 15-25 hours per semester. At the end of the semester, agency supervisors must submit an online performance evaluation for each student, which professors incorporate into class grades.

Example: Students in a religion class on social justice served 20 hours in tutoring programs and criminal justice agencies.

In service learning projects, students in a class work together to complete a specific task for a single agency. While the Office of Service Learning can help match classes with projects, professors ultimately choose which project is most suitable for the class. Project work may take place off campus or on campus. Projects are guided by a written agreement, which outlines expectations, deadlines, and evaluation procedures. Project agreements are collaboratively drafted by professors, agencies, and OSL staff.

Example: Students in a visual arts freshman seminar revitalized a community center in Gert Town.

Example: Students in a freshman English course mapped bike routes throughout the Uptown area for NolaCycle.

My agency would like to host Loyola service learning students for PLACEMENTS. What do we need to do?

1. Apply

Fill out our Interested Agency Form or contact the service learning staff directly.

2. Be selected as a partner agency

OSL will contact your agency to schedule at least one site visit. We will want to talk with key staff members at your agency and observe your programs in operation. We'll discuss whether there is a good match between your agency's needs and our service learning needs. OSL will evaluate potential partnerships using the following criteria:

number of students with interests and skills which match your needs
topics of upcoming service learning courses
appropriateness of proposed tasks to course learning goals
whether your agency's schedule is a good match for Loyola students
the availability of adequate transportation options

3. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

If a sustainable partnership can be formed, we’ll ask your agency to read and agree to all the provisions in Loyola’s memorandum of understanding (MOU). This document outlines mutual expectations and clarifies liability matters.

Only once you’ve been through these 3 steps can your agency become an active service learning partner. This process can be accelerated or slowed down by a variety of factors, but it usually takes at least a few weeks.

My agency would like to host a Loyola service learning PROJECT. What do we need to do?=

1. Propose a project

Fill out our Project Proposal Form or contact the service learning staff directly.

2. Consult about matching courses

The Office of Service Learning will contact relevant Loyola professors who are seeking project partners for upcoming courses. If your proposed project is a possible fit, we’ll schedule at least one informational meeting to determine whether the project should be adopted in the course. The following criteria may be applied:

whether the project schedule fits within an academic semester
time required to complete the project
costs associated with the project, including supplies and transportation
specialized skills needed to successfully complete the project
availability of adequate supervision from agency staff
course learning goals

3. Participate in drafting a project agreement

If your project is adopted by a Loyola professor, your agency will participate in drafting a project agreement, which will detail all aspects of the project (expectations, roles and responsibilities, important deadlines, scheduling details and so on). This agreement will be signed by everyone participating in the project (agency staff, the professor, the students, and OSL staff).

4. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

We’ll ask your agency to read and agree to all the provisions in Loyola’s memorandum of understanding (MOU). This document outlines mutual expectations and clarifies liability matters.

Only once these 4 steps have been completed can your agency host a class service learning project. This process can be accelerated or slowed down by a variety of factors, but it usually takes 4-6 weeks. In general, you should think about proposing projects for an upcoming semester rather than the current semester.

If our agency hosts a Loyola service learning project, what do we have to do?

Depending on the project, you will have a variety of responsibilities throughout the semester in which the project is being completed. These may include: arranging meetings with clients, scheduling community events, facilitating site visits, providing needed information to students and professors, visiting class meetings, evaluating the quality of students’ work and so on. Your responsibilities will be fully outlined in the project agreement. You will participate in drafting this agreement.

If our agency hosts Loyola students for service learning placements, what do we have to do?

At the beginning of each semester:

Designate a primary liaison between your agency and Loyola service learning staff and students.
Submit and/or update a description of your agency.
Attend the SERVE fair on Loyola’s campus. The SERVE fair is usually held on Thursday during the second week of the semester.
Select service learning students. Placements at Loyola operate on a system of mutual choice: agencies and students choose one another. This means agencies and students must actively participate in the recruitment and selection process.
Sign placement confirmation forms for selected students.
Train and orient confirmed students as necessary. Explain all pre-service requirements to students (health clearance, criminal background check, etc) and complete them in a timely fashion.
Schedule service hours by mutual agreement with students.
Explain your policies on cancellation, rescheduling and make-up work to all students.

During the semester:

Sign Loyola students’ timesheets to verify hours, or provide verified time records of your own.

At the end of the semester:

Submit an online performance evaluation for each student placed at your agency. Evaluations should be submitted by someone who has directly observed or supervised the student. These evaluations will be incorporated into course grades.

What are appropriate tasks for service learning placements?

Students’ placement tasks should always be relevant to the learning goals of their course. For example, if a student is serving at your agency for a Spanish class, she should perform tasks that will allow her to speak Spanish or learn about your agency’s role within the Latino community. In all cases, we prefer that students have at least some degree of contact with the population your agency serves or exposure to the issues your agency addresses. Clerical tasks such as filing papers, bookkeeping, and answering phones are acceptable occasionally, but only if the student spends an equal or greater amount of time in more interactive settings.

What are appropriate tasks for service learning projects?

Many projects involve indirect or capacity-building work such as publicity, research, technical assistance, or support for special events. Other projects involve direct, hands-on work with your agency’s staff and/or clients. Students may work on projects on campus, at home, or at your program sites. The best results are achieved when project tasks are carefully planned in advance.

My agency is hosting Loyola service learning students and I have some concerns. What should I do?

First, talk to the student about your expectations. Be clear and direct. Second, contact OSL to discuss your concerns. We can work with service learning professors, students and agencies to resolve problems and make the service learning experience better for everyone.

Loyola University New Orleans

Office of Service Learning

Office of Service Learning

Frequently Asked Questions

Upcoming Events

Service Learning Reflection Group #1

Wednesday Lunch Series for Service Learning Faculty