Faculty FAQs
I would like to incorporate service learning into my course. What are the criteria?
How are service learning policies determined at Loyola?
What does service learning offer me and my students?
I would like to incorporate service learning into my course. What do I need to do?
How do I submit my course title?
When do I have to submit my course title?
What's the difference beteen a service learning project and a service learning placement?
Where can my students do service learning?
How will I assess my students' service learning?
Should service learning be part of my students' grades?
How will my students get to their service learning sites?
How can the service learning office help me?
How is SL different from internships, practica, and field education?
What is service learning?
Service learning is the integration of service or community engagement experiences into academic courses. The goal of service learning is twofold: to enliven students' educational experiences and strengthen communities. Ideally, the benefits are mutual: students and faculty gain valuable understanding, and community agencies get meaningful contributions. Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
I would like to incorporate service learning into my course. What are the criteria?
The Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee has approved the following criteria for service learning courses:
- Service learning activities must be performed in conjunction with a credit-bearing academic course with a university course code.
- Service learning activities must support or enhance student learning objectives in the course. Learning objectives connected to service learning should be stated in the course syllabus.
- Service learning activities must be performed in partnership with an identifiable agency or organization. Most community partners are nonprofit or government agencies or organizations. This is subject to limited public good exceptions, to be determined by the Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee. (See: "Where can my students do service learning?")
- Students must document a minimum of 15 hours of time and effort using either an official service learning timesheet or an official service learning project hours report. Documented time may include training, orientation and planning time as well as on-site or direct service time. The 15-hour rule is subject to limited exceptions based on community benefit and/or course learning goals, to be determined by the Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee.
- Service learning activities must be mutually beneficial to effective teaching, learning and student development and to the community partner agency and/or people served by the community partner agency.
- For off-campus service learning activities, all participating students must complete and submit a Service Learning Liability Waiver.
How are service learning policies determined at Loyola?
The Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee provides oversight and accountability for course-based service learning at Loyola, including course designation, documentation, and other policy and procedural matters. The Service Learning Faculty Advisory Committee is made up of five full-time faculty members (including at least one from each undergraduate college) and the service learning director. SLFAC members are invited and appointed in consultation with deans and department chairs. Each faculty member serves a minimum 2-year term with the option to extend the term for additional years. In addition, the Community Partners Council is a leadership group composed of representatives from 6-8 longstanding and committed community partners. The Community Partners Council provides advice and guidance on how Loyola's service learning program can best meet the needs of our community.
What does service learning offer me and my students?
- Students who successfully complete service learning for an academic course will receive a notation on thier transcript.
- Service learning helps students see how academic subjects apply in the real world.
- Service learning connects classroom study to community needs.
- Service learning is active learning -- it requires students to participate in and take ownership of their education, rather than passively receiving information.
- Service learning can lead to internships, jobs, or other professional opportunities.
- Service learning connects your class to our larger Jesuit mission of furthering social justice and advancing the common good.
- Faculty report that service learning helps their students master academic content, be more engaged during classtime and develop critical thinking skills.
- Connections to community partner agencies can be valuable to professors' research and community involvement.
I would like to incorporate service learning into my course. What do I need to do?
The first thing you need to do is submit the course title to the Office of Service Learning. We recommend focusing on one service learning course per semester, especially if you are new to service learning. Browse past and current service learning courses at Loyola for some good examples.
After you've submitted your course title, you should begin planning your course. Click here for a complete Step-by-Step Course Planning Guide.
How do I submit my course title?
Email Kelly Brotzman or fill out this handy form. Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
When do I have to submit my course title?
Course titles should be submitted the semester before you intend to teach the course, prior to student registration.
If you want to teach a service learning course in spring 2012, submit your course title by Friday, October 21st, 2011.
If you want to teach a service learning course in fall 2012, submit your course title by Friday, Marchc 16, 2012.
This allows your course to be properly coded in LORA before students register for it. It also allows us to document and record service learning efforts properly. Students' service learning work can be recorded on their Loyola transcripts, but only if the course is coded in advance. Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
Where can my students do service learning?
Check out our list of current partner agencies. In consultation with the service learning office, you can select agencies which match your course. You can also work with the service learning staff to develop new agency partnerships or draw on your own contacts in the community. Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
How will I assess my students' service learning performance?
If your students are doing service learning placements, agency supervisors will be asked to complete a standard evaluation for each student at the end of the semester. Results of these evaluations will be given to you to incorporate into students grades.
If your students are doing a customized class project, you should work with the Office of Service Learning and your partner agency to develop an evaluation process. In either case, agencies should have the opportunity to give formal feedback on students' performance.
It's helpful to distinguish between the quality of a student's work and the quality of a student's learning. Both are important! The best way to assess learning is by asking students to reflect, either verbally or in writing (essays, reflection papers, blogging, discussion groups, creative projects, etc). Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
Should service learning be factored into my students' grades?
Yes. Whether service learning is optional, extra credit, or required, the quality of a student's work and learning should carry some weight in a student's overall course performance. The exact percentage or point value is up to you. Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
How will my students get to their service learning sites?
There are several supports offered through the service learning office. Learn more by checking out our transportation page. Download "Service Learning at Loyola: A Guide for Faculty"
How can the service learning office help me?
The service learning office can:
- help students with scheduling and transportation issues
- consult with you one-on-one to develop the best service learning options for your class
- cultivate and maintain partnerships with community agencies
- facilitate a placement selection process for your students
- help you draft project descriptions
- visit your class to explain service learning procedures to students
- facilitate communication between students, professors and agencies
- administer and collect forms and paperwork
- help you with evaluation and assessment
- help you develop reflection tools for your class
- enter service learning transcript notations at the end of the semester
- troubleshoot throughout the semester
How is service learning different from internships, practica and field education?
Internships, practica and field education emphasize the acquistion of professional or disciplinary skills on the part of students. Also, they generally involve a much larger time commitment. Service learning emphasizes the student's overall learning and formation and seeks to enhance the disciplinary content of a regular academic course. Often, internships and practicums often are not attached to a course with significant disciplinary content.