Thank you for your interest in the VRP and taking the time to learn about this exciting program.

UTPA has a integral part in the future of the Rio Grande Valley. UTPA Faculty members are responsible for educating the over 14,000 students on campus. That education can be augmented through community service. Faculty can encourage public service as an integral component of teaching, research and overall learning.

Regardless of what your subject is, you can expand student learning by integrating volunteer community service into your classroom curriculum, while meeting a common need. Whether its conducting surveys or volunteering at after school programs for K-12 children, the instructional time spent by your students can be enriched through volunteerism.

Working through the SBNRC's office, the University's faculty and staff will also be encouraged to refer student internship candidates for placement at nonprofit
agencies.

Benefits to University Faculty and Staff:

• Greater university presence in the community
• Students more likely to achieve in classroom
• Increased student retention
• Greater student loyalty to school

Dr. Caroline Miles, UTPA English Professor, engaged her classes in Service Learning activities in 2005.

Service Learning

At UTPA, professors from various disciplines utilize service-learning to expand students’ acquisition of knowledge through community service activities and guided reflection. Faculty members work closely with the Volunteer Resource Program (VRP) staff in developing service-learning projects that are aligned with curriculum goals and objectives.

A service-learning approach allows faculty to incorporate community service into the course curriculum while meeting a community need. Through this approach, students explore their career fields through service projects that are closely integrated to the learning objectives of the course.

The Volunteer Resource Program (VRP) provides logistical support for faculty who are currently teaching or would like to teach a service learning course and for community agencies who are interested in connecting with UTPA faculty and service learners.

How do we assist our faculty?

One of the biggest obstacles in setting up a service-learning course is the time needed to carry out the logistical details of the community service component.

The VRP is here to help faculty coordinate the entire service experience, including the formulation of a customized plan for the service-learning course, coordination with nonprofit agencies, and we also assist with the following tasks.

• Connect with nonprofit agencies and assist with community service project design and implementation
• Arrange appropriate service placements for service-learning students
• Provide volunteer manual for service-learners, including liability waivers, information on background checks
• Provide service-learning contracts to be signed by the service-learning student, agency supervisor, and the faculty member
• Provide community service files for each student and present data to faculty as requested
• Schedule guest lecturers from community agencies
• Provide professional development workshops on service-learning

What we need from you

To make implementation of service-learning projects productive and efficient, we ask that faculty provide the following documentation to our office:

• The course syllabus outlining the community service component and evaluation requirements;
• A sample of reflection activities by students;
•The VRP survey completed at course completion;

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I be certain that I am meeting the service-learning criteria?
If you answer the following questions affirmatively, you are implementing a service-learning approach.
a. Does the service project address a community need?
b. Are the specific learning goals to be attained through the service project outlined?
c. Have the students been given opportunities to reflect on their service?

Does service-learning have to be faculty-directed?
The answer is NO. In fact, student-directed service-learning is highly encouraged.
When the service project is initiated by a student(s), the student himself/herself identifies and researches a specific need in the community and develops a SL project addressing that particular need. The professor ensures that the project aligns with the learning goals /objectives of the course and then monitors the project’s progress.

What is reflection in a service-learning course?
Reflection is what makes service-learning; it is when the volunteer reflects upon the service, does the action really become meaningful and significant. A service action by itself does not lead to a service attitude.

What can be expected when a student engages in a reflection activity?
Through reflection, students discuss their thoughts and feelings about what they learned through the community service experience: how the service experience changed or affected them, their thoughts of the group they served before and after the service, how their involvement impacted the community, what they would change about the experience, or any discipline specific information that ties in to the service.

What are some reflection techniques?
The following classroom techniques have proven to be useful in eliciting reflection: journals, reflective essays, personal narrative, experiential research paper, ethical case studies; e-mail discussion groups, structured class discussions, class presentations, directed readings, photo essay, and service-learning portfolios.

What grade weight should be given to the service component?
Faculty experienced in service-learning state that students show greater commitment when the service component receives a percentage weight of the final grade, i.e. 10%, 20% instead of allotting extra credit points for the service rendered.

Will professors be responsible for contacting the nonprofit agencies to retrieve the student volunteers’ service hours and be responsible for recordkeeping the students’ service records?
No, the VRP staff will manage the recordkeeping of service logs for each volunteer that is placed through our program. The VRP makes it easy for faculty to engage in service-learning by handling the workload of contacting agencies, managing placements and recordkeeping.

When will faculty members receive documentation from the VRP office on the students’ service records?
Typically, VRP staff will submit documentation on hours served prior to the end of each academic semester or per request from faculty members. Professors will receive a spreadsheet indicating the name of the student volunteer, name of nonprofit agency or agencies, and hours served. The VRP keeps a confidential file for every volunteer, including detailed placement information which can be accessed by faculty members and/or volunteers per request.