The Daily Bulletin Archive

From the President
At its April 11, 2008, meeting, the College Senate voted to approve the resolution below from the Instruction and Research Committee regarding the service-learning designation. The text of the original resolution is listed below. Provost Ponton subsequently asked that the resolution be held pending clarification of technological capability and related items prior to implementation. Discussions with College Senate leadership in spring 2011 affirmed the following as items to be implemented going forward in spring 2012 and beyond:

• Service-learning courses will be designated by assigning an instructional method (SL) at the section level for lecture courses.
• Service-learning courses will be designated in registration materials in Banner and in the online master schedule.
• Service-learning courses will be identified on student transcripts.

I hereby approve the modified implementation plan for designation of service-learning courses effective spring 2012 and direct the responsible offices to take actions to meet the expectations.

Proposal for a Service-Learning Designation for Service-Learning Courses

WHEREAS, service learning furthers crucial educational goals of Buffalo State—including the integration of inquiry and action; civic engagement; teamwork; and acquisition of problem-solving, public-speaking, communication, research, and analytical skills—as well as retention and diversity goals, and

WHEREAS, public service is an important part of the vision, mission, and core values of Buffalo State, and

WHEREAS, the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center has trained service-learning faculty fellows from across the campus and provides support for individual faculty members and departments in developing service-learning courses, and

WHEREAS, service learning, along with the internship, the professional development practicum, and student teaching, is an important type of experiential learning,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that any undergraduate course that meets the following minimum requirements can be designated a service-learning course and carry the service-learning (SL) designation as part of the course name, and will appear in all registration materials and on student transcripts:

1. Service-learning courses use community service to further academic learning objectives in the context of a predominantly classroom- or electronically based course.
2. Academic credit is earned for academic work relating to the community service, not for the service itself.
3. At least 15 percent of the final grade for the course is based on academic assignments that explicitly link the specific community service to the academic content of the course.
4. Students are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of community service.

A course may receive the service-learning designation if all four of the above criteria are incorporated into the course syllabus. Prior to being offered, the course must be approved by the Service-Learning Oversight Committee (or its successor), whose composition should have a faculty majority and include representation from each of the schools.

The university should make a concerted effort to effectively publicize the existence of the service-learning designation, its requirements, and the process for faculty to seek the designation.