Champlain College follows a pedagogical model of service-learning, rather than an “hours of service” model. This means that service-learning is defined by academic rigor and reciprocity, rather than by counting hours. Courses qualify for SL designation when the service-learning is constructed so as to deepen student learning while benefiting a community partner, regardless of the scale, scope or duration of the project or service.

There are a variety of reasons to designate courses/sections as a Service-Learning course:

1. Designating a course as “SL” (as a suffix with the section number) conveys to students that there is a service-learning, experiential component to the course.

2. Designation also ensures that our institutional data about student learning experiences is accurate.

3. And importantly, designating courses allows the Center for Service & Sustainability to track and reach out to community partners, ensuring open communication and opportunities for feedback, resource-sharing, and future project development.

Service Learning Defined at Champlain College

Service learning is an experiential teaching method that combines community service with academic instruction as it focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic engagement. Service learning involves students in intentionally designed projects in collaboration with community partners. Projects address specific partner needs while developing student academic skills, professionalism, and a sense of civic responsibility. (Adapted from Campus Compact National Center for Community Colleges; Adopted by Champlain College Faculty Senate, Spring 2004; updated and approved by Curriculum Committee, Fall 2017)

A course or section of a course may be designated SL (typically) when:

1. It is a credit-bearing course (graduate or undergraduate).

2. It requires an integration of service components and academic course content so that each significantly informs and enhances the other.

3. There are planned benefits for both the community partner and the students. The service addresses a need and follows processes that are mutually agreed upon by the partner and the instructor.

4. Student assessment and academic credit are based upon the demonstration of student learning, not on the service hours. Critical reflection is part of the assessment process.

5. It actively guides and supports students in critical reflection: the integration of the service component with the academic course content.

Typically, Service-Learning is seen as a framework/method/pedagogy that accomplishes pre-existing learning outcomes. If an instructor decides to significantly alter a course's outcomes, the course will need to return to Curriculum Committee for review.

If approved, courses will be considered SL Designated for a three year period, with annual check-ins from the Center for Service & Sustainability. At the conclusion of each semester the class is taught, faculty will complete a brief form to report out on the service completed.

(Adapted, with permission, from UVM CUPS office)

It is strongly recommended that you collaborate with the Director of the Center for Service & Sustainability when developing a SL designated course! See this page for more resources.

Important Champlain College Service Learning Resources

1. Introduction to Service-Learning at Champlain slide deck

2. SL Faculty Fellows Application Form

3. One pager for SL Designation: Is my class ready for designation?

4. SL Course Designation Process Visual

5. SL Course Designation Submission Form

References and External Resources

University of Minnesota: Reflection in Service Learning Classes

University of Waterloo CLT: Reflection Frameworks and Prompts

Department of Education and Training Victoria, A “Critical” Reflection Framework

Jane Eyler, Dwight E. Giles, Angela Schmeide, A Practitioners's Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 1996 Eyler_practitioners-guide-to-reflection-in-service-learning_1996.pdf

Barb Jacoby, What Makes Service-Learning Unique: Reflection and Reciprocity, Faculty Focus, November 1, 2013.