Volunteer Community Service and Service Learning at UC Irvine
Structure:
Section I: Volunteer Community Service (defining
volunteer community service as "co-curricular programs and activities
that involve students in community service or some other form of civic engagement,
either as members of groups or on their individual initiative, on a volunteer
basis and outside the campus's academic curriculum")
(A)
Overview and general description of volunteer
community service programs and activities at UCI:
The
UCI Volunteer Center is a resource center for students interested in community
service. The center provides placement
opportunities and offers a variety of programs from large campus-wide service
events to alternative spring break programs.
The mission of the center is to promote volunteerism and to focus
attention on the very important role community service plays in the education
of UCI students. Other programs
include: the Have-A-Heart Volunteer Fair, Quarterly Service Projects, UCI Earth
Day and National Youth Service Day, the Community Service Funding Board, and
the Orange County AmeriCorps Alliance.
Web:
http://www.volunteer.uci.edu
The Center's mission is to stimulate
and advance cooperative educational relationships among UCI and California
schools and colleges. Through established programs and community outreach it
seeks to foster community links to improve the preparation of all students,
particularly those from underserved groups, for success in higher education.
In collaboration with schools and
colleges, the Center offers special educational programs and support services
to prospective students to enhance academic achievement.
Web:
http://www.cfep.uci.edu
Begun in 2001, the UCI Community
Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) is an initiative involving UCI and partners
throughout Orange County, California. Through its research, teaching and
outreach activities, the COPC serves as a bridge between UCI and the community.
The COPC leverages UCI resources – faculty, student, and institutional – to
help address community priorities tied to demographic change.
Web: http://webfiles.uci.edu/copc/www/index.html
The UCI Volunteer Center works
closely with many the service clubs on campus and meets with them regularly to
promote volunteerism and coordinate efforts.
Web:
http://www.volunteer.uci.edu/clubs.php
(B)
More detailed information on specific volunteer
community service programs and activities, including student participation
levels in those programs:
Currently
831 recipients of our GoVolunteer Newsletter.
The listserv is open to students, faculty, staff, and community
members. Students can join the listserv
by registering with the UCI Volunteer Center.
The UCI Community Service Funding
Board (CSFB) was created to promote community service and volunteer projects in
the Orange County community.
The funding board is comprised of students and staff who review proposals submitted by registered campus organizations and recommend funding to those projects that demonstrate a commitment to “hands-on” community service projects or programs. In 2003-2004, CSFB allocated $3,000 to hands-on service projects.
The annual Have-A-Heart Volunteer Fair features over 40+ community agenices displaying volunteer opportunities and information to UCI students.
Students can educate themselves
about community concerns and are given an opportunity to explore solutions
through volunteering.
The
UCI Volunteer Center coordinates Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week by
encouraging student organizations to host related programs and events. The highlight of the week is the Students
for Homeless Outreach United Together (SHOUT) Sleepout event.
UCI Earth Day features over 30
non-profit agencies and interactive, hands-on, educational booths and displays,
earth friendly vendors, recycling, art, and entertainment. This event is held in conjunction with Celebrate UCI, the campus’
annual open house. Last year, UCI Earth
Day featured a mainstage, a
film festival, electric vehicles, and it was powered by solar energy.
(C)
Volunteer Community Service Best Practices:
The UCI Community Service Funding
Board (CSFB) was created to promote community service and volunteer projects in
the Orange County community.
The UCI Community Service Funding
Board (CSFB) is comprised of students and staff who review proposals submitted
by registered campus organizations and recommend funding to those projects that
demonstrate a commitment to “hands-on” community service projects or
programs. CSFB allows students and
staff an opportunity to better understand student organization’s service
efforts.
The GoVolunteer Listserv is a
service to UCI students and contains information about upcoming community services
and volunteer events in Orange County.
The UCI Alternative Spring Break
program places UCI students in communities to engage in community service and
experiential learning during their spring break. Students perform short-term projects for community agencies and
learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and
the environment. The objectives of an alternative break program are to involve
college students in community-based service projects and to give students
opportunities to learn about the problems faced by members of communities with
whom they otherwise may have had little or no direct contact. The intensity of the experience increases the
likelihood that participants will transfer the lessons learned on-site back to
their own communities even after the alternative break ends.
Section II: Service Learning
(defining service learning as "learning or research opportunities that
involve students reflectively in community service or some other form of civic
engagement as an integrated part of the campus's academic curriculum")
(A)
Overview and general description of service
learning opportunities at UCI:
UC
Irvine does not have campus-wide definition of service-learning. There are some service-learning courses but
it is not certain that all of these courses incorporate all aspects of
service-learning.
Below
are some resources or courses that involve students and the community:
Social Sciences Academic Resource Center – Internships in Public and Community Service
This
community service class is designed for students to make positive contributions
to underserved, marginalized communities.
It is an opportunity for the student to provide civic service while
integrating their experiences with an academic curriculum supervised by the
Instructor.
Web:
http://hypatia.ss.uci.edu/SSRC/internships.html
This is a specialization within the
Social Sciences major. This
specialization gives students internship experiences in social, political, and
educational institutions.
Humanities Out There is an
educational partnership between UCI's School of Humanities and the Santa Ana
Unified School District, in cooperation with UCI's Center for Educational
Partnerships and UCI's California History-Social Science Project. Founded in
1997, HOT now reaches over five hundred intermediate and high school students
and their teachers each year through its workshops on humanities topics.
Workshop readings, discussion questions, and writing exercises engage issues of
historical significance and contemporary urgency. HOT brings faculty, graduate
students, undergraduates, and staff into direct dialogue with our counterparts
in the public schools in order to create a new community of scholar-citizens
united by shared values of intellectual inquiry, action through creativity, and
civic inclusiveness.
Web:
http://yoda.hnet.uci.edu/hot/
The Field Study requirement is
required of all Social Ecology majors.
It is designed to provide students with the opportunity to examine
social problems, to evaluate the merit of ideas presented in the classroom, and
to educate students in conducting naturalistic observations and investigations.
Most often, the student will primarily participate in the ongoing activities of
an organization, developing interpersonal as well as technical competencies.
However, Field Study also offers students the opportunity for data collection
projects, theory-testing, and social intervention. Many of the field study placements are in local non-profit
organizations.
Web:
http://www.seweb.uci.edu/students/undergrad/fieldstudy.uci
(B)
More detailed information on specific service
learning opportunities, including student participation levels:
School of Social Ecology Field Studies – Approximately 500 students annually enrolled in Field Studies courses. Not all courses are service-learning courses.
Vietnamese American
Experience – Students
are placed as interns in local Asian American community organization. 6 out of 35 students have selected this service-learning
option.
(C)
Service Learning Best Practices:
None at this time.