High Impact Practices

Scavenger Hunt and Guide for the 2023 HIP Show and Tell

Service Learning Contacts

Kathryn Zawisza, Director of Academic Technology and Innovation

  • kzawisza@uark.edu
  • 479.575.2450

Carmen Gardner, Academic Advisor, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

  • cdp003@uark.edu

Caroline Beringer, Tutoring Program Coordinator

  • cepotts@uark.edu
  • 479.575.5585

Service Learning

High Impact Practices (HIPS): Service Learning
Service Learning Initiative. The Service Learning Initiative (SLI) is a joint initiative of the University of Arkansas Provost Office, the Honors College, and the Division of Student Affairs with the Purpose of formalizing and expanding service learning opportunities on campus. In 2014, Jennie Popp, Ph.D (Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness) and Angela Oxford (Center for Community Engagement) Were appointed as Co-Chairs of the SLI to oversee the academic and community partner facets of Service Learning for the University of Arkansas
Quick Class Idea number 1. Have a student miss a class and asking to make it up? Have them volunteer for an hour! The volunteer action center or the full circle pantry are often looking for volunteers!
Did you know? Any undergraduate or graduate student who is participating in credit-bearing research that includes working with a community partner can have their work designated as a service learning research. This research may be conducted as part of an independent study project, undergraduate thesis, or graduate thesis/dissertation.
Quick Class Idea number 2. Teach a design or research class? You can have students gather information and create brochures or videos for non-profit or government agencies
What is service learning? Service learning combines academic content with community-based activities. Students will earn course credit while having the opportunity to work with community partners in a real setting. Fully integrated within curriculum, a minimum of 5 hours per 1 class credit hour is allocated for service in addition to regular classroom teaching-learning.
Quick class idea number 3. bring in industry or community partners to give a real world problem to solve and have students solve it.
Did you know? service learning strengthens academic content knowledge and sense of civic responsibility. students build critical thinking skills as they engage in experiential, community-based activities that are aligned with and integral to academic course work.
quick class idea number 4. Partner with another discipline to create stories, histories, illustrations, and concepts to teach the community or children about important discipline specific ideas
Chart: What is the difference between service learning, community service & internships
quick class idea number 5. have students volunteer to tutor or mentor first year students or high school students in the area of study and present/reflect on the impact
quick class idea number 6. have students work with ASG or GPSC to solve a campus issue or assist with a current project.
What is the criteria for a service learning course. administratively approved through a faculty evaluation process. addresses a community need through formal collaborations with program-identified appropriate partners. supports attainment of one or more course learning objectives. involves structured reflection. demonstrates clear and articulated connection between service activity and course content. requires five hours of service for every credit hour of course work. involves training for students before working with partners.
quick class idea number 7. are there things that you can partner with other departments on? can your students write a guide on available community services relevant to your discipline and have them partner with someone in the languages department to translate it into other languages of new residents
Did you know? students can submit research on service learning to the undergraduate journal of service learning and community based research
quick class idea number 8. have students research service units on campus and work with them to increase visibility of the projects the groups are working on
need to track student volunteer hours? give pulse is the UA's online volunteering database. students can log their service learning hours through your course page. If your course is listed for this semester, you are already the administrator for your course and are able to track and approve student hours. give pulse now integrates with blackboard so that service learning faculty can easily track their students' service hours and capture other useful metrics.

Service Learning Links and Resources