If you have not heard from an agency by a day before the deadline, reach out to them again and let OCELTS know. There is some room for agency delay since the entire placement process (offer and acceptances) is not complete until the middle of the second week following the Serve Fair.

OCELTS can offer one-on-one help if you are not sure what agency best meets your interests, your scheduling needs, and/or your transportation needs. Contact OCELTS at ocelts@loyno.edu or 504-865-2282.

Each agency’s policy on absences, missing shifts, etc differs. The first thing you should do is notify your agency as soon as you know you will miss a shift (not after you’ve missed or during the time you’re supposed to be there). When you do contact the agency, already have a plan in mind for how you’re going to make up the missed shift (make sure this plan also adheres to the guidelines set by your agency). For example, are you planning on staying longer next time? Would you like to go in on an additional day? Or is there a big project/event that you’d like to help with to make up for missed time?

If you have any questions or need assistance, please come by our office in Marquette 312.

Students who do service learning for a class at Loyola are eligible for transcript notations. It is important to acknowledge students' service learning efforts on their permanent academic records. This formally recognizes their contributions to the wider community, and it can be valuable for resumes, job interviews, and graduate school. Students will receive a transcript notation if:

• they document that they served the number of hours required for their service learning course(s) per semester on either a timesheet (placements) or an hours report (projects);
• they receive a satisfactory performance evaluation from a supervisor or community partner representative;
• they complete all necessary paperwork for OCELTS on time (timesheets, etc);
• their service is spread out and consistent over the course of the semester;
• the service learning activity takes place in partnership with a pre-approved agency that has a signed legal agreement (MOU) with OCELTS; and
• they perform service learning activities in conjunction with a credit-bearing course which is properly designated in LORA Self-Service. 

Here is the format of a service learning transcript notation:

COURSE CODE     Course Title     Professor     Grade
Service Learning: Name of Agency

Example
SOCIA100001     Introductory Sociology     Mennino     A-     Service Learning: Anna's Arts for Kids

Please, note that if a student performs in a manner that permanently damages the partnership between Loyola and the agency, and/or in a manner that significantly diminishes the image of Loyola University, he/she will receive a "Did not satisfactorily complete" notation on his/her transcript. 

In order to count as service learning, students' work in the community must be incorporated into course grading. Professors decide how much weight service learning will carry in a course. Professors are also often involved in evaluating the quality of students' service learning performance.

However, community partners are often the best judges of performance, and their perspective must be taken into account. One of Loyola's service learning course criteria is: "The quality of students' performance must be evaluated by someone representing the community partner or its constituents. Students may be evaluated in groups or individually. Evaluations must be incorporated into course grading."  

Read all of the service learning course criteria »

Students completing service learning placements will automatically be evaluated by an agency supervisor at the end of the semester. This evaluation will be sent to the professor for grading purposes. Students participating in service learning projects should be evaluated by community partners and professors. Grading should reflect both quality and quantity.

Quality measures

• Positive impact of students' work
• Enthusiasm, interest, motivation, openness to learning and growth
• Professionalism
• Depth of reflection on service learning activities

Quantity measures

• Amount of time and effort expended
• Demonstrated increases in knowledge or skills
• Size and scope of outputs or deliverables
• Adherence to deadlines and timelines

Indirect service and direct service are equally valuable. Direct service involves hands-on, face-to-face interaction with an agency's clients. Indirect service refers to capacity-building work which benefits the agency by supplementing its resources or boosting its effectiveness.

Example One:

Indirect service: Designing a flyer to help a hospital publicize a blood drive

Direct service: Donating blood or greeting and screening donors at the blood drive

Example Two:

Indirect service: Producing a directory of local food banks for a homeless shelter

Direct service: Cooking and distributing meals at the homeless shelter

Placement: Students can choose among several agencies which are pre-approved for the course. Students must be offered a placement by an agency and accept the placement offer. Timesheets must be turned in twice per semester for the placement. Placements usually involve direct service.

Project: Professors select the agency for a project in advance of the course and students do not choose the agency. Students fill out a project hours report in class twice per semester. Projects can involve both direct and indirect service.

Both service learning placements and projects are eligible for transcript notations. 

The Office of Community Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship works with the Office of Accessible Education to accommodate any student with special needs as he/she seeks to fulfill his/her service learning requirement. As we work to find the best service partner for a student, we take into consideration the needs of the student and the community partners. We also keep in mind that service learning pedagogy can be educational, empowering, and transformative for students at all skill levels. Nearly all of our partnership sites are handicap accessible. We can advise a disabled student about which agencies are accessible, which are very near to the drop-off and pick-up points for public transport, and which offer tasks that are conducive to the student’s level of ability.

Public transportation is available to those with disabilities. The St. Charles streetcar is the only mode of public transport unable to accommodate disabled persons. If this was a student’s only option, we could help him/her apply for paratransit, arrange a Loyola shuttle ride, or drive the student in our personal vehicles. Application for paratransit takes three weeks to process, so this would not be an option unless we had notice of the student’s needs prior to the start of classes. We will consider specific concerns individually.

Service learning can be incorporated into any class in any discipline at any level.  Service learning activities should be tailored to the desired learning objectives in the class. Service objectives should also be clearly identified. Here are some examples, including learning and service objectives. 

Students in a biology class plant trees and grasses in wetland areas with a conservation group.

• Learning objectives: knowledge of ecosystems, biodiversity, coastal erosion, plant life cycles, environmental degradation
• Service objectives: mitigation of wetland loss, habitat preservation, storm protection

Students in an accounting class develop a presentation on business credit and deliver the presentation at a client gathering at a local small business incubator.

• Learning objectives: knowledge of nonprofit careers for business/accounting majors, accounting and financial processes involved in starting and sustaining small businesses
• Service objectives: economic development, job creation

Students in a sociology class tutor children and adolescents in local schools and after school programs.

• Learning objectives: knowledge of how race and class affect child/adolescent development, socialization and behavior 
• Service objectives: increased academic achievement, higher school performance

Students in an introductory chemistry seminar prepare exciting, age-appropriate, hands-on chemistry demonstrations for students in a local public school.

• Learning objectives: improving students' science communication skills to general audiences, preparation for future conference presentations
• Service objectives: stimulating interest in STEM fields, building scientific imagination and creativity among school-aged children

Students in a composition class serve food and socialize with guests at a local homeless shelter. They use their experience to compose a well-argued essay on the causes of homelessness and possible solutions.

• Learning objectives: analysis and observation of the causes and effects of homelessness, improving listening and critical inquiry skills
• Service objectives: care for homeless individuals, support for shelters, developing effective advocates for solutions to homelessness

Students in a marketing class devise strategies to help a national affordable housing organization incorporate its local community-building efforts into its larger brand identity.

• Learning objectives: knowledge of branding strategies, effective use of social and traditional media
• Service objectives:  increased awareness of neighborhood affordable housing and community-building resources

Students in an acting class volunteer in a variety of community-based settings, closely observing accent, vocal posture, and gesture among the people they serve.

• Learning objectives: strengthening voice & movement techniques, developing believable and authentic characters.
• Service objectives: building relationships, listening and communication skills, and solidarity between students and community members

Students in a public relations class create a campaign for a local organ and tissue procurement organization.

• Learning objectives: Practicing writing, presentation and research skills, applying public relations theories and concepts
• Service objectives: Increasing registered organ and tissue donors among college-aged youth; building awareness and support among young people for organ and tissue donation

For more examples, check out descriptions of service learning courses which have been taught at Loyola. Select any available semester from the dropdown.

An internship is an intensive kind of applied learning. Other kinds include practicums, clinical experiences, and field education. The purpose of an internship is for students to acquire professional skills and gain career experience in supervised settings. Internships may or may not be tied to a credit-bearing course with academic content. Interns usually spend a substantial amount of time at their work sites (typically 80 – 120 hours per semester). Some but not all internships are designed to serve the public interest. The Career Development Center can help connect students to internship opportunities.

Service learning helps students acquire useful skills, and it can lead to professional opportunities. However, its purpose is to illuminate classroom subjects through real-world activities which positively impact individuals and organizations in the wider community. The time commitment for service learning is usually less (15 – 30 hours per semester).

Community service can be performed at any time for any reason. Although meaningful community service often leads to transformative learning, this connection becomes explicit in service learning. Community-based activities are embedded within classes or other formal learning settings and are meant to help participants achieve specific learning goals.

As a paradigm, community service has been criticized for focusing exclusively on charity or help and paying inadequate attention to deeper matters of justice. Another critique is that community service is a one-way concept focused on the transfer of resources or skills from a giver to a recipient. On the other hand, service learning emphasizes mutuality. All participants in service learning should benefit, learn and grow from the experience. Service learning also emphasizes critical reflection on conditions which create the need for various types of community service. Below are a few examples of the differences between the two. 

Example One:

Community service: Students participate in a neighborhood cleanup. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts.

Service learning: Students in an environmental studies course study waste collection and recycling services in the city. Students participate in a series of local clean-up projects as a way of learning about accessibility and use of these services in various neighborhoods. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts and informed recommendations on sustainable waste management.

Example Two:

Community service: Students host an on-campus field day for children from local schools. They organize games and other recreational activities in the quads and the university gymnasium. The community receives a safe and supervised recreational program for youth.

Service learning: Students in a developmental psychology course volunteer in the recreation program at a local after school center. They learn how movement and healthy play affect learning, socialization, and behavior among young children. The community receives volunteer and capacity-building assistance with designing and implementing ongoing recreational programming which maximizes learning, teamwork, and inclusion among youth.

An internship is an intensive kind of applied learning. Other kinds include practicums, clinical experiences and field education. The purpose of an internship is for students to acquire professional skills and gain career experience in supervised settings. Internships may or may not be tied to a credit-bearing course with academic content. Interns usually spend a substantial amount of time at their work sites (typically 80-120 hours per semester). Some but not all internships are designed to serve the public interest. The Career Development Center maintains an extensive list of internship opportunities.

Service learning helps students acquire useful skills, and it can lead to professional opportunities.  However, its purpose is to illuminate classroom subjects through real-world activities which positively impact individuals and organizations in the wider community. The time commitment for service learning is usually less (15-30 hours per semester).

Loyola students do a lot of wonderful volunteer work in the community. Service learning students do so in conjunction with an academic course they’re taking. Their volunteer work is part of their class grade, so service learning students need ongoing supervision, signed timesheets and end-of-semester performance evaluations. In return, however, service learning students have an added level of accountability for the quality and consistency of their work.

Anyone can volunteer at any time for any reason. Meaningful volunteer work often leads to transformative learning, but this connection becomes explicit in service learning. 

Community-based activities are embedded within classes or other formal learning contexts and meant to help participants achieve specific learning goals.

Service learning emphasizes mutuality. All participants in service learning should benefit, learn and grow from the experience. Service learning also emphasizes critical reflection on the conditions which create the need for various types of community service.

Community service can be performed at any time for any reason. Although meaningful community service often leads to transformative learning, this connection becomes explicit in service learning. Community-based activities are embedded within classes or other formal learning settings and are meant to help participants achieve specific learning goals.

As a paradigm, community service has been criticized for focusing exclusively on charity or help and paying inadequate attention to deeper matters of justice. Another critique is that community service is a one-way concept focused on the transfer of resources or skills from a giver to a recipient.

Service learning emphasizes mutuality. All participants in service learning should benefit, learn and grow from the experience. Service learning also emphasizes critical reflection on conditions which create the need for various types of community service. Here are a few examples:

Community service

Students participate in a neighborhood cleanup. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts.

Service learning

Students in an environmental studies course study waste collection and recycling services in the city.  Students participate in a series of local clean-up projects as a way of learning about accessibility and use of these services in various neighborhoods. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts and informed recommendations on sustainable waste management.

Community service

Students host an on-campus field day for children from local schools. They organize games and other recreational activities in the quads and the university gymnasium. The community receives a safe and supervised recreational program for youth.

Service learning

Students in a developmental psychology course volunteer in the recreation program at a local afterschool center. They learn how movement and healthy play affect learning, socialization, and behavior among young children. The community receives volunteer and capacity-building assistance with designing and implementing ongoing recreational programming which maximizes learning, teamwork, and inclusion among youth.