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| IV.
Partner Relationships |
C. Assessing the Impact of Experiential Learning Programs
on Communities
Just as colleges and universities will want to demonstrate that measurable
learning outcomes are resulting from experiential learning programs, so
will the leaders of local service organizations feel bound to analyze
how much good work by students is being done on behalf of the citizens
they are responsible for assisting. The performance measures they will
use are likely to parallel, but not replicate, the kinds of assessments
being made by their academic partners.
- Allegheny College - Center for Economic
and Environmental Development
Seven major projects are run by CEED. Energy saving measures are reported.
Civic engagement, bolstered by the service-learning projects of students,
is reported to be elevated. Alliances with major business and political
leaders are helpful as are the workshops, which have reached more than
15,000 citizens. Significant monetary savings led to an acknowledgement
by the governor who granted an Award for Environmental Excellence to
those whose energy efficiency produced significant savings for the regional
medical center. Other evidence of support for this work is offered.
- Assumption College - Community Service
Learning Program
Just as CSC faculty and staff have gained from contributions to their
program made by the executive director of the Rainbow Center, the Rainbow
agency also benefited from CSL attendance at their annual fundraiser
by getting space needed for staff training, and by other exchanges of
resources. Commitments to reciprocity by the College and its agency
partner were mutually valued.
- Berry College - Hunger and Homelessness
Outreach, Programs, and Education
Teams of partners have planned, prepared, and served Saturday noon meals—partially
with help from the College's food service division and its Friday food
salvage program. Over a hundred impoverished local people benefit, an
especially noteworthy result for school children who cannot receive
free lunch program support on weekends. Services have been expanded
to include health fairs. Grant support has been won for the purpose
of expanding these services.
- Calvin College - Nursing Department
Partnership
Three clinics made use of student-generated research while expanding
neighborhood services and gaining a closer connection to community residents
as a result of work done by students and faculty. No partnership problems
have been reported. Surveys and interviews produce high marks for the
work being done.
- Chaminade University - Income Tax
Preparation
Students have assisted the elderly, homeless, and working poor in preparing
their taxes as well as in personal budget planning. Those who are assisted
learn to prepare their own taxes and help others. Individuals have been
assisted in receiving otherwise unclaimed funds. Significant dollar
amounts have been recorded for individuals and their families. High
levels of satisfaction with this program are reported.
- Chatham College - Choosing
the Right Partners
By using careful selection criteria, the College and its four partners
were able to build on common interests and, where appropriate, expand
collaborative activities. It was possible to maximize the impact of
funding without straining internal resources.
- College Misericordia - The Service
Leadership Center
A significant percentage of students plan to continue partaking in community-related
activities after graduation because of their experiences in school.
Community partners were unanimous in expressing satisfaction with their
partnerships while nearly all of the agency representatives indicated
an intention to continue participating.
- Columbia College, Chicago - Office
of Community Arts Partnerships
Three partnerships (community, school, cultural) spawned dozens of high-quality
art-based programs for young people each year. Many successful initiatives
were launched.
- Emory & Henry College - Communities
Allied to Uplift Success in Education
Initiatives added to after-school enrichment programs as well as mentoring
and youth leadership development—on and off campus. The "Youth
Summit" has become an annual event that includes middle schools
and high schools. It is grant funded. The College and local organizations
are reported to have been strengthened.
- Gannon University - Lake Erie Arboretum
at Frontier
Fifth graders demonstrated a capability of learning and applying complex
scientific conceptualizations. Their school teachers provided overwhelming
support for the project. State academic standards in Pennsylvania were
bridged by working through this project.
- Heritage College - Exemplary Multicultural
Practices in Rural Education
Surveys of staff and students at three middle schools reported favorable
resutls on six indicators of growing respect for multicultural differences.
- Huntington College - MindScape
The middle school students who have participated in the MindScape Academy
have improved their attitudes toward learning, are taking more college-prep
courses in high school, are spending more time studying, and view themselves
as more likely to go to college than they did prior to their participation
in the academy.
- Ithaca College - EcoVillage
of Ithaca
Focus is on sustainability outreach on campus and in the local community.
Positive results are reported.
- Maryville College - Just Connections
Just Connections promotes the development of self-sustaining communities
that can offer more equitable access to resources for local citizens.
Grants gained have been used to promote the use of technology in community-based
research, and for extending the scope of collaboration and research
to several urban areas beyond the Appalachian region (among other purposes).
- Marywood University - The Latino Collaboration
Reports of the College's provision of useful information and outcomes
of collaboration are anecdotal. What is clear is that collaboration
has increased as has Latino enrollment in the School of Social Work.
Student evaluations of courses with community practice are reported
as positive, and faculty/student feedback suggests that awareness of
Latino culture has heightened.
- Messiah College - The Harrisburg Institute
Attention was paid to the community's desire to see a long-term commitment
by the College to the community. Positive feedback was reportedly received.
- Presbyterian College - Communities
Helping, Assisting, and Motivating Promising Students
During the summer prior to their eleventh and twelfth grades, students
are assisted in gaining internship opportunities in area businesses.
A portion of their earnings is saved toward meeting anticipated higher
education expenses. Data show that the relationship between College
students and CHAMPS students is invaluable for both. CHAMPS students'
comfort in the college atmosphere increases the likelihood that they
will pursue a college education.
- Rhodes College - Rhodes Service
Scholars Program
A student's senior thesis provided a measure of the impact of service
scholars in community organizaitons. The number of hours spent on various
projects is calculated.
- Rhodes College - St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital Summer Plus Scholars
While engaged in an intensive research program, Summer Plus Scholars
become part of a community effort to diagnose and treat catastrophic
childhood illnesses, regardless of family income.
- St. Ambrose University - Marketing
for Mississippi Valley Growers Association
An example was given of good work by an intern. Following his work on
a consumer survey, he was requested to design a publicity packet to
be used in improving attendance at special events and to research the
feasibility of creating a coupon book that was ultimately produced as
a supplement to additional marketing efforts. A number of student-recommended
changes in marketing practices were implemented by MVGA, the first-place
winners in an Iowa Farm Market improvement competition.
- St. Edward's University - The HEB
Community Internship Program
Student interns who are paid provided many hours of community service.
All program partners are reportedly realizing benefits. Several businesses
are considering this program as a model for what can be accomplished
by partnering institutions.
- St. Thomas University - The Campus
and Community Alliance for North Dade
A community forum serves as a vehicle for evaluating the strategic plan
and organizational structure of the Alliance. A By-laws Task Force is
reviewing the need for making additions and corrections in the Alliance's
purposes. An unintended outcome of the work of the Alliance was to incorporate
a new city whose first elected mayor was an Alliance member.
- Tougaloo College - Partnership in
Excellence
PIE is reported to offer an important communications mechanism among
local organizations and residents. Workshops and summits held on campus
proved to be effective forms for strategic collaboration among diverse
partners. Two local organizations collaborate on evaluation and assessment
training (components in a needed comprehensive community-based evaluation
strategy).
- University of Indianapolis - Parish
Nursing
Many nurses from across the state have completed the parish nursing
course, and have provided service to a variety of denominations, congregations,
and communities.
- Utica College - The History Project
An annual journal is made available to the city library, area high schools,
local historical society shops, and museums. With growing awareness,
community leaders increasingly seek out academic department members.
- Wagner College - Learning by Doing
Community leaders report that student presence brings greater attention
to environmental/human health issues in a way that is analogous to the
Quaker concept of bearing witness to the promotion of social change.
- Wartburg College - Community Builders:
Fostering Intergenerational Civic Engagement
The institutional partners remain enthusiastic about this project which
has grown in its capacity to attract participants.
- Wesley College - Boys and Girls Club
of Delaware
Elementary and middle school children who would otherwise be unsupervised
in late afternoons, enjoy educational and recreational programs as well
as tutoring by staff and college student volunteers. In summers, weekly
field trips are included. A gained sense of community exists between
local children and college students; it replaces attitudes of the youngsters—that
the campus was either a place to avoid or to cause trouble. A new Community
Service and Partnership Center oversees and supports service that is
rooted in experiential learning.
- Wesleyan College, Macon - Aunt Maggie's
Kitchen Table
A significant portion of the student body participates in the family
support programs of AMKT. These services include tutoring, organizing
field trips, and many other activities. The agency has been able to
rely on student volunteers as a central source of support for the Center.
Aunt Maggie's is a household name on campus. Students provide 100 percent
of the staffing for the year-long, bi-weekly Saturday School at Aunt
Maggie's. More than one-third of the students who complete a service
project at Aunt Maggie's end up staying involved in some capacity. AMKT
won the Inaugural Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Campus Community Partnership
Award.
- William Woods University - Rosa
Parks Center
Young women residents participate in campus athletic events, campus
theatre, lectures, special events, and therapeutic equestrian riding.
Occasionally, recognition is given for a specific talent that is exhibited.
Young people report in open discussions that exposure to college life
has opened new doors to them. For the first time, many can imagine attending
college or trade schools. For its work with female juvenile offenders,
the Center is viewed by many as a model for the nation, with comparitively
low recidivism rates. Plans exist to replace anecdotal reports with
quantitative and qualitative research.
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