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Integrate community service Work-Study
into the institution's overall
civic engagement mission and programs

Ways to do it

• Establish community service work-study as an important component of campus
  community service programs and efforts.
• Build connections between community service work-study and other community service initiatives.
• Determine how the community service work-study students – who typically serve for more hours and longer periods of time – can support other campus service efforts as site coordinators, volunteer coordinators, or assistants in service-learning courses.

Examples of good practice in this area

Miami-Dade Community College, Florida
http://www.mdc.edu/cci
Contact: Joshua Young (Director, Center for Community Involvement), jyoung@mdc.edu

Community service work-study students play an essential role in helping administer and lead Miami-Dade Community College's (M-DCC) Center for Community Involvement. These students help run three comprehensive campus centers that oversee all service-learning and America Reads activities. Community service work-study students meet with faculty, visit classes to encourage students to get involved in service, counsel and place service-learning students with community agencies, help train agency partners about service-learning, help recruit, hire, support, and monitor America Reads tutors, and help with myriad other community engagement projects.

Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota
http://www.macalester.edu/cso
Contact: Karin Trail-Johnson (Director of Community Service), trailjohnson@macalester.edu

The "Off Campus Student Employment" (OCSE) program (Macalester College's community service work-study program) is one of many programs administered by Macalester's Community Service Office. The OCSE program is expected to meet the same standards of good practice and follow the same guiding principles established for all service and civic engagement efforts of the college. Work-study students serve with many of the same core community partners as other service initiatives and many also participate in the Leaders in Service program, designed to develop student leadership across service programs. OCSE students support many facets of campus service initiatives as site coordinators for specific community partner locations and "point people" for action research courses. OCSE students are expected to serve as a "bridge" between Macalester and its partners in the community -- understanding the assets and needs of both.

More examples of good practice in this area

Brown University
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center

Kirtland Community College
http://www2.kirtland.edu/servicelearning/Vision.htm

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Create program goals
for community service work-study
and an evaluation plan to measure progress

Ways to do it

• Campus professionals, students, and community supervisors should contribute to the creation of goals for the community service work-study program.
• Consider making a realistic number of short and long-term goals that are measurable, such as the number of students to complete community service work-study positions each year and the degree of satisfaction of stakeholders with the program.
• Create a plan to evaluate the goals through a regularly scheduled process.

Examples of good practice in this area

Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts
http://ecampus.bentley.edu/dept/bslc
Contact: Jeanette MacInnes (Assistant Director, Service-Learning Center), jmacinnes@bentley.edu

Community service work-study students serve as project managers and project directors of community service-learning initiatives. These students are responsible for working in collaboration with community partner organizations to recruit and manage other student volunteers. As part of their role, students are asked to evaluate community sites and supervisors and complete a self-evaluation. Community supervisors also are asked to evaluate the students. These evaluations take place in the middle and at the end of each semester. The information is used to make program and site changes, as needed, to improve the program.

More examples of good practice in this area

Clarion University, Clarion, Pennsylvania
http://www.clarion.edu/service

Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota
http://www.macalester.edu/cso/index.html

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Formalize a structured institutional system
to provide oversight, coordination,
and optimal use of
resources and capacity

Ways to do it

• Clarify and acknowledge the roles and responsibilities of various offices and departments on campus in managing the program.
• Simplify complex processes by taking the time to put a centralized system in place for management and oversight of important program functions, including marketing, recruitment, communications, paperwork, reporting, orientation and training, among others.
• Leaders of the program should have expertise in financial aid regulations, student
  development, and community partnership-building.

Examples of good practice in this area

Stanford University, Stanford, California
http://haas.stanford.edu
Contact: Mary Morrison (Director, Financial Aid Office), morrison@stanford.edu

Community service work-study is administered cooperatively by Stanford's Haas Center for Public Service and the financial aid office. The Haas Center, a nationally renowned program engaging students in the community, has responsibility for marketing, recruitment, and communications and conducts orientation and training for students. Time sheets also flow through the Haas Center. The Financial Aid Office keeps the Haas Center updated on federal student employment regulations. The Financial Aid Office maintains fiscal oversight, determining which students are eligible for the program and each student's individual earning limits based on federal needs analysis. The Financial Aid Office monitors the payroll and reports students’ earnings through its database. The two offices communicate regularly and meet periodically to ensure efficiency and quality in students’ experiences and to support community organizations’ needs.

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
http://www.indiana.edu/~copsl
Contact: Jan Nickless (Career Development Center), jnickles@indiana.edu; or Shirley M. Boardman (Office of Enrollment Services), sboardma@exchange.indiana.edu

For two decades, responsibilities for community service work-study placements at Indiana University-Bloomington have been shared by the Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Career and Employment Services/Student Employment Office. Staff from these offices and representatives from community service, service-learning and academic programs meets regularly with community agencies to update them about the range of opportunities available through work-study. IU has developed a sophisticated information system for community service work-study through its web site, with links to community service agencies that students use to apply for positions. Additionally, programs built into the web site have simplified the administrative operations for tracking student hours and reporting payroll information.

Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts
http://uccps.tufts.edu/04_Community/community.html, http://studentservices.tufts.edu/studentemployment/default.htm
Contact: Joanne.grande@tufts.edu

Tufts University has a unified structure for community service work-study that is coordinated by the Director of Student Employment. The Director's office realigned its system by conducting a focus group of community service personnel, community organizations, and business representatives to determine community needs and campus resources. After gathering the information, the Student Employment director developed a system for recruiting and maintaining community contacts and a system for recruiting and placing students in those organizations. For reporting, community supervisors fax or e-mail student employment data to the Director and records are produced monthly. Students are paid by direct deposit by the university through the payroll system that is linked to the monthly reports.

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Offer a range of community service positions
that are challenging,
developmentally appropriate,
and contribute to the common good

Ways to do it

• Develop placement opportunities in a variety of community issue areas and organizations to engage students’ interest and to provide for career exploration.
• Carefully match students to positions through an interview or other process. Ensure positions are developmentally appropriate for students’ differing levels of experience in work settings, professional responsibility, and particular tasks.
• Provide students with leadership development opportunities to deepen their commitment, develop new skills, and be creative in utilizing resources and designing processes for coordination and communication.
• Agree on a definition of appropriate community service work-study positions, including how “community service” will be defined and what types of placements will be acceptable.

Examples of good practice in this area

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center
Contact: Claudia DeCesare (Asst Director, Swearer Center), Claudia_Decesare@brown.edu

Brown University works closely with students to create or find community service work-study positions that complement their academic and other experiences while at the university. Brown strives to provide students with experiences in the community that develop skills they could not gain through an on-campus work-study experience. To do this, a set of criteria for appropriate community positions was developed and an application process for community organizations is used. Strong community supervisors are sought. Students are matched with developmentally appropriate positions where they are encouraged to build community relationships, reflect on their experiences, think critically about their service, and consider the larger community context around their work.

Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio
http://www.cscc.edu/SCS/whatis.htm
Contact: Monika Wright (Financial Aid Advisor), mwright@cscc.edu

Columbus State Community College strives to connect work-study eligible students in particular fields of study with community service positions that complement their academic interests. To do this, campus staff members review lists of students who are work-study eligible but who have not yet located a position. They work to develop positions with community agencies that fit the fields of study of many students looking for positions. They also send a customized letter to students alerting them to particular positions available in the student's chosen field of study.

More examples of good practice in this area

University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado
http://www.unco.edu/OFA/Employment/Employment.asp#Work_Study_Programs

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Actively and effectively
market the opportunities
to students and community partners

Ways to do it

• Inform students who are eligible for work-study about the opportunity and how to get involved. Use multiple means of communication.
• Determine how community partners will be recruited and selected as appropriate venues for community service work-study positions.
• Inform community partners of the availability of work-study students the benefits community service work-study offers to their organization.

Examples of good practice in this area

Cedar Crest College, Allentown, Pennsylvania
http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/studentaffairs/commserv
Contact: Tammy Bean (Director of Community Service Programs), tbean@cedarcrest.edu

During student orientation each year, Cedar Crest students participate in a day of service. During the service day activities, students are given information about FWS community service positions. The college offers students a choice of five fields of service positions: animals and environment, hunger and homelessness, health and wellness, children and youth, and special events, and moves students through a track of increasing responsibility as they progress through their four years.

Clarion University, Clarion, Pennsylvania
http://www.clarion.edu/service
Contact: Diana Anderson-Brush (Director, Community Service-Learning), dbrush@clarion.edu

Clarion includes community service work-study as one of several highlighted ways students can get involved in the community during their time at the university. To get a head start on student recruitment for community service work-study positions, staff members meet with students and their parents during summer orientation meetings. They also advertise work-study community positions by a variety of means: brochures, newsletters, the university web site, activity days fairs, information tables, and posters. Many more students are interested in community service work-study than can be accommodated each year. Community organizations are registered by the university on a list developed through significant personal contact between university staff and community leaders.

University of Montana – Missoula
http://www2.umt.edu/dhc/oce, http://www.umt.edu/studentjobsapp
Contact: Mick Hanson (Director of Financial Aid), mick.hanson@umontana.edu

The University of Montana has engaged work-study students in community positions for several decades, and the campus president is very supportive of the program. Students are informed of the opportunity to do community service work-study at meetings held during orientation week where opportunities on-campus and off-campus are described. In addition, the Career Services website contains job information, including descriptions of all types of work-study positions. The Director of Financial Aid has long-standing relationships with many local organizations and individuals and invites them to post community positions on-line. One in five UMT work-study students has a community service position.

More examples of good practice in this area

Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
http://www.calvin.edu/admin/slc

Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts
http://www.emerson.edu/service%5Flearning

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
http://web.mit.edu/mitpsc/fundedopps/workstudy.shtml

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Ensure students receive a thorough orientation,
are properly trained for their positions,
and have opportunities for
reflection and connections to academic study

Ways to do it

• Provide a thorough orientation to the program, including expectations, paperwork issues, professional behavior, and an introduction to working in the community.
• Students may require specific skills to be successful in their positions. Clarify with community partner supervisors exactly which skills are desired and who is responsible for providing the training students need.
• Service experiences can be challenging, confusing, thought-provoking and life-changing. To enhance the learning opportunity offered by service experiences, gather students regularly to reflect on their experiences.
• Consider making connections between community service work-study and academic study. Develop courses around important training topics, engage work-study students in support of service-learning or action research courses, or encourage service-learning students to extend their service past the course through community service work-study

Examples of good practice in this area

Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
http://www.augsburg.edu/cswl
Contact: Merrie Benasutti (Center for Service, Work and Learning), benasutt@augsburg.edu

Augsburg College prepares work-study students for their community experience by working with a major community partner to provide a site orientation that includes an overview of the community partner's mission and programs at the community partner's location. The site orientation includes a tour of the neighborhood to familiarize students with the area. Students are trained before beginning their positions by the campus service-learning staff, community site supervisors and consultants in specific topics. Students attend monthly reflection and on-going training sessions developed to address issues and needs of the students as they arise. Monthly reflection also takes place via email.

California State University, Fresno, California
http://www.csufresno.edu/scs
Contact: Chris Fiorentino (Director, Students for Community Service), chrisf@csufresno.edu

CSU Fresno's orientation and training program for community service work-study students begins with an overview of requirements for reporting and other administrative details. Students are then are required to keep a weekly journal of their activities and reflections and attend an "all hands" meeting monthly. The monthly meeting includes updates and reminders as well as small-group reflection focusing on successes, sharing of individuals needs, and brainstorming about solutions. In the final monthly session, students present stories, examples, and experiences that illustrate best practices for their sites. A year-end meeting includes evaluation of students' experiences (shared with site supervisors), reflection and celebration.

Kirtland Community College, Roscommon, Michigan
http://www2.kirtland.edu/servicelearning/Vision.htm
Contact: Nicholas Holton (Faculty Member/Service Learning Coordinator), holtonn@kirtland.edu

Kirtland Community College is considering multiple ways to engage work-study students in support of service-learning efforts. Positions include conducting evaluation of current service-learning practice, satisfaction among community partners, and support for individual faculty members who integrate service-learning activities in their courses.

More examples of good practice in this area

Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minnesota
http://faculty.normandale.edu/~servlearning

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Contribute to student success
through effective monitoring, ongoing supervision
and recognition of student contributions

Ways to do it

• Designate the students’ official supervisor and clarify the goals of community service work-study with them. Inform students who to approach with questions and concerns during their experience.
• Recognize students’ contributions in meaningful ways during and at the end of their experience.

Examples of good practice in this area

Juniata College, Huntington, Pennsylvania
http://services.juniata.edu/community/students.html

Juniata College utilizes the Bonner Scholar objectives for community service that involves a community learning agreement. In this process, community organizations develop learning and work objectives that meet the learning and service goals set out by students. Juniata staff members mentor students in developing their goals for the work and service experience. These goals are revisited during the year by students, community supervisors and Juniata staff. At the end of the assignment, community organizations and Juniata staff meet together with the students to evaluate the experience.

University of Denver, Colorado

The community service work-study program at the University of Denver is distinguished by the attention given to students who are serving in community agencies. During the initial training for student workers, DU leaders clearly establish the students’ job duties and clarify their responsibilities in representing the university and the partner organization. A year-end celebration is held in a neighborhood center, where students and community partners enjoy food and entertainment and recognition certificates are presented to students and community partners.

Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans
http://www.xula.edu/leadership-service/volunteer-services.html

Xavier University’s Volunteer Service Office carefully developed a program to support student workers engaged in community service work-study. The Office chose to work with ten schools and ten nonprofit agencies charged with providing students meaningful service positions outlined in a memorandum of agreement. The University provides students an orientation and specific training in literacy and education, mentoring, and working with special populations. Students attend regular meetings that include speFor akers from nonprofit organizations, AmeriCorps and other service organizations, job training, and reflection. Throughout the year, students are recognized for their work during dinners and other gatherings and receive greeting cards and other small tokens on birthdays and holidays. A university van also is available to take them to and from their placements.

More examples of good practice in this area

Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
http://www.augsburg.edu/cswl

Normandale Community College
http://faculty.normandale.edu/~servlearning

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Create partnerships with community organizations
built on open communication,
trusting relationships, joint design
and evaluation of program objectives

Ways to do it

• Designate Community partners – the people and organizations with whom students serve and work – are a key part of the community service work-study equation. Taking the time to develop strong partnerships will have multiple benefits for all involved.
• Set a tone of respect and openness with community partners through regular, effective communication.
• Strive to know key partners individually. Understand the mission of their organization, their needs and their assets.
• Include partners in helping design the goals for the program and assisting in evaluating its effectiveness.
• Consider positioning the campus as the official “employer” of students to lessen
  paperwork burdens experienced by community partner organizations.

Examples of good practice in this area

Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana
http://www.earlham.edu/slcdc
Contact: Sharlene George (Director, Service Learning), georgsh@earlham.edu

Earlham College strengthened partnerships with community organizations by hiring a director who had served on the United Way Board of Directors and other community organizations. She continues her service in the community and uses her strong personal ties with organizational leaders to enhance communication. As a result, the director is welcomed when she visits the service sites, and community leaders feel comfortable relaying concerns to her. Even before she came, Earlham had established an orientation program for all community sites and created an “Opportunity Day” for community organizations to present information about their work to students and members of the campus community.

Ohio Dominican College, Columbus, Ohio
http://www.ohiodominican.edu/academics/service_learning.asp
Contact: Bob Franz (Director, Center for Leadership & Comm Service), franzb@ohiodominican.edu

Ohio Dominican College moved quickly to establish strong working relationships with organizations. To begin, ODC identified its “community” as the 43219 zip code, moving out from the college in concentric circles to search for partners. The colleges invited 75 potential partners to campus for a one-day conference and identified a number of potential partners from the group. ODC also appointed a well-known neighborhood activist to its staff who has been very effective in maintaining community ties. ODC conducted focus groups to identify community organizations' capacity needs and has begun a series of training sessions on the campus in topics such as technology, grant-writing, and recruiting and retaining volunteers.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
http://www.umich.edu/~mserve
Contact: Anita Bohn (Director of Student Initiatives), abohn@umich.edu

The University of Michigan exemplifies its commitment to the community by providing the matching funds required under federal work-study. This match often is paid by community organizations directly; however the University pays this match itself. Further, for larger projects like America Reads, the university employs experienced students at a higher wage to serve as site directors and mentors for other work-study students. The university collaborates with community partners to design training that best meets students’ needs.

More examples of good practice in this area

Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
http://www.grcc.edu/servicelearning

Juniata College, Huntington, Pennsylvania
http://www.augsburg.edu/cswl

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Prepare community partner supervisors
to be effective in their role
through a clear orientation, training as needed,
and recognition of their contributions

Ways to do it

• Provide an orientation for community partner supervisors in person and through written materials.
• Recognize that community partners are often extremely busy and are serving as co-educators of the students. Communicate appreciation of these efforts, including a formal recognition or show of thanks at the end of the year.

Examples of good practice in this area

Davenport University, Grand Rapids, Michigan
http://www.davenport.edu/tabid/140/Default.aspx
Contact: Deborah Starr-Alderink (Director of the Financial Aid Processing Center), deborah.starralderink@davenport.edu

Davenport University has created a supervisors' manual that is shared with work-study supervisors in the community. The manual contains information on the overall program, expectations of students and supervisors, examples of timesheets, a sample performance appraisal for the supervisor to use in evaluating students, and guidance on what to do if problems arise. A financial aid staff member meets with all community supervisors to give them the manual and go over its contents. By meeting at the community site, university staff members also gain a better understanding of the specific needs of the organization.

Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota
http://www.hamline.edu/hamline_info/offices_services/student_relations/
studentaffairs/oslv
Contact: Sharon Jaffe (Coordinator of Service-Learning), sjaffe@gw.hamline.edu

Hamline University organizes an annual lunch for community service work-study site supervisors, students, campus administrators and faculty. The lunch serves as recognition of the time and commitment of the community supervisors and provides a way for them to deepen their relationship with other departments and programs at the University. In addition, the Director of Service-Learning offers to make visits to community partner supervisors at the beginning of the year to discuss the goals and activities, answer questions, and otherwise strengthen the relationship between the university and community organizations.

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Adhere to the spirit and rules of
U.S. Department of Education Federal
Work-Study legal requirements

Ways to do it

• Establish systems that facilitate accurate and clear tracking and reporting.

Examples of good practice in this area

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
http://www.uccs.edu/~finaidse
Contact: Gwen Eberhard (Director of Financial Aid), gwen.eberhard@colorado.edu

In order effectively to track information on large numbers of students participating in various community service work-study programs, the University of Colorado designed ways within its existing financial aid software to track information on students in programs such as America Reads, America Counts, etc. This includes a process that allows community agencies electronically to enter students' timecard data directly into the university's time collection system. This system ensures that students are paid in a more accurate and timely manner.

More examples of good practice in this area

College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, St. Joseph/Collegeville, Minnesota
http://www.csbsju.edu/financialaid

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
http://www.indiana.edu/~copsl

Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts
http://uccps.tufts.edu/04_Community/community.html