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CACC Programs » Students In Service » Student FAQ

 

Students in Service

(formerly known as HELP Program)
funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service
and Washington Campus Compact
For the latest info, please visit the official Students in Service website

Students Frequently Asked Questions

 

What service activities are appropriate or not appropriate?

Service activities should follow Students in Service program and AmeriCorps guidelines including:

  • Service in one or more of our focus areas: Education, Public Safety, Environmental Initiatives, Homeland Security, or Human Needs;
  • Direct Service hours must be voluntary and follow AmeriCorps Prohibited Activities guidelines; the ONLY paid position that you can work at a job and concurrently accrue those hours for the AmeriCorps Students in Service Program is if the position is a service-related, Federal/State-funded Work Study position.
  • Member Development hours must follow program guidelines in being clear, serious and detailed goals that contribute to your personal and professional development, and service experience.
  • Direct Service will constitute at least 80% of the total hours; Member Development hours will constitute no more than 20% of the total hours.
  • A list of Prohibited Activities is included in the Resource Book and on the website.

Can my direct service position be paid?

The ONLY paid positions you can count the hours for your job and count hours for the Students in Service program are positions that are service-related Federal/State-funded Work Study positions. All other service must be non-paid (including internships, academic course-related service, and general volunteer service).

Is serving in a soup kitchen located in a church considered a “prohibited activity”?

You should first consider the type of the activity, and secondly the location. If you are serving food in a soup kitchen that happens to be in a church, that activity in and of itself is absolutely appropriate. The Students in Service program encourages partnering with faith-based organizations. However, if you are also expected, as part of the soup kitchen experience, to discuss or promote the particular ideology or mission of the hosting religious organization, that would be an example of an unacceptable direct service activity since you would be engaging in religious instruction or proselytizing. This may be a helpful example in determining prohibited activities.

Where do I send my paperwork?

You are responsible for completing and submitting your program paperwork to your respective state Campus Compact office. Although you may work with a faculty or staff person on your campus, you are ultimately responsible for mailing in all paperwork. Refer to the “Campus Compact Contacts” page in the Member Resource Book or in the Contact Info section of this website for addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Can documents be faxed?

Yes, documents can be faxed to your state Campus Compact office. If a deadline is near, you may fax documents, but eventually you will need to send the original document with original signatures. If you are unable to fax, simply call your state Campus Compact to notify the Program Director/Administrator that your paperwork will be late.

Should I make copies of my paperwork?

Yes! Yes! Copy ALL the paperwork you complete before sending to your state Campus Compact office. Sometimes, things really do get “lost in the mail”, so your ability to supply a copy of your documents may be critical. Not only will you have a record of the paperwork you have completed for recordkeeping, but you can continuously reference that information throughout your term of service. Time logs are especially important to copy as those copies may be the only proof or record of your activities.

How can I check if my file up to date or if I’m missing any paperwork?

The best way to check is to call your state Campus Compact office. It is your responsibility to make sure your paperwork is completed in a timely manner. Remember to keep copies of your documents and notify us if you have new contact information, etc.

I don’t have a copy of my birth certificate! How do I get one?

You can call your state’s Health Department, the office for birth/death certificates or vital records.

Another option is to call the company VITALCHECK at 1-800-255-2414. This is a faster but more expensive method.

Why do I have to write a Great Story and complete evaluations?

The Great Stories you write provide written document of the impact you had on your community. We may use excerpts of your great story in a progress report, grant proposal or for marketing purposes. The evaluations provide a reflection tool for you and for us. Hopefully the questions on the evaluations will help you think about your term of service and what you gained while providing important program improvement suggestions to the Students in Service program.

What is Member Development?

AmeriCorps allows 20% of your term of service hours to be Member Development. Member Development has three parts, professional, personal and service related. Professional and Personal hours are spent achieving a goal outside of your direct service. For example, if you would like to start publishing poetry, a goal of yours could be dedicating X amount of hours sending X amount of writings to publishing companies. A service related goal is what you would like to work on at your direct service site. For example, if you are working in a school you may want to improve communication with teachers by designating X amount of time a week talking with a teacher.

What is a Criminal Record Check? What if I’ve already had one?

Most service sites serving children or other vulnerable populations require an FBI record check. Ask your site supervisor if you are required to submit a record check to serve at that site. If you have already been fingerprinted you will need to provide proof to your site supervisor. The form required by the Students in Service program is verification from your site supervisor that you have provided proof of an FBI record check.

On the time log there is a section for “number of additional volunteers recruited” and “number of volunteer hours”, what does this mean?

All AmeriCorps members are asked to recruit volunteers for their program although not a requirement for the Students in Service program. If you happen to recruit volunteers for your service site you need record how many on what day. You’ll also need to record how many hours those volunteers served. For example, if you recruited 3 volunteers for one day and each volunteer served 2 hours each you would record your three volunteers serving a total of 6 hours.

What can I do if I lose track of how many hours I have served?

Not a problem. Just email or call your state Campus Compact; all your information is in a database we can easily access.

What if I can’t complete my hours by the end of my term of service? Can I get an extension?

In nearly all member situations, we are NOT able to change terms of service or automatically provide extensions. For special circumstances (compelling personal circumstances) AmeriCorps may grant members on a case-by-case basis an extension to complete their hours. The approval is not “automatic”, and you must contact the Campus Compact office PRIOR to the end of your term to discuss if you qualify for an extension.

What if my supervisor is gone for two weeks and I can’t get my time log signed! What do I do?

Don’t send it in to us without a supervisor’s signature! We’ll just send it right back to you! You should call Campus Compact and alert the Students in Service program Director/Administrators that your time log will be late, so we can make a note of it and you can submit it when your supervisor returns.

What is a site supervisor?

A site supervisor is someone at your service site who can verify your hours and support you through your direct service. Your site supervisor is the person who signed your Site Agreement – Service Site Description form. The site supervisor is the ONLY person who can sign your timesheets.

What do I do if my supervisor has changed?

You must fill out a new Site Agreement - Service Position Description Form. Your service site may not have changed, but we must have your new supervisor’s contact information and signature.

If I get sick and have to drop out of my service position can I still receive part of my Education Award?

You can receive pro-rated education awards if you had to stop serving for “compelling personal circumstances.” The Students in Service program Director decides if a situation is a compelling personal circumstance (examples: a serious illness/injury to the member or a death in the member’s immediate family). HOWEVER, to qualify for a pro-rated education award you must have completed at least 15% of your term of service.

If I do volunteer projects on top of my AmeriCorps service, can these hours count?

If the projects are in the areas of education, public safety, environmental initiatives, homeland security or human needs, and your supervisor can verify the hours, AND the hours are appropriate either for Direct Service hours (non-Prohibited Activities) or Member Development hours, then those hours can be counted. It is common for members to have more than one service site. Remember, you are required to submit a Site Agreement form for each service site. Each Site Agreement requires a separate time log. For example, if you serve at three sites a month, you’ll need to submit three Site Agreements and three time logs each month.

What do I do when I finish all my hours?

As soon as you have finished the hours of your term of service Campus Compact will send you an exit email notifying you of your completed status. You are required to exit the program upon completion of the hours for your term of service. To do so, send in your completed Exit Paperwork to your state Campus Compact office within two weeks of completing your hours.

Who is the AmeriCorps Program Coordinator that signs the authorization section of the Member Agreement?

That is the Students in Service program Director/Administrator at each state’s Campus Compact office.

How many AmeriCorps terms can I serve?

You can serve two terms in AmeriCorps. This is because you can only ever be eligible to receive two education awards. You may choose to serve with the Students in Service program and once you graduate serve in a full-time program. If you serve twice with Students in Service, you will not be eligible to serve in a full-time program. However, serving two AmeriCorps terms doesn’t prevent you from serving in VISTA.

I’m thinking about applying to Teach for America after I graduate. If I enroll in the Students n Service program will I still be eligible to participate in Teach For America?

Teach For America (TFA) often is confused as an AmeriCorps program since TFA members earn an Education Award at the end of their two-year service. The Education Award is the only connection between TFA and AmeriCorps. If you meet the TFA requirements, then regardless of how many AmeriCorps terms you serve you can apply to TFA.

“The requirements to apply to the Teach For America program are that applicants must be US citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents, and have bachelors’ degrees with at least 2.5 undergraduate GPA. Participation in another AmeriCorps program will not prevent interested parties from applying and being accepted in the Teach For America program if they meet the above requirements. If an applicant from the Students in Service program applied and was accepted into the Teach For America program, they would be eligible to receive one additional Education Award via AmeriCorps as a Teach For America corps member because one can only receive two education awards in a lifetime”

– Kimberly David, Applicant Communications Associate.

For more information: Teach For America, 315 W. 36th St., Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10018, (Tel) 800.832.1230 x225, (Fax) 212.279.208, http://www.teachforamerica.org

Why should I put my loans on forbearance?

If you have qualified loans that are currently accumulating interest, the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) will pay part of the interest accrued during your term of service. Putting your loans on forbearance notifies CNCS of your current loans. If you don’t put your loans on forbearance CNCS will not partially pay your accrued interest at the end of your term. For a complete explanation refer to the “Explanation of Loan Deferment, Forbearance, and Interest Accrual” page in the Member Resource Book and on this website.

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