FAQs

Service learning is an educational approach that integrates community service with academic learning, allowing students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world situations. It involves working on community-based projects or activities that address local needs while helping students develop skills, critical thinking, and civic responsibility.

Key components of service learning include:

• Active Participation: Students engage directly with the community, often through hands-on projects.
• Reflection: Students reflect on their experiences to understand the social, civic, and academic implications.
• Mutual Benefit: The service benefits both the community and the students; the community receives support or resources, while students gain practical experience and personal growth.
• Curriculum Connection: The service activities are directly tied to learning objectives, making them an integral part of the academic curriculum.

What Qualifies as Service Learning?

As a formal educational approach, experiential learning requires several elements to count as service learning. Examples of these are if the volunteer activities are connected to the course curriculum and reflecting on the service experience. You can learn more about what qualifies as service learning here.

Key Differences:

1. Learning Component: Service-learning is directly tied to academic coursework, while internships focus on professional experience, and volunteering is centered around helping without necessarily a learning goal.
2. Reciprocity: Service-learning emphasizes mutual benefit, while internships tend to benefit the student primarily, and volunteering mainly benefits the organization or cause.
3. Structure and Supervision: Internships are more structured and often supervised in a professional environment; service-learning is structured around academic goals, and volunteering can vary widely in structure and supervision.

Yes! Although direct service offers an ideal environment for learning in many classes, others, like research, program development, or marketing, don’t require on-site or direct service. Service-learning can also be adapted for remote or online formats for direct service. This might involve virtual tutoring, digital awareness campaigns, data analysis projects for non-profits, or online workshops and training sessions that address community needs.

Community partners can include non-profits, local government agencies, schools, healthcare organizations, environmental groups, and any other entities that address community needs. Partnerships are usually chosen based on the community partner’s needs, capacity, and fit with available courses.

Please find a list of Boise State’s active partners here.

If you have a student who misses a scheduled orientation, we strongly recommend that you email the student and ‘cc’ the instructor for the course. The message of your email will depend on whether or not the student will still have the opportunity to serve with your agency.

• You can offer the student the chance to attend another pre-scheduled date. Students should have a deadline to respond and understand what happens if they miss again.
• You can schedule an individual orientation.

If you cannot meet individually and a student misses the scheduled orientation(s), please email the student and contact SL staff at 208-426-1004.  We will help remove the student from the project.

Students should complete their orientation within the 3^rd and 4^th week of the semester.

For an example of the communication, see the ‘Missed Orientation Email Template‘.

If a student has not shown up for service at all (which is different than if they showed up but did not finish), you will need to contact the Service-Learning Program so that we can “officially” remove them from your roster. We also strongly recommend contacting the faculty to let him/her know that student never showed up to serve and is no longer registered with your agency.

We recommend that you first voice the concern directly to the student, via email and/or over the phone. Beginning the conversation with the student allows him/her the opportunity to offer a legitimate reason, if there is one, as to why they did not complete their service.

If the initial attempt is unsuccessful, please send an email to the student and ‘cc’ the instructor of the course. We recommend giving the student a deadline to contact you about the situation and to let them know they will be removed from your roster if they do not respond in the allotted time.

Above all else, please do not feel that you need to go above and beyond to track down student who is no longer serving your agency. Be sure to communicate with the instructor and let us know if we can help. The work you do and your time is too important.

Establishing clear expectations and maintaining regular communication will help to promote consistency with students.  Make sure to tell students at orientation that it does not benefit your agency to have students wait until the end of the semester to try and complete all their hours. Let students know that you need them to come on a regular basis. We recommend scheduling the first day of service during orientation and it is a good idea to have a set schedule for students sign up to serve.  It is also helpful to have these clear expectations written into your orientation materials.

The instructor of the course your project is matched with decides if orientation hours count toward the students’ total required service hours. Typically, orientation does count. However, for clarification, please ask the instructor.

Absolutely! Once  a student completes requirements for the service learning project, that student’s service should be considered complete, but we encourage students to continue serving with the agency on a voluntary basis. Students regularly continue their relationship with a community partner as a volunteer, donor, or ally.

Yes, please! One of the great values of hosting service-learning students is exposure to potential stakeholders. Community partners commonly go on to hire students who have been introduced via service-learning. If a student is currently engaged in service-learning, however, their service-learning hours and paid service as an employee should not be combined.

At the end of each semester, we celebrate and recognize outstanding community partners, faculty and students at our community partner/faculty mixer. When you RSVP for the event, you will be asked to nominate a student or faculty member for this award. We hope you will utilize this nominating process so we can publicly celebrate the outstanding efforts of our students and faculty.

More ways to recognize students and faculty:

• A kind word is always welcomed. If you have a student who is going above and beyond in his or her commitment, we recommend letting the faculty know.
• As for stellar SL faculty, it is a wonderful gesture to contact the chair of the instructor’s department to share just how much you value the instructor’s commitment to the community, as well as the specific impact of his or her involvement on your agency. If you need help connecting with the right person on campus, we are always here.
• Sharing with us the good word. We love to hear about students and faculty who are truly making a difference through our shared work. We also communicate our faculty and student successes with the media both on and off campus.

It is up to the instructors of the courses to determine if they will allow the student to serve both projects at one agency.  You should be consulted by the student in this situation because the agency must be able to offer an experience that relates to the learning objectives of both classes before approval.

If approved, the Service-Learning Program recommends a reduction of 25% of the combined hourly requirement.

Be our guest, be our guest! If campus is the most effective place to meet with students, you are absolutely welcome to. If you need a room for your meeting, please submit this room reservation form and we will be happy to provide one. If you will be driving to campus, please contact Casey McGee (caseymcgee@boisestate.edu) to receive instructions for free parking.

The number of students per project will vary depending on the nature of the project and the capacity of the agency.

The Service-Learning Program strongly advises new community partners to begin with 10 or less service-learning students. This allows the community partner, faculty, and students time to “ease into” the partnership in order to work through any challenges that might arise. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but we have found this to be very beneficial to most of our community partners.  More experienced community partners may wish to increase their cap as needed.

• Weigh the pros and cons of managing a larger group of students (i.e. how much staff time can your organization dedicate to managing more service-learners, etc).
• Consider going up incrementally, adding 5 to 10 students per semester, so you are not suddenly overwhelmed by service-learners.
• Consider feedback from current service-learning students about their experience before increasing the number of students in the same project

Service-Learning exists through the establishment of reciprocal relationships which benefits both the agency partner, through student service, and faculty partner, through the placement of students in meaningful service. We understand that in addition to student service hours, one of the benefits to our community partners may be a marketable relationship with Boise State University’s Service-Learning Program.

Below is our policy and guidelines for marketing your relationship with the Service-Learning Program at Boise State University. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the Coordinator for Faculty and Community Engagement at 208-426-5722.

• Policy:

The goal of any marketing of the partnership between the Service-Learning Program at Boise State and a community partner should be to demonstrate, either to the organization’s clients or the community at large, the benefit of this partnership to meet a critical community need.

Guidelines:

Any marketing materials must:

• Be clear that the partnership is between the Service-Learning Program at Boise State University, not the university at large
• Be honest about the extent of the relationship (i.e. “through the Service-Learning Program, Boise State students provide X amount of hours each semester to individuals, elders, elementary students, clients, etc. in our organization.”)
• Only to be used in times of active partnership and agree, in good faith, to be removed from web and print materials if the community partner becomes inactive for more than one semester.

Please note that due to Boise State University guidelines, community partners cannot use the Boise State logo on website or print materials.

Sure! Internships do have different requirements and expectations, so reach out to the following offices to learn more.

Boise State Career Services
BSU Career Services provides resources to help students find internships, including job and internship boards, career fairs, and one-on-one career counseling.
Boise State Career Services

Internships through Specific Colleges and Departments
Many colleges and departments within BSU offer tailored internship programs. For example:

College of Business and Economics: Internships at COBE

School of Public Service: Internships at SPS

College of Engineering: Internships at COEN

School of Social Work: Field Experience

What liability considerations do I need to make while working with students?

• Risk Assessment and Management:

Identify Potential Risks. Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential hazards associated with the activities and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.
Safety Protocols: Establish and enforce safety protocols to minimize the risk of accidents or injuries. Emergency Procedures: Have clear procedures in place for handling emergencies, including medical emergencies, natural disasters, and other unexpected events.

• Supervision and Training

Proper Supervision: Ensure that students are adequately supervised during their service learning activities.
Training: Provide necessary training to students to prepare them for their tasks and to ensure they understand safety procedures and organizational policies.

• Insurance Coverage

General Liability Insurance: Ensure the organization has adequate general liability insurance to cover any accidents or injuries that might occur during the service learning activities.

• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU):

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): Boise State establishes MOUs that outline the responsibilities of both the University and the Community Partner, including liability issues. If a service occurs remotely and does not involve direct contact with clients, it is considered low-risk. If the service occurs at your service location or involves interacting with clients, potential risk increases.
Waivers and Releases: Have students sign waivers or release forms that acknowledge the risks involved and release the organization from certain liabilities.

• Communication

Clear Communication: Ensure there is clear communication between the community partner, educational institution, and students regarding expectations, responsibilities, and procedures.

YES!

Our faculty has chosen SL for their classroom because they believe that it makes a difference in student learning. A critical piece of that learning involves students actually showing up and being engaged. To that end, we strongly recommend you incorporate a student accountability policy into your orientation materials and communicate with faculty when a student is not adhering to your policy.

For example, see the ‘Student Accountability Template’.

It is suggested because students may need to be reminded that they are representing your organization, as well as Boise State University, during their service.

For example, see the ‘Student Dress Code Template’.

It is highly recommended because some students do not yet have work experience and will require some up-front guidelines. It is also recommended that you have two copies of this during orientation. Have the student sign one to keep and sign one to give to you.

For example, see the ‘Code of Conduct Template‘.

It is highly recommended in order to protect the confidentiality of your clients. It is also a good idea to include a student agreement that protects the digital media collected at your agency.

For example, see the ‘Student Confidentiality and Video Use Agreement’.

• If it is a life threatening injury, call 911 or get transported to the nearest emergency room.
• If it is not life threatening, follow up with St. Luke’s Occupational Health Clinic.
• As soon as possible, contact the instructor, the agency supervisor, and the Service-Learning Director at 426-2380. The Service-Learning Director will complete accident forms and work with Risk Management.

The student’s health insurance would be the primary financial resource for the students.
(All full time students are required to carry health insurance. The BSU Service-Learning Office strongly encourages part-time students to purchase health insurance).

** If the student is injured at the agency, the student would have the right to file a Workers’ Compensation claim against the agency or Boise State University.  Agencies working with Service-Learning students are required to carry liability insurance to cover Service-Learning students.  Some exceptions apply; contact the Service-Learning Director at 426-2380 for further information.

** The University’s liability coverage, through the State of Idaho, covers all approved Boise State Practicum and student training programs, including Service-Learning, except for clinical medical training programs. (i.e. nursing, pharmacy, radiological, physical therapy, dietetics, occupational therapy, physical assistants, etc.) These State exempt Practicums are covered by Nursing’s own Boise State University Student Professional Liability Insurance policy for Clinical Medical Practicum students. Boise State faculty and staff are covered for liability through our State insurance subject to the limits of the Idaho Tort Claims Act, while working within the “course and scope” of their assigned University responsibilities. A practicum is “a course of study involving practical application of previously studied theory under supervision of the colleges or universities of the State of Idaho.” Service-Learning meets this criteria.

The damage or injury to a third party may be covered by the State of Idaho’s liability insurance if a student**, faculty, or staff member acted negligently to cause the damage or injury while working within the course and scope of their Boise State University authorized, funded, and supervised activities.
State Agencies are covered with respect to third party tort liability by the State of Idaho, Department of Administration Risk Management Program utilizing the Retained Risk Account. This is a plan of liability coverage provided by and subject to provisions of the Idaho Tort Claims Act, and the Department of Administration, Risk Management statutes. The limit of liability is $500,000 per occurrence. Each Agency shall be liable to the other for damage to property of the other caused by such Agency in the performance of this Service-Learning Agreement or any related task order. If the damaged property (including vehicles) is covered by property or auto coverage through Risk Management, then Risk Management shall charge the damage or loss, including any deductible, to the responsible Agency.

If a student or the agency in which a student is placed decides to take action inconsistent with BSU policy and outside the scope of the Service-Learning activity, they do so entirely on their own.  Therefore, the student is not covered by Boise State’s insurance programs.  The placement should terminate if these actions seriously jeopardize the academic purposes of the placement.

NOTE: The placement of Service-Learning students in a given organization is primarily for academic purposes, and therefore does not constitute an endorsement of that organization’s principles by Boise State.

• Faculty and agencies should spend time educating and training students of potential risks and safety procedures specific to the Service-Learning project.
• Faculty and agencies should use informed consent forms to make sure they communicate potential risks and that student participants understand and accept these risks.
• Establish a line of communication for students to report issues to their agency supervisor.

• Students cannot drive clients as part of their service-learning experience.
• Students may elect to drive equipment and materials (ie. for planting projects, delivering food, etc.).
• Students should not be expected to drive their personal vehicle other than to and from the service.
• If driving is an essential part of the service, the agency must provide a vehicle and liability coverage.

Boise State is not liable for students getting to and from their service site. Ideally, Service-Learning staff and faculty will provide Service-Learning opportunities within walking distance and/or along major bus routes.

If a student or the agency in which a student is placed decides to take action inconsistent with BSU policy and outside the scope of the Service-Learning activity, they do so entirely on their own.  Therefore, the student is not covered by Boise State’s insurance programs.  The placement should terminate if these actions seriously jeopardize the academic purposes of the placement.

NOTE: The placement of Service-Learning students in a given organization is primarily for academic purposes, and therefore does not constitute an endorsement of that organization’s principles by Boise State.