Notating Service on the Transcript

There seem to be three different ways students can get notation on their transcripts for service:

Non-Credit Internships: Internship duties are performed in a community service position and do not generally receive academic credit but appear with a non-credit notation on the transcript.

Service-designated Course: Service-learning courses are designated on the transcript either by the course title (for example, at University of Redlands, CSAC is the abbreviation for Community Service Activity Course, and that is the way students service experiences are noted on the transcript), or by the addition of a letter (for example, at California State University, Fresno, faculty submit a request for the designation. an .S. next to the course title that goes into the bulletin, the schedule, and also onto the students. transcript as service notation). Faculty must get approval for a course to be designated as a service-learning course (see common criteria below).

Unit Add-Ons: Some universities allow students to add a one-unit course to any regular course they are taking, and this one unit is earned through participation in community service. The campus community service office is typically responsible for coordinating these add-on courses, including assisting students with agency placement and leading reflection sessions.

Common Criteria for Designating a Course as a Service-Learning course

Faculty generally must submit an application to a review panel in order to designate their courses as service-learning courses. Below, compiled from several colleges and universities nationwide, are common criteria that faculty must meet to receive the designation for their courses:

The syllabus must reflect incorporation of service experience into teaching and learning objectives for the course, as well as an explanation of the service- learning component and pedagogy.

Partner agencies identify needs to be met by students performing service and are involved in planning for the service and evaluation of service; some schools also require that the partner agencies are involved in organizing the course itself.

Faculty and students become acquainted with agencies students are to be placed with prior to students commencing service, understanding agency mission, clientele, location; additionally students receive some training and have a full understanding of their rights and responsibilities in the agency.

Academic credit is earned for learning gained from the experience, not for the service itself; the courses are academically rigorous, as determined by department and college curriculum committees, and are appropriate for students academic preparation.

The service experience is informed by knowledge from the discipline and is integrated into the course through readings, projects, class presentations, meaningful and on-going reflection (including dialogues about community issues and the need for service).

The service opportunities are designed to further students civic education.

The course must offer students an opportunity to learn from each other in addition to learning from the instructor.

Students must complete a minimum number of hours (commonly 20 hours) of service and the community service component must comprise a minimum/maximum (i.e. no less than 15% and no more than 30%) percentage of the total course grade.

The community partnership does not represent a conflict of interest for students or faculty.

Web Resources on Service-Learning in Faculty Review, Tenure & Promotion

The following resources focus primarily on the review, tenure and promotion process among four-year college and university faculty, though many links include general information that is applicable to both the two-year and four-year system. Those interested in information specific to the community college should check with the Campus Compact National Center for Community Colleges (http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/organizations/community/compact/) or with the American Association of community colleges (http://www.aacc.nche.edu/).

Service-Learning Scholarship and the Faculty Review, Promotion and Tenure Process in the NSLC Fact Sheet entitled "Opportunities for Service-Learning Research and Scholarship in Higher Education": http://www.servicelearning.org/article/archive/97/#faculty

Service-Learning and Tenure:
http://csf.colorado.edu/forums/service-learning/96/apr96/0034.html

Service Learning and the Retention, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) Process,
Center for Service Learning at San Jose State University:
http://csl.cob.sjsu.edu/fac-topics_rtp.html

Service Learning and RTP Guide, California State University, Long Beach
Community Service Learning Center:
http://www.csulb.edu/centers/cslc/mythanh/rtp2003.htm; pdf version at
http://www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/pdf_files/Service%20Learning%20and%20RTP%20Guide.pdf

Faculty Rewards, Promotion and Tenure (RPT) Resources, UCLA Service Learning
Clearinghouse Project: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/slc/modelp.html#rewards

Guidelines for Retention Tenure Promotion (RTP) Files, California State University, Fresno:
http://www.csufresno.edu/aps/forms/rtpguidelines.pdf

Center for Service Learning: Promotion and Tenure, Western Washington University:
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~csl/promotion.htm