The Governor’s Proposed Community
Service Graduation Requirement

Grouping of Questions Raised in AS-2471-99/AA/FGA

Developed by Dr. Gerald Eisman, San Francisco State University

Section I: Overview of Program

1. Clarity
   Is the proposal clear in its intent in terms of the breadth of the application of the proposed requirement across programs and the timeline for its implementation?
   
   
2. Incentives vs. Mandate
   Do you agree with the statement in the May Academic Senate CSU resolution that a service ethic is fostered better by providing incentives and opportunities than by mandating service?
   
   
3. Benefits
   What would you foresee as benefits to students in the performance of students? How and why could this enhance their learning?
   
   
4. Credit
   To what extent should community service be (or not be) credit-bearing?
   
   Would this requirement be met in the lower division or upper division years? How would you address transfer and articulation issues with community colleges in your service area?
   
   
5. Hours of Service
   What limits, if any, should be attached to the terms "service" and "community," assuming that a "community service graduation requirement" should be multifaceted?
   
   What would be an appropriate amount of community service (e.g., number of hours) to be required for graduation?
   
   
6. Who Judges Acceptability
   For courses on our campuses that have a service component, who will evaluate the appropriateness of that service toward satisfaction of the community service graduation requirement under this program?
   
   
7. Articulation
   Do you anticipate any special problems concerning transfer and articulation issues between the CSU and the UC and/or Community Colleges related to a community service graduation requirement?
   
   
8. Waiver
   If community service is not to be a blanket graduation requirement, which programs should be excluded and/or which students should be exempt?
   
   
9. Logistics
   If a student volunteer is rejected by the proposed agency, what provisions will you be able to make to accommodate the student?
   
   
10. Time to Graduation
    What effect would you anticipate on time-to-graduation?
    
    
11. Assessment
    What assessment measures are you prepared to set up to evaluate the success or failure of the community service program?

Section II: Liability Questions

1. Liability
   Would you anticipate any new, burdensome issues regarding legal liability between the campus and the community?
   
   Would there be any unusual dangers and risks in your service area?
   
   If your students in clinical professional programs perform community service, will they be risking any particular liability?
   
   What area of campus will take on the responsibility for resolving legal issues arising from the performance of community service?
   
   
2. Fingerprinting
   If community service is to be done in K-12 classrooms, can issues and costs of fingerprinting, character references, drug-testing, and the like be resolved?

Section III: Issues for and from the Community

1. Demand
   Are there enough off-campus service demand and opportunities for your campus population for the performance of community service?
   
   Are there potentials for damage to already-accredited professional programs because of an increase in the ratio of students to supervisors (or volunteers to agencies)?
   
   Do you anticipate your students competing with other state interests — e.g., a need to place welfare recipients in community service jobs?

2. Areas of Need
   What community needs in your community might be addressed by community service done by your students? Who would determine what these community needs are?
   
   Should assessment of community needs be done with attention to the effect of mandatory community service on town/gown relationships?
   
   
3. Community Ability to Accept
   Have you done or anticipated a survey of your community’s ability to train, accept, and monitor alternating flows of student volunteers? How will they affect agency profiles?

Section IV: Institutional Resources

1. Resources
   On your campus, who would monitor completion of this requirement? How efficient would this be? What additional resources would be needed for this?
   
   What specific costs (resources, staff, supervising, and reporting) would you anticipate in implementing such a requirement?