it is meaningful and beneficial to students and communities
-- it achieves the governor's goal
Community service on the level the governor proposes will
require a significant commitment of funds by the State and the
Chancellor. Such resources are necessary to develop a range
of community service opportunities and a system to manage them.
It will also require a significant commitment by campus faculty,
staff and administrators in research and discussion among ourselves
and with our communities. To begin with, we need to determine
our current level of community service activity and consult
with our surrounding communities to determine their needs and
their ability to accommodate students who must meet this requirement.
We need to understand the life circumstances of our students
and the impact of the proposed new requirement on them. Only
then can we develop a viable plan for instituting this requirement,
including a determination of the appropriate amount (number
of hours) of service.
There are key issues - philosophical and practical - that
must be addressed before we undertake the task the governor
proposes.
Our primary concerns are:
The impact of this new requirement on students
In the mission statement of the CSU Northridge, we state,
"The University's first priority is to promote the welfare and
intellectual progress of students." Our fundamental responsibility
is to recruit, retain, educate and graduate our students. We
need to determine the effect of this requirement on a student's
progress toward the degree, and make sure we are not hindering
this progress or imposing new social and economic burdens with
this new requirement.
Our students at Northridge, like many other CSU campuses,
come from a range of socioeconomic circumstances that sometimes
work against a student's likelihood of graduation. Indeed, many
of our students are recipients of the community service offerings
of others. We have students living at the poverty line, on welfare,
even homeless.
In 1998-99, our Financial Aid Office funded over half of the
students attending Northridge. The average family income of
these students was $22,160. Most of these students must work
to augment their financial aid. Federal Work-Study funds are
awarded to the neediest of these students. Whenever possible,
students are encouraged to work rather than increase their loan
indebtedness. Still, the average CSU Northridge student loan
debt at graduation is $11,979.
In developing a plan we must take into account the diversity
of student circumstances and goals on our campus. We must ensure
that every student has equitable and reasonable opportunities
to complete this requirement without impeding a student's progress
toward her/his degree, and without imposing undue hardships
on individuals already struggling to support themselves and
often families while going to school.
The efficacy of mandating volunteerism
We agree with other CSU campuses that the implementation of
a community service requirement is problematic and for reluctant
students, it could be counterproductive. While we believe that
meaningful acts of service can broaden students' awareness of
community needs and empower students to proactively address
them, for some students it could transform indifference into
antipathy. A requirement could not only defeat the governor's
purpose but also solidify this resistance.
It is the responsibility of faculty to determine degree
requirements
Faculty self-governance, system-wide flexibility and campus
autonomy are essential if we are to develop a community service
program that is relevant and meaningful to students, justifiable
as pedagogy, and productive for our various communities. Once
faculty develop system-wide definitions and limits of community
service, campuses must be free to develop plans that are multi-faceted
and responsive to local constituencies.
This initiative requires a significant commitment of additional
resources
We need much more information to develop a plan that mutually
benefits our students and our communities. For our plan we propose
a three-year phase in as follows:
First year: Needs assessment study on all target populations
(students, faculty, community, administrators), including resource
implications for each constituency
Second year: Administrative feasibility and planning study,
including community information program and marketing/communication
plan
Third year: Pilot program of proposed continuum of options.
At the end of this year we will be able to evaluate the impact,
procedures and effectiveness of the pilot program.
The rationale for this timeline is that we need to discover
the current level of volunteerism among students and faculty.
We need information from various communities and groups on their
current needs and their capability to accommodate the influx
of students this mandate would produce. In our urban service
area this is a huge task.
CSU NORTHRIDGE PROPOSED CONTINUUM of SERVICE OPTIONS
At Northridge, we have four different programs that provide
a range of opportunities for community service, ranging from
credit-bearing coursework to paid or unpaid work for nonprofit
organizations to organized short-term projects. These programs
comprise our proposed continuum of service options described
below.
If community service is required, these programs must be aligned
if not integrated. This requires a significant investment of
resources for discussion, planning and implementation. The university
and the CSU system need to agree on a definition of community
service, minimum requirements and screening procedures, to begin
with. In addition, each of these programs will need to expand
to accommodate the demand.
The resource implications are the same for each component
of our proposed continuum. Criteria and standards must be developed,
oversight and responsibility assigned, validation procedures
created and implemented, and record keeping systems established.
A chart and explanation of our proposed Continuum of Service
Options follows.
This plan is intended to support the Governor's request for
a graduation/service requirement while maximizing our students'
ability to choose the manner in which they will fulfill it.
The proposed "Continuum of Service Options" provides four comparable
and equitable means by which students can meet the proposed
requirement. Students would be able to select any of the following
to accrue service hours:
Option 1: Take a designated service-learning class or other
credit-bearing class.
Option 2: Participate in a University-based service activity
that receives external government or foundation funding.
Option 3: Participate in Federal Work-Study community service
employment.
Option 4: Perform individual or group volunteer activity or
activities.
1. Academic Credit-bearing Coursework - Internships,
Field Experiences, Practica, Service-Learning Courses
At present, CSU Northridge offers a variety of credit-bearing
courses that include community service. Many departments offer
nonprofit or public service internships, field experiences,
practica and/or designated service learning courses that incorporate
relevant community service into traditional classroom (lecture/discussion
or laboratory) formats. Each semester approximately 15% of student
enrollments are in these types of courses.
Internships are usually capstone experiences in the major
taken by upper division students who have completed one or more
prerequisite courses that provide the theory and methodology
that enable meaningful practice in the field. When internships
are performed at nonprofit or public organizations, they can
fulfill the graduation/service requirement. Similarly, certain
disciplines, such as those in health or human services fields
with state licensing requirements, offer closely supervised
field work or practicum experiences for upper division students.
When these field assignments are done in public service or nonprofit
settings, they, too, will fulfill the graduation/service requirement.
Service-learning courses promote student learning through
active participation in meaningful and planned service experiences
in the community that are directly related to course content.
Research demonstrates many positive benefits of service learning,
such as enhancement of the student's grade point average, understanding
of course content, general knowledge, knowledge of a field or
discipline, and aspirations for advanced degrees. Service learning
is also associated with increased time devoted to homework and
studying, and more contact with faculty. In addition to these
positive academic outcomes, service learning coursework improves
community awareness and self-awareness, heightens sensitivity
to diversity, and promotes deeper commitments to civic responsibility
and social action. We believe that the optimum benefit to students
would come from their enrollment in courses with community service
components. This option on the continuum should be encouraged
whenever possible and feasible for the student.
Currently, the University has a Center for Community-Service
Learning with a faculty director on .8 reassigned time. She
has assisted approximately 40 faculty members to begin service-learning
classes since the Center opened in January 1998. Despite this
growth, at the present time, the University does not offer adequate
numbers or choices of courses to allow this option to be required
for students in every major. Mandatory service learning classes
could also pose problems for students who have demanding and/or
inflexible work schedules or other personal or financial burdens.
At present, no campus unit exists with the ability to assume
responsibility for approval, validation, monitoring and tracking
student records for those who meet the Governor's service requirement
by taking courses. There is no catalog designation that would
allow students to locate classes that would fulfill the proposed
requirement. Criteria for such a designation would have to be
developed and implemented by the Educational Policies Committee
of the Faculty Senate and courses would be approved through
the regular curriculum cycle. When students complete an approved
class, a validation instrument would have to be transmitted
to Admissions and Records for inclusion in the graduation check
and transcript. Admissions and Records will have additional
or new forms to develop and additional thousands of data entries
to perform.
2. University-based service activity that receives external
funding
Many department, college and university programs link student
service to external programs that are designed to improve the
quality of life for people in local communities. These programs
are often funded by grants from federal, state or local governments
and provide wages or stipends to students who perform such services
as tutoring, mentoring and college readiness training. Some
of these programs require concurrent enrollment in classes while
others are run through volunteer recruitment. Examples are GEAR-UP,
the Center for Academic Preparedness, and Future Scholars. These
programs receive grants from the U.S. Department of Education,
the Corporation for National Service and other public and private
entities. Given the economic profile of our students, we believe
that community service performed as a result of any grant designed
to foster community service should satisfy the proposed requirement.
The philosophical underpinnings of both programs are parallel.
Federal, state and local governments actively promote and fund
service.
At present, no campus unit exists with the ability to assume
responsibility for approval, validation, monitoring and tracking
student records for those who meet the Governor's service requirement
by performing University-based service activity that receives
external funding. Programs will have to be identified and appropriate
systems developed.
3. Work-Study
Federal Work-Study Community Service jobs are defined as services
which are identified by an institution of higher education through
formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental,
and community-based organizations, as those designed to improve
the quality of life for community residents, particularly low-income
individuals, or to solve particular problems related to their
needs. Examples of such jobs are America Reads and America Counts
tutors in elementary schools, and tutors and mentors in middle
schools and high schools placed through our Outreach Program.
The Federal Work-Study Program is required to spend a minimum
7% of Federal Work-Study student earnings for community service
jobs. Northridge has exceeded this minimum each year and continues
to develop increased numbers of community service employment
opportunities. As mentioned above, Federal Work-Study funds
are awarded to the neediest of the financial aid recipients.
If the community service jobs authorized and funded by the Federal
Work-Study Program were not eligible to meet the proposed requirement,
an additional work burden would be placed on these students,
jeopardizing retention and graduation rates.
The Federal Work-Study Program office now identifies and develops
appropriate community service job opportunities, documents hours
worked in those jobs, and reports hours worked to appropriate
offices. This program office follows Federal guidelines defining
community service, and FWS procedures to verify hours worked
in approved jobs and provide annual or semi-annual reports to
appropriate offices.
Building upon the existing Federal Work-Study Program will
require some adjustments and increased resources. Even a seemingly
small increase in staff workload (such as a forty-hour increase
over the academic year) is significant when staff members are
already stretched to meet existing program requirements. This
new commitment will require additional resources for programming
the database and other clerical demands, increasing professional
staff time to develop more jobs and oversee them, training and
supervising student assistant, and creating publicity materials
and mailings.
4. Volunteer Programs
The Volunteer Program at CSUN, housed within the Career Center
of the Student Affairs division, currently serves as a liaison
for community agencies seeking CSUN volunteers and for students
(either as part of a group or as individuals) seeking service
opportunities. Its primary function is as a referral service
to link students with appropriate, meaningful activities that
provide a service to the community. It also provides resource
assistance to agencies seeking volunteers and creates partnerships
with agencies to provide one-day and ongoing volunteer opportunities
for CSUN students.
The Volunteer Program currently relies on the voluntary nature
of its activities and is structured accordingly. It would need
to address more liability issues, add more substantive service
options for students, increase its relationships with community
sites, and more closely coordinate with other offices who share
responsibility for implementation and oversight of the proposed
requirement.
The Volunteer Program will be most affected in the area of
outreach and site regulation. It will need to spend a significant
amount of time developing, approving, regulating and managing
sites for students. There will also be additional needs in working
with students to make sure they know what options they have
and to find placements that will complement their academic and
career paths as they meet the proposed requirement. In addition,
it will need to assist the Office of Community Service Learning
in locating sites for students who cannot complete their service
at sites arranged by the professor. In addition, criteria must
be developed for host sites, surveys of clubs should be performed,
agency assessment procedures institutionalized, and interactive
databases developed and publicized across campus.
Committee:
Bonnie Campbell, Civil & Manufacturing Engineering
Robert Hanff, Associated Students President
Christie Logan, (Chair); Communication Studies
Maureen Rubin, Journalism
Stella Theodoulou, Political Science
