Service Learning prepares students for the ‘real world’

Special to The Colonnade

Students at GC&SU are being prepared to enter the “real world” after college through the Service Learning efforts coordinated by the Office of Academic Engagement.

Service Learning provides a way to apply classroom knowledge to real life situations in the community. It is similar to the concept of community service, yet it takes place in connection with the classroom.

The Office of Academic Engagement is making service learning more visible on campus through events like the Service Learning Workshop, which took place on Friday, Feb. 17 as apart of Academic Engagement Week. More than 20 community leaders of non-profit agencies came to campus to meet with GC&SU faculty and staff.

Dr. Roger Weiss and Dr. Corky Broughton of Murray State University in Kentucky, recipients of a $200,000 service learning grant from the Kellogg Foundation, facilitated the event. Not only did they help faculty and staff understand the value of Service Learning, but they also complimented GCSU on being on the forefront of service learning programs among universities.

“This information provides a new perspective on our successes in service learning,” said Dr. Doris Moody, director of Academic Engagement. “The knowledge that we are ranked so high with two outstanding service learning scholars gives us the assurance we need to approach grant funding agencies to further our efforts in this vital area.”

One incentive for students to participate in service learning on campus is the Experiential Transcript, which documents each student’s achievements in service learning, community service, leadership, internships, studies abroad and scholarly and creative endeavors.

“Throughout the semester, supervising faculty submit service learning hours to the Office of Academic Engagement,” said Blake Shiver, a senior student and liaison for the Experiential Transcript. “The program and the hours are entered onto the Experiential Transcript at the end of every semester for each student that participated.”

Every student has an Experiential Transcript, viewable at paws.gcsu.edu, and available for update in the Office of Academic Engagement.

“Taking an experiential transcript out into the world of careers will validate the opportunities I’ve taken advantage of while at GC&SU and give official subjective material to employers who would otherwise simply have grades, scores and other objective material,” said Ashley Holder, a Georgia College student. “It’s like a resume booster.”

Students at Georgia College are already active in the local community. The GIVE Center estimates that in 2005, a total of 14,133 student volunteer hours saved Baldwin County $248,034.15. Georgia College students have contributed more than 40,000 hours to the community in the last five years.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 3 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry