p Center Accordion 1. Be a co-educator h3 <p>Service-learning is unique in that it allots students an opportunity to enhance the academic learning taking place in the classroom with meaningful service experiences in the community. As a community partner, you should think of yourselves as "partners" and "educators" in the students' learning process throughout their time at your organization. Students placed with your organization should have specific, defined learning objectives that should be met during their service experience. Your role as the co-educator is to enhance their understanding of how their service with your organization will help them meet those objectives and further deepening their education experience and knowledge of social responsibility.</p> <p>As a co-educator, you should feel that you are not only enhancing the academic learning but also the service experience of the students. Ask them questions that allow them to draw connections between what they learn in class and what it is they are working on at your organization. Have students reflect on the tasks you have assigned so they may gain a deeper understanding of the impact the work they complete has not only for your organization but the greater Reno community as well.</p> Top 2. Read the course syllabus h3 <p>Reading the syllabus for the course in which students placed with your organization are enrolled in is certainly not a requirement of being a community partner. However, it may help your organization understand the background knowledge students are gaining through their academic learning. Knowing what it is students are learning in the classroom may assist the partner in providing additional knowledge that can expand on the academic knowledge and enrich students' experiences with the organization. It is suggested that the students are asked to either provide a copy of their syllabus or briefly summarized the materials discussed in the course so the service experience can best support academics.</p> Top 3. Provide students with a clear service description h3 <p>It is important to provide students placed within your organization for a service-learning placement with a clear description of what tasks they will be completing. Community partners should give students tasks or experiences that help the organization strive towards their mission and make an impact in the community.</p> Top 4. Be realistic with your expectations of students and their time commitments h3 <p>Remember that when working with the University, you are working within a semester time frame. Students will often have a limited number of hours they must complete throughout the semester, such as 1-2 hours each week for 15 weeks. You may have to adapt your traditional volunteer schedule or expectations in order to accommodate students for the duration of a semester.</p> Top 5. Communicate with the faculty member and Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement h3 <p>In order to build sustainable relationships, communication between all parties must occur before, during, and after the semester. Communication should not be solely between the community partner and the Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement. Ideally, the partner will also communicate directly with the faculty to help ensure that students are getting the most out of their experience and that the learning objectives are being met. The Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement will ask community partners to complete a survey and the end of each semester but we strongly encourage you to communicate with us at any point during the if you have any concerns or suggestions.</p> Top 6. Orient and supervise students on-site h3 <p>Community partners should provide students some form of orientation once they arrive at the organization to begin their service. The University does not have a uniform orientation that all partners must follow so partners can tailor the orientation to their individual organization and what makes sense for them. Below are some suggestions of information that you may wish to include in an on-site orientation:</p> <ul> <li>The mission of the organization</li> <li>The population and demographics served by the organization</li> <li>What services or programs are offered by the organization</li> <li>Discuss appropriate dress code for students</li> <li>Provide contact information for the on-site supervisor and any other individuals the student(s) may be working with on-site</li> <li>Any confidentiality policies in place that students need to be aware of and whether photos or videos are allowed</li> <li>Emergency procedures students should follow in case of an emergency</li> <li>Inform students if and where they need to sign in at the beginning of their service each time</li> </ul> <p>Also, it may be beneficial to provide students with a tour of the site where they will be serving. Point out things such as restrooms, emergency exits, and where students can place personal items such as a backpack or purse while completing service.</p> Top 7. Be realistic with your ability to host students h3 <p>A faculty member or staff member from the Office of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement may approach you with an opportunity to place students at your organization for a particular course. However, your organization may not be able to support a large number of students at that given time. Instead of trying to accommodate more students than you are easily able to, offer a number of students that your organization can accommodate in order to make the placement and service process less stressful on the faculty member, students, and more important, yourself.</p> Top false false