Service-Learning
noun
Unpaid time spent serving the needs of a Non-Profit or Government Agency while enhancing classroom learning, gaining career readiness skills, exploring passions, and engaging in community.
MAKE YOUR SERVICE-LEARNING COUNT
Step 1: EXPLORE
Discover service-learning opportunities that align with your interests, major, and career goals. Learn how to find community partners, reach out professionally, and identify approved experiences.
Search using these key words to find relevant Service-Learning opportunities:
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Major: Enter your major/minor to see relevant SL opportunities (e.g., Psychology, Engineering, Finance).
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NACE Career Readiness Competencies: Search by skills you want to develop (e.g., Technology, Teamwork, Professionalism).
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“Ongoing”: View opportunities that occur more than once and allow continued service.
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“Virtual”: Find experiences you can complete online for Service-Learning hours.
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“Guided”: Explore preplanned experiences with transportation provided — just RSVP and show up ready to serve!
Finding a Great Community Partner Match:
Try to find opportunities that connect to your major or the work you hope to do in the future.
This will help enhance your class experience and build your résumé for the future.
Reaching out to Community Partners:
When you reach out to a community partner by email or phone make sure to include the following information:
- Who you are and what you're passionate about
- Why you're reaching out (is it for a class or for your graduation requirement?)
- Your contact information and when you have availability
Benefits of Service-Learning Embedded Courses:
- Earn academic credit while completing your Service-Learning requirement
- Apply classroom concepts to real community needs
- Develop transferable, career-ready skills through hands-on experience
- Build your résumé with meaningful, purpose-driven work
View the document above to see SRVC courses organized by college.
Step 2: CREATE
Submit and monitor your Eagle Service Network form. This step ensures your service experience is reviewed, approved, and qualifies for service-learning hours. Video guide below!
Submit and monitor your Eagle Service Network form.
This step ensures your service experience is reviewed, approved, and officially qualifies for service-learning hours.
- Create an Eagle Service Network form and check the status until it is either approved or rejected.
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- Pending: The Eagle Service Network form is awaiting review by someone in our office.
- Approved: The Eagle Service Network form has been reviewed by someone in our office and the community partner, and the experience meets our service-learning qualifications. NOW, you can serve!
- Rejected: form has been reviewed by someone in our office and the community partner and experience do not meet our service-learning qualifications. You may review the comment left by clicking edit on the ESN form and then resubmit if applicable.
Step 3: SERVE
Engage in meaningful service with approved nonprofit or government organizations while building skills and enhancing your academic experience. Learn what counts, how service can connect to your major, and how to serve with student groups.
Service-Learning:
Unpaid time spent serving the needs of a Non-Profit or Government Agency while enhancing classroom learning, gaining career readiness skills, exploring passions, and engaging in community.
When in doubt: Fill out an Eagle Service Network form and await review - if your form is approved then you can proceed with the service-learning experience.
Connection to Major:
- Eagle Link Major Search: type your major/minor into the searchbar to see revelant SL opportunities.
- EX: Psychology, Engineering, Finance, etc.
- Service-Embedded (SRVC) Courses
- View a Community Engaged Sample Résumé HERE or review resources provided by FGCU Career Development Services to craft a résumé tailored to you and your professional journey!
Connection to Sustainable Development Goals:
4 Types of Service:
Direct: Service that directly impacts the people, places, animals, or things impacted.
Indirect: Service that supports impact without direct contact.
Advocacy: Service focused on raising awareness, educating, or promoting change.
Research: Service that gathers new information to inform action.
BONUS: Virtual
Search "virtual" on Eagle Link to see experiences that you can complete virtually for service-learning hours.
Active Citizen Continuum:
Member: Not concerned with their role in social issues.
Volunteer: Well-intentioned but may not be well-educated about the social issues they are serving.
Conscientious Citizen: Concerned with discovering the root causes of social issues.
⭐ Active Citizen: Community and contributing to solving the root causes of social issues becomes a priority in ones life choices.
- This is the stage of the continuum that we hope students will strive for and achieve through service-learning. 🎯
Serving with Student Groups:
FSL (Fraternity and Sorority Life):
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Service must benefit a nonprofit or government agency, not your chapter.
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Log the agency, not your chapter.
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Chapter meetings, recruitment, and chapter fundraising do not count.
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FSL tracking log available (hours must still be submitted in Eagle Service Network).
RSO's (Registered Student Organizations):
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Service must benefit a nonprofit or government agency, not your club.
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Log the agency, not your organization.
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Club meetings, recruitment, and club fundraising do not count.
Class-Based Group Work:
Step 4: REFLECT & TRACK
Reflect on your experience and record your completed service-learning hours. These are required steps for hours to be applied toward your graduation requirement.
Reflect:
- The Self Evaluation should be completed after completing your service-learning experience.
- This is your chance to reflect on what you have learned, what skills you have gained, and the impact of your experience, not only on the community, but also your!
- Completing the Self Evaluation is required for your hours to count toward your service-learning graduation requirement.
- Simply click on the Self Evaluation button under your ESN form next to the track hours button, answer the questions, and submit!
Track:
- Click the track hours button under the title of your service experience and scroll down to find the green TRACK HOURS button. Do not use the dropdown bar to track hours.
- For you and your supervisors' convenience, please wait until you have concluded the service-learning experience, or the semester is over, to track the total number of hours you served. Once you track your hours on a form, you will not be able to add more.
The community partner final evaluation email sent to your supervisor to verify your hours will not be sent immediately after you track your hours, so please be patient and wait a business day for them to receive the email.
Once they receive the email to complete the community partner final evaluation, they must either select YES or NO to either verify or deny the hours you tracked for the experience.
Checking the Status of your Hours:
If your supervisor verifies your tracked hours and you have completed the self evaluation,
those hours will transfer to your Degree Works. We recommend you check to confirm
that the hours you tracked count towards your service-learning graduation requirement.
If the hours are not in your Degree Works after a few business days, but you believe you have completed all the required steps,
please review the FAQ below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once hours are tracked and verified, you can view your total verified Service-Learning hours on the top banner of Degree Works.
Note: The status dropdown on your form is not a reliable indicator of whether hours will appear in Degree Works.
If your hours are not appearing in Degree Works, one or more steps below may be incomplete.
Please confirm ALL of the following:
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Form submitted: Your Service-Learning experience was submitted through the Eagle Service Network.
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Form approved: The form has been reviewed and approved by our office, confirming it meets Service-Learning requirements.
- "Approved" DOES NOT mean your hours are tracked and/or verified by your supervisor.
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Hours tracked: You recorded your hours by clicking the green “Add Hours” button. Hours can only be entered once per form.
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Self Evaluation completed: Your required student self-evaluation has been submitted.
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Community Partner Evaluation completed: Your supervisor has responded YES or NO to your tracked hours. Click the Evaluation under your form to view their response.
Most undergraduate students at FGCU are required to complete 80 Service-Learning hours.
Upper-level transfer students are typically required to complete 40 Service-Learning hours.
Because requirements can vary, always confirm your specific requirement in Degree Works.
The deadline to complete Service-Learning hours is listed on the Academic Calendar for the semester you plan to graduate. Students are strongly encouraged to complete hours as early as possible to avoid graduation delays.
No. Service-Learning experiences do not need to be related to your major or minor, though we strongly recommend choosing experiences that support your career goals and résumé.
You are also not required to serve with agencies listed in the Community Partner Database. Students may serve with any nonprofit or government agency, regardless of location, as long as the experience meets Service-Learning guidelines and is approved through the Eagle Service Network.
Supervisors must complete the Community Partner Evaluation sent by Symplicity to verify your Service-Learning hours. Click the Evaluation under your form to view their response.
If your hours have not been verified:
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Confirm you have tracked your total hours, and follow up with your supervisor to remind them to complete the evaluation.
OR
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If the supervisor responded NO, review their comments and take the required action.
Yes. If you were enrolled at FGCU at the time of service and the experience meets Service-Learning guidelines, you may create a form to track those hours.
A staff member from the agency must still serve as your supervisor and verify your hours. We recommend contacting the agency before creating your form to confirm that your previous supervisor is still available. If not, ask who can verify your hours on their behalf.
Service-Learning Fact Vs. Fiction
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🏢 Organizations & Eligibility
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🤝 Fraternities, Sororities, RSOs & Clubs
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💼 Internships, Block Experiences & Teaching Roles
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📝 Type of Work Performed
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📋 Form Details & Documentation
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🧭 Experiential Learning Types
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