Student Resources | Service Learning

Photo of student assisting K-12 students in the classroom

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 Service-Learning Opportunities
Toggle More Info
Eagle Link

Search using these key words to find relevant Service-Learning opportunities:

Major: Enter your major/minor to see relevant SL opportunities (e.g., Psychology, Engineering, Finance)

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!

NACE Career Readiness Competencies: Search by skills you want to develop (e.g., Technology, Teamwork, Professionalism)

“Ongoing”: View opportunities that occur more than once and allow continued service

“Virtual”: Find experiences you can complete online for Service-Learning hours

"Guided": Explore preplanned experiences with transportation provided — just RSVP and show up ready to serve!
Database

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!

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
Service courses

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.
Connection to Sustainable Development Goals:
- Learn more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Explore the SDG Resource Guide
When in doubt: Create an Eagle Service Network form and await review - if your form is approved then you can proceed with the service-learning experience.
Step 2: Create a Service-Learning Form in Eagle Service Network
Toggle More Info
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.

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.

Eagle Service Network Written guide
Step 3: Track Your Service-Learning Hours and Reflect on Your Experience
Toggle More Info
These are required steps for hours to be applied toward your graduation requirement:
track hours: VIDEO GUIDE

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.
REflect: VIDEO GUIDE

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!
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 on your Degree Works after a few business days, but you believe you have completed all the required steps, please review the FAQ below.

Take Your Engagement Further Share Your Service-Learning Success Story

Photo of a student with a beaker

Photo of students looking at design plans

blood

chem

mangrove

news

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:

Form submitted: Your Service-Learning experience was submitted through the Eagle Service Network.
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.
Hours tracked: You recorded your hours by clicking the green “Add Hours” button. Hours can only be entered once per form.
Self Evaluation completed: Your required student self-evaluation has been submitted.
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:

Confirm you have tracked your total hours, and follow up with your supervisor to remind them to complete the evaluation.

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

🏢 Organizations & Eligibility
Toggle More Info

Fiction: Any volunteer work counts as service-learning.
Fact: Service-learning must benefit a registered nonprofit or government agency. Service for businesses, informal groups, individuals, or unregistered organizations does not qualify.

Fiction: If an organization “does good,” it counts.
Fact: The organization must be currently registered as a nonprofit or be a government agency at the time of service. Organizations with revoked or inactive nonprofit status cannot be approved.

Fiction: Using an organization’s acronym is fine.
Fact: Always list the full legal name of the organization. This helps us accurately verify nonprofit or government status.

Fiction: I can list my fraternity, sorority, or campus club as the organization served.
Fact: You must list the nonprofit or government agency that directly benefited—not the student organization you are associated with.

Fiction: I can serve Home Owners Associations (HOA).
Fact: HOA's are self-serving agencies that do not meet the requirements for service-learning.
🤝 Fraternities, Sororities, RSOs & Clubs
Toggle More Info

Fiction: Any fraternity/sorority or club activity counts as service-learning.
Fact: Only activities that directly benefit a nonprofit or government agency count. Activities that benefit only the chapter or club do not.

Fiction: Holding an executive board position earns service-learning hours.
Fact: Duties associated with chapter leadership do not count unless you clearly document specific service performed for a qualifying nonprofit.

Fiction: Attending meetings or planning events counts as service.
Fact: Meetings, recruitment, fundraising for the chapter treasury, or internal planning do not meet service-learning criteria.
💼 Internships, Block Experiences & Teaching Roles
Toggle More Info

Fiction: Internship hours can also count for service-learning.
Fact: Hours cannot be double-counted. Internship hours tracked in Eagle Career Network cannot also be tracked in Eagle Service Network for service-learning.

If the experience meets the service-learning requirements, hours spent exceeding required internship hours can be tracked in Eagle Service Network for service-learning hours.

Fiction: All College of Education Block experiences are service-learning.
Fact: Only Block 1 and Block 2 may qualify for service-learning and forms should be submitted in Eagle Service Network. Block 4 and 5 must be submitted in Eagle Career Network.

Fiction: Helping a professor or class automatically counts.
Fact: To count as service-learning, you must be an officially registered, approved non-stipend TA, LA, or CA.
📝 Type of Work Performed
Toggle More Info

Fiction: Shadowing professionals counts as service-learning.
Fact: Shadowing alone does not qualify. You must perform active service that benefits the organization.

Fiction: Donated items = service hours.
Fact: Hours must reflect actual time spent (e.g., collecting, transporting, or processing donations), not the quantity donated.

Fiction: Sharing class notes counts as service-learning.
Fact: Note-taking only qualifies if you are officially approved through FGCU Adaptive Services and list Adaptive Services as the organization served.
📋 Form Details & Documentation
Toggle More Info

Fiction: I don’t need details if I haven’t started yet.
Fact: Even if you haven’t started, you must describe what you expect to do during the service.

Fiction: Any supervisor email is acceptable.
Fact: Your supervisor must be:

An employee of the nonprofit/government agency, or

An FGCU faculty or staff member

Fiction: My personal email can be used as the supervisor email.
Fact: The supervisor email must belong to the actual person verifying your hours.
🧭 Experiential Learning Types
Toggle More Info

Fiction: All experiential learning is service-learning.
Fact: Eagle Service Network is only for service-learning. Internships, paid work, or other experiential learning cannot be documented in Eagle Service Network.

Fiction: Selecting the learning type doesn’t matter.
Fact: You must select “Service-Learning” as the Experiential Learning Type for your hours to be reviewed correctly.

About Us

Make Your Service-Learning Count!

Take Your Engagement FurtherShare Your Service-Learning Success Story

Frequently Asked Questions

Service-Learning Fact Vs. Fiction

Take Your Engagement Further Share Your Service-Learning Success Story