What are the benefits of Service Learning?

• There are many benefits of Service Learning besides the opportunity to work with your community and earning course credit. Many people enjoy working with non-profit agencies in their community that need help. You get to work at a job or field experience of your choosing and reap the benefits of your hard work. Believe me, your time contribution is needed and will be greatly appreciated!
• Many people often have their attitudes changed and undergo internal value changes as well. You gain another person's perspective on the community and valuable job experience.

How do I get started?

• To get started you need to call Sherrie Hubbard at (509) 963-2304 and/or contact Dr. James Pappas at (509) 963-3075. You must enroll in a Service Learning class while participating in this program. If you qualify for work study, contact the Office of Financial aid. Then log onto the financial aid website and request a workstudy grant application. This can be done online or at the Student Employment Office. It can take up to two weeks to have this completed, so get it done early. The financial aid office will calculate how much you have in a workstudy grant for each quarter.
• Visit the Work Study Website for more information or you can e-mail Student Employment at seo@cwu.edu.
• For open jobs visit Our Online Job Description Listing.
• To calculate how many hours you will work each quarter divide the total amount by how much you are being paid. Then divide by ten weeks and this is approximately how many hours you can work each week.
  • Example: $1400/$11.56/10= approximately 11 hours a week.
• Identify a non-profit agency in the community that you can work with. You may need to contact them to determine the viability of a job. There are over 20 listed on the Campus Partners list.
• Go to Online Student Survey and fill out the form. This will provide us will valuable information about the community. It only takes about five minutes to complete.

Who determines if I qualify for workstudy?

• The Financial Aid Officee will determine if you are eligible for workstudy . You must fill out a FAFSA and have "a financial need" to qualify. This means that if you have a gap between the loans you are offered and the cost of attendance, you probably will qualify for workstudy. You need to be aware that you cannot exceed your "cap" or allotted amount of workstudy money each quarter. Once you have reached that "cap" you can continue to work at your job, but you will not be paid! It is your responsibility to keep track of your allotted amount.
• If you do not use all of your money for each quarter, it may carry over into the next so you can work more hours, if approved by Dr. Pappas and the Office of Financial Aid. If you need more money than is allowed by your loans and workstudy, on campus non-workstudy jobs are available or you can work for local businesses for a little extra cash. On and Off Campus, non-workstudy jobs, are posted in the SUB or in Barge Hall.

Can I still participate in the course if I am not eligible for workstudy?

• Yes, you can still participate in this class if you are not eligible for workstudy. It is just a nice bonus for serving your community.

EDCS 309/509 what is the difference?

• There is a difference between the EDCS 309 and 509 classes. First, if you do not have a Bachelor's Degree you cannot enroll in EDCS 509. EDCS 509 involves three credits, extra tuition money, and more class work. If you are a graduate student and do not need the credits, it is recommend to take EDCS 309. It will save you approximately $200 a quarter.

Do I need to register every quarter for this class?

• Yes, you need to register for this class every quarter that you are working with this workstudy grant. Dr. Pappas cannot waive this class due to the grant proposal. If this class overloads your credits, you will need to pay the extra tuition and charges accompanied with taking this class.

Do I really need to buy the book?

• Yes, you really need to buy the book. The book comes in very handy for writing reflections and doing the midterm assignment questions. This book offers excellent examples on how to write reflections and offers tips for first time Service Learners. The book is under $25 and you will only need to buy it once. Keep your eyes open for used books, or check out Amazon.com for bargains.

What are the course requirements?

• The course requirements are identifying a community need and completing a field experience/job at a non-profit agency, then completing a Project Proposal, an Abstract and Introduction to the Project Proposal, keep a weekly reflection log. This should be e-mailed to Dr. Pappas. You will also need to comple the various assignments given throughout the quarter. You also must come to the scheduled class meetings.
• You can download all forms on this website or by contacting Dr. Pappas. You will receive all of the forms the first day of class.

How often do we meet?

• The class meets approximately four to five times a quarter to discuss ideas, turn in assignments, and brainstorm ideas with your fellow classmates. Classes are very informal and you can interchange your attendence and discussion with any of the class sections.

• When you complete your course assignments and field work, the grade received is either Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory. Usually as long as you do the work and meet all of the course requirements, students will receive a Satisfactory. This grade will not influence your cumulative GPA.

How can I do stuff online?

• Through collaboration with the Civic Enagement Center (SLVC), you can now do Time Reports and Journal Entries online. Please follow the jouranl format guidelines. These can be done daily or weekly. This format is preferred over a Word document. Go to the Civic Enagement Center and sign up. Then log in to the database. Sign up for an activity and create a Time Report. You will be shown how to do this in class.