Service Learning
Service Learning, Community Service and Volunteerism
As the catalyst that can spark lifelong commitment to the community, service and volunteerism are at the core of the civic engagement movement at Mount Wachusett Community College. In collaboration with the MWCC Student Life Office and a wide variety of community partners, a diverse range of service opportunities are offered for community-minded individuals and groups each year. The Brewer Center assists in connecting interested individuals or groups with nonprofits in the region looking for support or volunteerism. Projects take place both on and off campus.
For more information, visit the student page of the Brewer Center's website
Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy integrated into a course by faculty to contextualize classroom learning and to provide much needed volunteer services to our community. Service learning offers students the opportunity to develop and refine 21st century job readiness skills, such as critical and creative thinking; collaboration; communication; and interpersonal skills. It also reinforces the theoretical learning occurring in the classroom in a way that provides “real world” context.
Service learning is different than volunteerism. Service Learning at MWCC has three core tenets:
- The experience is closely tied to course learning objectives
- It is integrated into the grade for the course. Each faculty member can determine individually how this is done, and it should be reflected in the syllabus for your course
- Student reflection on the experience is included
- Hours are reported through GivePulse, MWCC's single sign-on service tracking tool. It is available through iConnect as a tile on the front page
SERVICE RECOGNITION AT GRADUATION
Service Learning, volunteerism and civic learning activities are all eligible for some kind of recognition at the point of graduation. Any civic learning activity that you checked-in at should be reflected in your co-curricular transcript available to you through InvolveMOUNT; your service hours records are available to you through GivePulse, which you are able to retain after graduation. These are powerful tools to bring into a job interview to discuss how your experience in the community has helped to prepare you for employment in the field.
AWARD RECOGNITION LEVELS
Awards are cumulative over your time as a student and awarded for each level achieved
- 20+ hours of service: a commemorative service pin
- 40+ hours of service: a Civic Scholar medallion
- 75+ hours of service: an exceptional service pin
- 100 + hours of service: certificate of congratulations from President Vander Hooven
- 200+ hours of service: Graduation Service Cords
- 300+ hours of service: Graduation Service Stole
Service is accrued over the student’s entire course of study at MWCC and is recognized at graduation. Service learning is required in some courses, and optional in others. It is at the individual faculty member's discretion as to whether service learning is an option in any given course. Most courses with service learning are tagged in the registration system as either “SLR” (service learning required) or “SLO” (service learning optional). An academic advisor may assist in finding courses with the option that is right for an individual student. Once a student has identified and obtained approval for a service opportunity, and has submitted all required documentation to the Brewer Center, the student is responsible for reporting all hours completed through GivePulse, which can be found on iConnect. Faculty and advisors are responsible for verifying hours reported by each student.
For more information about service learning, please visit The Senator Stephen M. Brewer Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement (the Brewer Center) in room H133 at the Gardner Campus, or visit the website.