Service-Learning is a teaching and learning method that connects meaningful community service with academic learning through guided reflection. Areas of focus include:
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Values Clarification
- Career Exploration
- Social and Personal Development
- Civic and Community Responsiblity
Service-Learning enhances what is taught by extending students, learning beyond the classroom and providing opportunities for student to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real life situations in their communities, locally, nationally, and globally.
The goals of the Center for Service-Learning are to:
- Help students find appropriate placement sites for service-learning assignments or volunteer interests.
- Assist faculty in incorporating service-learning into their classes
- Build working relationships with our community partners in developing reciprocal service opportunities for students, faculty, and staff.
Service-learning opportunities are incorporated in many classes throughout the college. Interested students can also enroll for a 1, 2, or 3 credit service-learning class in any one of the 35 academic disciplines at serve at their choice of over 200 community agencies. We also coordinate some special service-based programs like, AmeriCorps, America Reads, and Phi Theta Kappa.
In order to learn more about the independent service-learning course visit the Online Orientation to get all the details about course expectation and enrollment procedures. After the service-learning orientation has been completed, students will be linked with a faculty advisor in their chosen discipline. This meeting is an important step, as the faculty advisor will be grading the student based on the academic work that is required. It is also the student's responsibility to select and meet with the community site supervisor they wish to work with in order to determine the scope of the service they will be performing while enrolled in their service-learning course. Finally, once these steps have been completed, the student will bring their Service-Learning Agreement Form to the office to register.
To graduate from the Honors Program at MCC the honors student must meet all the same academic conditions for graduation, as well as, fulfill the following program requirements:
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits of honors classes and,
- Complete a one-credit service-learning class.
The service-learning class can be done in 1, 2, or 3 credit increments and can either be taken for honors credit or as a regular service-learning course. To learn more about the Honors Program, their office is located on the south side of the MCC campus, in the Social and Cultural Sciences Building (SC14) or call them at 461-7079.
