Service Learning - Coastal Carolina University
In This Section

Service Learning

Service learning is a credit-bearing, educational experience that combines both community service and academic learning.

Students are expected to:

  • Participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs.
  • Enroll in a course that requires a minimum of 15 hours of faculty/agency supervised service activity.
  • Reflect on their experience and its impact on the community and their relationship to the world around them.
  • Develop greater self awareness, social responsibility, and desire for civic engagement.
  • Learn to care more about the needs others.
  • Develop the attitude and skills to affect community change in our diverse multicultural world.

What service learning is NOT:

  • Unsupervised volunteer activity
  • An experience lacking “hands-on” learning opportunities
  • Performing tasks unrelated to the agency’s mission for community engagement
  • A requirement to complete community service as discipline for behavioral or academic infractions
  • A semester long internship designed to develop skills related to the student’s major and career interest

Key elements of service learning

  • Both the student and the service learning provider/agency receive mutual benefit
  • The agency’s target population also receives benefit from the student’s activities
  • Service learning experience is directly related to the student’s course learning objectives
  • Student reflects during the preparation, participation, and post-experience stages
  • Provides diverse and challenging experiential activities
  • Develops higher order critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills