AACC Horizons Grant Activity

Community Colleges Broadening Horizons through Service-Learning 2006-2009

Summary of Year One (January 2004-September 2004)

American Association of Community College's Broadening Horizons through Service-Learning Grant

In January, Western Technical College was one of eight schools in the nation to receive funding to support institutionalization of service-learning at the college. Western recognizes that service-learning is a powerful method of instruction that assists the student in learning not only skills and competencies necessary for employment, but that the student also has opportunities to developed highly valued skills of critical thinking, leadership, and civic responsibility. We believe that service-learning is congruent with our mission and assists in meeting one of the expectations that we have of all graduates of Western: "Recognize the value of self and others in order to be a productive member of a diverse global society".

The AACC Horizons grant is managed by Mary Ann Herlitzke (Project Director) and Sheila Allard (Project Associate). Decisions regarding the grant are made with the assistance of a Service-Learning Council that meets on a monthly basis. Members of the Council include: Community Members: Denis Tucker (co-executive director, Hmong Mutual Assistance Association), Jeremy Holiday (HMAA), Kahya Fox (Coulee Cap); Western faculty/staff: Dan Rooney, Don Thesing, Shelly Breitenstein, Sheila Allard, Jeff Komay, Mary Ann Herlitzke; Student members: Crystal Weaver, Susan Ames, Mallory Beinborn.

Accomplishments:

Student Involvement/Impact: Three service-learning courses (Written Communication; Community Partnerships in Action; Computer Information Systems Internship) were offered during Year one of the grant (spring semester 2004). In addition, students were recruited to participate in a city-wide activity Neighbor Helping Neighbor Day.

68 students were involved in service-learning activities. There was an equal split between female and male students involved with service-learning. The majority (90%) of the students participating were Caucasian. It is estimated that each student involved with service-learning spent, on average, 3.5 hours/week preparing for activity in the community; 4 hrs/wk actually involved in the community; and 2.6 hrs on reflection activity. Response of students to the service-learning activities has been positive.

Community Involvement/Impact:

As a result of the Horizons grant, partnerships have been developed with 12 community agencies. 156 community members were directly impacted by activities with the students. Over 4350 hours of service to the community were provided by the students in the service learning courses. The Independent Sector estimates that the typical value of an hour of service is $17.19. In essence, Western students provided the La Crosse community with over $74,776.50 worth of service. More importantly, Western students had a valuable opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom, to real-life situations and learned the potential that they have to contribute to the community. Response of community members has been very positive with the project director continuing to receive feedback, even months after an event.

Faculty Involvement/Impact:

Four faculty (Jeff Komay, Steve McCoy, Don Thesing, Sheila Allard) were involved with instruction during Year One (spring semester 2004) of the grant. Response of faculty has been very positive. During Year 2, and additional ten faculty are planning to use service-learning (Dan Rooney, Tracey Helixon, Shelly Benson, Sandra Schultz, Jake Griggs, Diane Waller, Liz Jolivette, Julie Fargen, Chris Krueger, Diane Waller). It is expected that as the initiative grows, even more faculty will become involved.

Other Activities

Training

AACC provided training in Washington DC for Mary Ann Herlitzke, Sheila Allard, and Jeremy Holiday. In February, Dr. Prindiville attended an AACC sponsored summit for CAO's. AACC sponsored Mary Ann Herlitzke, Jeremy Holiday, and Sheila Allard to attend the LeadershipPlenty introductory session at the National AACC convention. Training for Western faculty (and faculty from other educational institutions) was provided at two workshops: "Service-learning: What's all the fuss about?" and "Integrating Civic Responsibility in the Curriculum". Four Western faculty/staff (Doreen Olson, Sheila Allard, Dan Rooney, and Mary Ann Herlitzke) and two Western students (Crystal Weaver, Mallory Beinborn) attended the Community Colleges for Civic Engagement in June. Four faculty/staff (Dan Rooney, Sheila Allard, Jeff Komay, and Mary Ann Herlitzke) have agreed to act as mentors for faculty integrating service-learning in their curriculum for the first time.

Presentations on Western's Service-Learning initiative

April 2004

  • Sheila Allard and Jeremy Holiday, along with Gail Robinson/Linda Gabrielson, present information about the work that Written Communication students are doing to capture the stories of Hmong Immigrants in the La Crosse area, at the National AACC Convention
  • Presentation to Coulee Region Volunteer Coordinators group

August 2004

  • Presentation to orientation for adjunct faculty
  • Presentation to new faculty/staff at "Great College"
  • College Day showcase
  • Presentation to Western District Board

Other accomplishments

  • Monthly e-newsletter is sent to Western faculty/staff and Board members
  • Service-learning website developed (www.westerntc.edu/servicelearning)
  • All new students attending college orientation receive a travel mug with service-learning URL on it.
  • Digital cameras (4) purchased to assist in "recording" the service-learning initiative. Cameras available for check out (Mary Ann Herlitzke) for any faculty using service-learning in their course.

Goals For Year 2:

  • 1.Increase number of faculty/students who are involved with service-learning.
  • 2.Promote civic engagement with student body
  • 3.Increase number of community partners involved with service-learning
  • 4.Continue to work towards institutionalization of service-learning at Western
  • 5.Disseminate information related to service-learning at Western
  • 6.Assess the impact of service-learning on students, faculty, and community.