Program Information

Below are descriptions of the various programs and services offered by the Center

Service-Learning Course Development

The Center provides training, course development, and stipend money for faculty wishing to develop Service-Learning courses. Faculty wishing do explore Service-Learning as a part of their course should contact the Director. The program provides the following:

  • Consultation on how to best incorporate a Service-Learning project into the course
  • A $500 mini-grant to encourage faculty to adopt Service-Learning in their courses (click here for an application)
  • Learning resources such as sample syllabi, example Service-Learning projects by academic discipline, and research/documentation on outcomes and assessment of Service-Learning
  • Support to students engaged in Service-Learning project through referral to possible service sites and assistance with paperwork
Click HERE to download the Faculty Handbook
Click HERE to download an application for the Mini-Grant program
Click HERE to download a form that may be used to delineate SL course objectives and assessment
 

Student Engagement Mini-grant

In an effort to support student-initiated engagement, the Center provides a small number of mini-grants to assist students or student groups in bringing their project to light. Any student or student group can apply for up to $300 for each project. This mini-grant is subject to available funds.

To apply for this grant students should contact the KVCC Student Activities Coordinator.

Education Award

The Center administers the AmericCorps Education Award in coordination with Maine and New Hampshire Campus Compact. The "Ed Award" provides an incentive for community service by offering the opportunity for individuals to earn scholarship money by participating in service. The scholarship is either $1000 (300 hours of service) or $1250 (450 hours of service).

Individuals interested in this program should make an appointment with the Director to review the specifics of the program.

Community Partner Database

The Center maintains and updates a list of organizations in the area who utilize volunteers. Some of these organizations have contacted us and asked us to help them find volunteers while others are agencies we have learned about from students who have completed Service-Learning or volunteer projects there.

The Database can be accessed by clicking the "Partners" link at the top of this page.

Maine Campus Compact

KVCC is a member of the Maine Campus Compact which is a subsidiary of the National Campus Compact.

According to their website:

Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 900 college and university presidents committed to the civic purposes of higher education. To support this civic mission, Campus Compact promotes community service that develops students' citizenship skills and values, encourages partnerships between campuses and communities, and assists faculty who seek to integrate public and community engagement into their teaching and research.

Many of the programs offered by the Center are funded through grant money provided through Campus Compact to promote this mission.

Assessment and Research

The true value of Service-Learning is in the outcomes it produces in our students, faculty, staff, and community. The Center is continually engaged in a process of Institutional Assessment (in regard to the degree of engagement of the campus), course assessment (to guage the effectiveness and outcomes of individual service-learning courses and programs), and research (contibuiting to the body of literature on the effectiveness of service-learning, the institutionalization of civic engagement, and the outcomes in our students, faculty, staff, and community).

The links below will lead you to documents regarding the Center's efforts in this area: