Global Navigation
getting started | forms | FAQs
Why Students Engage in Service Learning:
Service learning (SL) provides students with:
- Experiences to strengthen resumes and/or graduate school applications
- Career exploration opportunities
- Professional networking resources and opportunities
- Critical thinking and problem solving skills
- Strengthened communication skills (both written and oral)
- Enhanced academic understanding
- An opportunity to apply academic content to real situations
- Opportunity to develop empathy (understanding the experiences and situations of others)
- Tools to build and strengthen leadership qualities and skills
- Problem solving and conflict resolution skills
- Heightened awareness of civic and social issues
Getting Started:
Community Engagement Center offers service learning courses through each of the colleges within Sacramento State. For a list of our current courses and partnerships, please select the link below. The list will be updated often as additional courses are offered, so please check back frequently. Sacramento State students may register for courses through MySacState.
Forms:
Students participating in SL course(s)/project(s) that require the student to go off campus (“direct” service learning) are required to complete the forms listed below. Please select the links below to download each form. Please pay careful attention to the instructions provided and the process for submitting completed forms. Faculty may choose to hold grades until all forms are complete and submitted.
NOTE: Community Engagement Center staff will administer these forms in each of our courses offering direct service learning. During the classroom presentation, Community Engagement Center will provide students with a copy of each of the forms listed below, and will collect the student “guidelines” and “consent” forms on-site. Students are encouraged to review the online forms in advance as Community Engagement Center staff will address questions during the presentation.
Student Guidelines and Limitations (.DOC) (.PDF) – Students must sign complete this form and submit to Community Engagement Center prior to engaging in service learning at the placement site. Students should retain a copy of this form for their records.
-
Informed Consent, Agreement, Release, Waiver of Liability, and Assumption of Risk (.DOC) (.PDF) - This form is for students who are currently at least 18 years of age. These students must sign and complete this form, and submit to Community Engagement Center prior to engaging in service learning at the placement site. Students should retain a copy of this form for their records.
-
Under 18 - Parental Informed Consent, Agreement, Release, Waiver of Liability, and Assumption of Risk for Minors (.DOC) (.PDF) – This form is for students who will not be at least 18 years of age prior to starting the service learning activity. For students who are under the age of 18, their parent or legal guardian must sign and complete this form, and submit to Community Engagement Center prior to the student engaging in service learning at the placement site. Students and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) should retain a copy of this form for their records.
Emergency Contact and Information Form (.DOC) (.PDF) – This form must be on file at the placement site prior to the student starting their service hours. Only one form needs to be on file (either Community Engagement Center’s or one provided by the site). The emergency form is completed by the student and submitted directly to the placement site; this form is not submitted to Community Engagement Center. Students are responsible for notifying the placement site of any medical information or emergency contact changes. All information provided is kept confidential.
Time Log (.DOC) (.PDF) – This form is used by students, the community partner, faculty, and Community Engagement Center to assist in tracking number of hours served by students at the placement site. This form also serves a risk management function by keeping a record of when students were providing service at the site. If an incident occurs at the site, the University and the community partner can use the time log to cross check the placement site sign-in records and verify if the student was at the site when a specific incident occurred.
Service learning hours may only be completed at one placement site; however, students may have more than one site supervisor (i.e. the student assists more than one classroom/teacher at an elementary school). Students who have multiple site supervisors must complete a separate log for each site supervisor.
Students are responsible for tracking the actual hours served at the placement site (travel time is not included). Once service learning hours have been completed, students must sign the time log and obtain the verification/approval signatures of their faculty (Sacramento State course instructor) and their placement site supervisor.
Students are responsible for submitting completed time logs to Community Engagement Center no later than the end of dead week for the current semester, the Friday immediately preceding finals week. If hours are completed earlier than the stated deadline, students are encouraged to submit time logs to Community Engagement Center as soon as their hours are completed and their time logs have been signed. Faculty usually require a copy of the time log for grading purposes. Students should retain a copy of their time log(s) for their records.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-
Q. What if I do not want to sign the student service learning forms?
-
Q. My professor already gave me a copy of a time log. Do I need this one?
