“Avoid The One And Done Building Service Learning Relationships That Last”
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Avoid the One and Done - Building Service Learning Relationships That Last
By Megan Church-Nally, PhD
Have you ever had a wonderful project idea that sounds great in theory, but falls apart faster than an ice cream melts in the heat of July? Some of the best ideas in the world never reach their true potential due to inadequate time spent on planning or circumstances out of one’s control. With over a decade of experience of service learning projects in the classroom, I have compiled a list of tips for successful projects that lead to wonderful collaborative partnerships beyond a one and done semester project.
Meet, Greet and Repeat
The most crucial aspect of service learning is building a collaborative relationship with the nonprofit/community organization and the professor or university contact. By building the relationship between the professor/ university contact and nonprofit, this will lead to wonderful collaborative partnerships that persist through multiple iterations of the class and last for years to come. Prior to engaging in any service learning project, I meet the nonprofit partner either on zoom or in person. This allows for a much richer discussion of the organization and partnership vs than reading about each other on websites. This 1-on-1 conversation allows both sides to discuss expectations, needs and determine if this would be a good match for both parties. After the meeting is complete, I send an email capturing what we discussed and inquire if we would like to move forward or wait till future semester. By having the project discussed multiple times before the students get involved, this enables us to clear up any misunderstanding and resolve any potential obstacles.
It’s not busy work – it’s transferable skills
Once the nonprofit and professor are in agreement, it’s now time to introduce the project to the students. It’s important to utilize the BLUF (bottom line up front) method when introducing the Service Learning Project to the students. This may be the first time they have been involved in a project like this so it’s critical to address concerns and expectations early. When I introduce the project to the students, we discuss the purpose, how this fits into the overall course, the objectives, and the rationale for it. We discuss how these projects help the students learn and practice crucial skills in an environment before their livelihood depends on it. This helps them understand the importance of the project. They are relieved to hear this replaced a 20 page paper and results in better learning and transferable skills.
I mention the safeguards built into the project: I have met the nonprofit several times and I’m here to review work before it goes to the nonprofit. They feel relieved there is another set of eyes on the project, which ensures project quality for both the nonprofit and students. After the introduction to the project, I build up the students’ confidence in their ability to successfully complete their project. It is different and much more nerve wracking to work with an actual client versus a hypothetical organization or case study. I typically mention some of the projects we have worked on in the past, list the expectations, show samples of past work, how this will be different from past projects, and helpful tips for communication. These steps help students feel more comfortable and more confident moving forward with their projects.
I give the students the opportunity to discuss any concerns. I make sure to note whether the nonprofit is faith based, as this could be a determining or deterring factor, and location to campus. As some do not have transportation and Ubers/Lyfts/rideshares/ taxis are expensive, I always offer a nearby nonprofit or virtual option. I send the students a survey that only I will see. On this survey, they can list concerns I can address ahead of time and confidentially let me know if they do not have transportation. As some would rather walk on hot lava than be in a group project, I invite them to confidentially share if they would prefer not to be in a group with someone. They do not have to tell me why, but I will ensure they will not be in the same group. I assure them that I check in on the group multiple times throughout the semester to prevent social loafing. By letting them know I have adjusted in the past and that only 2 groups have not worked well in over a decade, they feel comfortable raising concerns to me.
Next, I have to work against my archnemesis: procrastination. Students have so much on their plates, several check-ins must occur to ensure the project is not delayed to the last minute. To ensure the project will be given the attention it deserves, it is critical to stress several components. I mention that I will be reviewing several drafts throughout the semester to prevent the project being worked on in the eleventh hour. We then discuss some common pitfalls to the projects that have occurred in the past. We discuss that the project isn’t just a one-time project. Instead, it is a bigger collaboration between the nonprofit and us. If the project is not of high quality, this reflects on the class, the students, me, the program, and wider university and has long lasting implications. I share the long-lasting impact of two projects that did not work well and what extensive steps were taken to fix the damage those projects caused. By sharing the ripple effects of projects and consequences, this elevates the project's importance and the need to do well on it.
We then focus on the positive and benefits. I stress how this will help the students network, gain applied skills, and acquire additional experience they may have lost the opportunity to build during the pandemic. The benefits of the projects beyond grade are discussed to showcase why they should put forth their best efforts. I discuss how in the past, the best projects turned into potential internships, co-ops, jobs, committees, in person networking, and several long term friendships from service learning groups. This conversation ensures the students see the importance of the project and give it the attention it deserves.
Allow for Student Input
Instead of informing the students what they will be working on, I offer them a choice in which nonprofits they will be working with. I typically have between 3- 10 nonprofits from over our 150 list of collaborators. In the first class, I spend 20 – 30 minutes introducing the project, the applied skills they will gain, and the nonprofits options. Though the core project components remain the same, the nonprofit does differ. Students rank the nonprofits in order of preference of who they would like to work with. This allows them to pick a nonprofit they care about and are intrinsically motivated for. They are asked to note if there is a nonprofit they are not comfortable working with. Again, it’s critical to note if any are faith based or political based nonprofits as this can be a make or break factor for some students. Based on their self-submitted rankings, the students are placed into groups of 4-5 students. If there are more students than that, there tends to be social loafing that occurs. By soliciting the students’ preference and avoiding nonprofits they are uncomfortable with, they are more committed to the project than if they were assigned the topic. For service hours, it is critical to have a service hour form signed or email by the nonprofit to ensure these hours are completed.
Making the Initial Contact
I introduce the students to the nonprofit directly by copying them on an email. This includes the names of the students and reiterates the project expectations are. This ensures the conversation starts with the right email address and all stakeholders in one email. This email introduction was not a common practice until the pandemic. Many students were a bit nervous about the first initial email contact and what to say. This helps alleviate some of the pressure if I start the conversation and then ask to be dropped off the email chain. This email chain enables the nonprofits or students to quickly copy me into emails if needed. I do give them all the option to keep me off or retain me on the email chain. Often, the students will take me off the chain once they feel more comfortable communicating with the nonprofit.
Crucial Check-ins
Once I introduce the nonprofit to the students, I cannot sit back and expect everything goes well. I learned from the pandemic service learning projects in Spring 2020, few want to admit it is not going well and may wait till it is too late to tell me. It’s my responsibility to the students, nonprofit, and the collaborative relationship to check in. It is critical to do check ins – whether it is a phone call, email or text. I do these check-ins with both groups. I check with the students in person and online to see if they have started their service hours. I ask if they are working well with the project groups and if there are obstacles twice during the semester. The students evaluate each other on their effort and contributions and the nonprofit evaluates the quality of the students’ work as well.
With the nonprofits, I typically check in depending on the intensity of the project either twice a semester or every few weeks. I provide the nonprofits my cell phone number so they can reach out quickly if the project is running into difficulties. If the project is not going well, I meet with the students and/or nonprofit to get it back on track. I typically meet with the students and nonprofits individually to see both sides and then address it on a bigger call. If the project cannot be salvaged, I will remedy the project on my end by either removing the student and assigning another student or I personally complete the project. Though we have revised projects before, I have only had to personally take over twice before.
Common Mistakes
There are 3 main obstacles when working on service learning projects. The first is the hardest to overcome – ego. Sometimes the project sounds so amazing, we look past the fact that it is not a good fit for the class or the current skill set for students or faculty. There is nothing wrong with sharing the project wealth with others and allowing them to experience the joy of service learning. That can be harder than one would expect and it takes practice to pass on a project. If you see service learning as a collaborative long-term relationship, it is easy to put aside your ego and connect the nonprofit with the professor or class that will be the best fit. This shows the nonprofit that we are putting their interests first and we truly care about their success.
The second is treating the nonprofit collaboration as a one sided relationship. Instead of asking what they can do for us we need to ask what needs or projects do they need/want help with. By ensuring we are addressing their current and future needs, this will allow us to ensure the relationship is able to flourish and not become one sided. It can be easy for the nonprofits to feel this way if we always focus on what we need. Please make sure to take the time and energy to thank them for their help and profile them on social media. I personally love to profile our projects on social media and LinkedIn. We send handwritten thank you notes to our nonprofit partners signed by the students and me for bigger projects. I periodically email them throughout the year just thanking them for supporting our students and the projects. This shows we value their continued partnership and their supporting our students.
Lastly, the biggest obstacle is procrastination. Despite repeated recommendations not to wait till the last minute on service hours or projects, it is inevitable every semester that some students will wait till the last minute. This puts undue pressure on the nonprofit and unnecessary stress on the student. I now include a statement in their service learning contract that the nonprofits are not responsible for filling hours at the last minute and students need to email at least a week ahead of time to schedule service hours. Though this helps, I have not figured out a surefire way to prevent this. Hopefully, in the future I will be able to prevent this from happening.
After the Semester Review (ASR)
After the semester is over, I meet with the nonprofits through email or in person to see if we met expectations and what we could improve on in the future. This ensures the quality of the project and the relationship. This enables us to address any unseen obstacles in this semester moving forward into future semesters. Based on past conversations, we have simplified the service hours form to make it easy to fill out or they can simply email me who was there.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Though projects are completed by students, sometimes the work may not be at the quality level the nonprofit or I desire. We take several steps to prevent this. We do this by my check-ins and quality checks/rough drafts for bigger projects. This ensures us to verify we are meeting expectations. If the project is not of the quality the nonprofit deserves, the students revise it with the nonprofit feedback. If it is still not the quality desired or if the nonprofit does not have time for the students’ revision, I will personally complete the project to their expectation level. Out of the 100s of projects completed, this situation has only occurred twice with all the quality checks.
Beyond Projects – A Project
It is critical to recognize that this just isn’t a project or one and done project. The most frustrating aspect from a nonprofit perspective, as reported by several nonprofit partners, is when a project is done at the end of the semester, they may not see it move forward past that one course and section of students. Even though the project may be completed by the students and/or course, the nonprofits still need their project to happen in real life. If the project isn’t completed, this can result in frustration and really hampers future service learning. This is why we focus on the relationship with our nonprofit partners as being part of a bigger relationship. It’s not just one and done project, but instead a series of projects to help improve the conditions one may experience in a nonprofit. If the project isn’t complete in real life at the end of the semester, we will move it forward into the next class or have student(s) work on it for independent study or love of the game.
By seeing these projects as one step in the future relationships, this will allow the service learning project and collaborative partnerships to flourish for years to come. Many of our wonderful collaborative relationships started with one project that evolved into great relationships. These amazing collaborative relationships have resulted in networking, projects, internships, co-ops, committees, and jobs for hundreds of students. Numerous alums are now in wonderful jobs due to these service projects. The ripple effect of these projects have long lasting implications on students, faculty, community partners, and communities for years to come if done correctly.
Successful Service Learning Checkpoints
Pre-semester checklist
- Have you met with potential partners to discuss expectations?
- Have you reiterated what you and the nonprofit are looking for?
- Do you or the students have the required skills to do the project?
- Have you listed the time commitment and expectations from the nonprofit?
Start of semester
- Have you explained the rationale for the project, how skills will be developed and applied, and how this will help future careers?
- Have you allowed the students to vote on their preferred nonprofit and the nonprofit they are uncomfortable with?
- Have you introduced the students and nonprofits with the expectations laid out?
- Checkpoint 1: Have you checked on the project with the students?
- Checkpoint 1: Have you checked on the project with the nonprofits?
- Checkpoint 2: Have you checked on the project with the students?
- Checkpoint 2: Have you checked on the project with the nonprofits?
- For service hours, do they have external proof of hours?
End of Semester
- Have you composed a thank you for students and had them sign it?
- Have you shared a public thank you for the nonprofit that identifies what they do?
- Have you checked in on nonprofit and verified nonprofits’ expectations were met?
- Have you told the students how to list the service learning projects on their resume?
- Have you checked in on the nonprofits’ future needs?
Megan Church-Nally is an Associate Professor – Educator in Psychology and Organizational Leadership at the University of Cincinnati. Megan’s journey into service learning started in her high school career with its focus on service. This service learning remained during her academic pursuits: BA (Bellarmine university), MA (Xavier University) and PhD (University of Louisville). Megan focuses on the Organizational Leadership - Nonprofit and Community leadership concentration and embeds service learning in her classes. She won the Jack Twyman Award for Service-Learning in 2020 and is a proud member of the Service-Learning Community at UC.
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