High Impact Practice (HIP) 9: Service Learning as a High Impact Practice

 

 

Katherine Wilson and Febriyanti Lestari gave a presentation titled “Service Learning as a High Impact Practice” at the HIPs retreat. They discussed the difference between service learning, internships, and community service.  

 

Wilson and Lestari described the “Service Learning Initiative (SLI) at the University of Arkansas which has been working to formalize and expand service learning opportunities on campus since 2014. But what is service learning? The SLI committee defines service learning (SL) as ‘a credit-bearing, faculty-directed, teaching-learning experience that is course specific.’ It integrates academic achievement and civic responsibility. Currently, we have approximately 115 courses that meet the SL criteria and have been designated as SL. Every semester, around 70 courses are taught as SL and work with more than 60 different community partners on various collaborative projects that impact both students and community. Every semester, with over 500 students enrolled in SL classes, we collect more than 10,000 service hours. How does service learning at the University of Arkansas incorporate key component of high impact practices? Our showcase presentation will reveal 5 things you need to know about service learning practices at the U of A.”