Service Learning at MSU provides an important link between the campus and the local, state, regional, national and international communities. Through service learning, students and faculty members engage in service to the community that strives to meet and address community identified needs that directly relate to the subject matter being taught in the classroom. Students apply information from a class in an authentic community setting and their learning experience is then measured and graded through prearranged reflection activities. The MSU Office for Community Involvement is a consistent source of institutional support for service learning. Please refer to the diagram below to better understand what we do in this service learning support capacity.
Integrating Service Learning into Curriculum and Courses
With support from the Office for Community Involvement, the Integrating Service Learning into Curriculum and Courses (click on link to view video) panel discussion took place on March 31th, 2011 as part of the Teaching & Learning Center Faculty Workshop series, . Professors and students shared their experiences initiating and participating in service learning through their courses. This panel provides faculty members with a framework to begin the integration of service learning as a component of their courses and provides a deeper understanding of the benefits of service learning to students.
Panel Guests:
Leah Schmalzbauer, Associate Professor, Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology spoke with Lynae Tripp, Senior, Global & Multicultural Studies Ada Giusti, Associate Professor, Dept. of Modern Languages & Literatures spoke with Heather Lee, Senior, Paleontology
Marvin Lansverk, Professor, Dept. of English
Moderated by Kaylee Ranck, Admissions Coordinator, The Graduate School
Congratulations MSU! For making The President's Honor Roll for Higher Education Community Service
[Bozeman, MT]–Montana State University, Bozeman has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. On campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their classrooms. Business students served as consultants to budget-strapped nonprofits and businesses, law students volunteered at legal clinics, and dozens of others organized anti-hunger campaigns.
“Congratulations to MSU and its students for their dedication to service and commitment to improving their local communities,” said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Our nation’s students are a critical part of the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge into practice to help renew America through service.”
The Honor Roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential Awardees, with an additional 115 named to the Distinction List and 621 schools named as Honor Roll members. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic servicelearning courses. Click here for a full list of Honor Roll recipients.
Service Learning Course Designation
Please visit the Service Learning Course Designation page for more information and to get started.
President’s Award for Excellence in Service Learning
Thank you for all the excellent applications! The application period for this award is now closed. Go to our President's Award for Excellence in Service Learning page to see the results of this year's award.
Resources
The MSU Office for Community Involvement has historically served as the University’s primary source for service learning resources. In an attempt to make these resources readily available to faculty, staff, and students, the Office for Community Involvement has donated their entire collection of service learning texts to the Renne Library. Click here for directions to find service learning resources at the Renne Library.
