FAYETTEVILLE -- A special designation identifying service learning courses at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville will begin this fall pending a review by the UA System board of trustees, said Jennie Popp, co-chairman of UA's Service Learning Committee.
Service learning, in contrast to volunteer projects, offers students academic credit in addition to the experience of helping others.
Course catalogs and the university's online course registration system will allow students to search for service learning courses when deciding what classes to take, said Popp, a professor in UA's Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.
And, beginning this fall, students enrolling in service learning courses will have the courses identified as such on their transcripts.
"Students are demanding it," Popp said of the changes. She has helped lead a committee that formed in May of last year to establish guidelines for courses.
One such guideline states that a service learning course "demonstrates clear and articulated connection between service activity and course content."
Another guideline states that a service learning course "requires five hours of service for every credit hour of course work."
Hannah Birch, a finance and accounting major, said she expects to graduate in 2016. She said she has traveled to Belize and Mozambique in separate UA classes that had strong service learning components.
After her freshman year, she said she initially doubted whether her knowledge of basic accounting would be enough to help in a course exploring microlending concepts in Belize.
"I went over, and I didn't think I was going to have anything to offer, and I was proven wrong," Birch said, adding, "when you do it in a service sense, whatever you have to bring to the table is greatly appreciated."
She said she thinks other students are interested in seeking out these types of experiences.
"Our generation is very aware of just like community-orientation and giving back, and not necessarily in a monetary form, but in a hands-on learning form," said Birch, 21.
The Service Learning Committee is reviewing more than 25 courses for the designation, Popp said.
"We expect to continue to approve courses through the summer," Popp said.
Angela Oxford, co-chairman of the Service Learning Committee, said a workshop is planned to bring together UA faculty members and potential community partners. No date has been set for the event. Oxford is director of UA's Center for Leadership and Community Engagement.
Service learning course designations at colleges and universities are "not at all uncommon," wrote John Saltmarsh, director for the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, in an email.
"It is a way for faculty to screen the course design to make sure that the service learning is of high quality, and it is a way for students to be able to identify courses that integrate community service with their academic study," Saltmarsh wrote.
Other colleges in Arkansas also have undertaken various service learning initiatives.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has offered training for faculty members on ways to integrate service learning into their courses.
The University of Central Arkansas in Conway began a service learning initiative in spring 2013.
Those two universities are the only Arkansas members of Campus Compact, a coalition of college and university presidents committed to promoting public and community service.
There has been "consistent and significant" growth in colleges offering service learning courses, said Andrew Seligsohn, president of Campus Compact.
Seligsohn said that while most colleges that responded to a survey from Campus Compact have a formal designation for service learning courses, he wasn't sure how many include such a designation on a student's transcript.
"I think it's a good idea. I think it will be helpful to students," Seligsohn said of the transcript designation, noting that potential employers can see that students have had hands-on experience.
Josh Anderson expects to graduate from UA next year. He said he plans to apply for medical school.
He has taken courses on health coaching, first learning about trends in health care and the dynamics between caregivers and patients.
Later, he visited regularly with a patient, acting as a go-between for the patient and health care provider. Anderson said a shortage of doctors can lead to "just a huge gap" between patient and doctor, one that health coaching can help fill.
While he's no longer enrolled in a UA course on the subject, he has continued to volunteer as a health coach.
"I think service learning is one of those things, it's kind of a win-win situation," Anderson said.
"Why isolate the education part of things and the community whenever you can actually have a flow of action between the two?"
Metro on 05/04/2015