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Service-Learning for Students

Volunteer in your Brevard County community through the service-learning program at Eastern Florida State College! Review all the details below and then follow the steps to apply for service-learning.

In addition to giving back to your community, service-learning can help you:

  • Develop skills you learned in the classroom,
  • Make professional contacts,
  • Enhance your resume,
  • Improve your self-esteem, and
  • Increase your civic knowledge.

If you've documented a minimum of 75 hours of service and have at least a 2.5 GPA, you're also eligible to apply for service-learning scholarships.

Those who excel at service-learning might be eligible to pursue our Citizen Scholar distinction.

Types of Service-Learning

There are three ways to incorporate service-learning into your EFSC experience once you've signed up with the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement:

Service-learning courses are dedicated, stand-alone courses with a service element already built into them. They are listed in the EFSC Class Schedule and course catalog under the course prefix SOW:

  • SOW 1051 Human Service Experience 1
  • SOW 1052 Human Service Experience 2
  • SOW 1053 Human Service Experience 3
  • SOW 2054 Community Involvement
  • SOW 2054H Honors Community Involvement
SOW Course Descriptions

More than 150 EFSC faculty members offer service-learning as a component in their courses, which cover a range of different topics. These instructors award course credit (and sometimes extra credit) for service-learning hours you perform in the community. Note that the hours you complete for one class cannot be used to fulfill the requirement for another class.

The CSLCE's instructor list provides an up-to-date account of which classes include a service-learning component each term, but be sure to check with your instructors, too:

Service-Learning Instructor List (PDF)

4th and 5th credit option courses, which are available in a variety of different disciplines, give you the opportunity to earn an extra credit hour (with a separate grade) on your academic transcript. You can take up to three of these courses during your academic career.

To register for this option, you must enroll in one of the instructor's regular classes, plus one of the following:

  • SOW 2948 Service-Learning Field Studies 1
  • SOW 2948 Honors Service-Learning Field Studies 1
Requirements:
  • Community service-learning (20 hours minimum)
  • Attendance at a reflection seminar hosted by the CSLCE
  • Written reflection assignments or presentations as determined by your faculty instructor
4th/5th Credit Option Overview (PDF) 4th/5th Credit Option Checklist (PDF)

How to Get Involved

Follow the steps below to apply for service-learning, using the forms and documents linked to from each step to complete any required paperwork. You can also access key documents through the dropdown list.

Service-Learning Documents

 

Apply

The CSLCE must have an application on file before we can accept your service-learning hours, regardless of whether they are part of a course.

You only need to apply once, so if you've participated in service-learning before (even in past years), please contact the CSLCE to check the status of your file and update your info. If you're new to service-learning, you can submit your application online. If you're unable to use the online application, please print, fill out, scan or photograph, and email a completed PDF version to the CSLCE and your instructor:

Online Student Application Student Application Download (PDF)

Whether you are a new applicant or a returning service-learning participant, you must also complete and return a Release From Liability form each term. If you volunteer at multiple sites, you must file a separate release for each one. To submit your release, which is only available as a PDF, please print the form, fill it out, scan or photograph it, and email it to the CSLCE and your instructor:

Release From Liability (PDF)
Find a Placement Site

The CSLCE has contacts in a wide variety of organizations and career fields. Our Community Partner Directory lists more than 350 volunteer placement sites throughout Brevard County.

No matter your area of academic or personal interest, we can help find a volunteer placement site that's right for you. You want to be sure your time spent voluteering can translate into Student Hours on Academic Transcripts (better known as SHOAT) so be sure to read our in-person or virtual SHOAT criteria for more information about volunteer hours and approved placement sites.

Community Partner Link Directory (PDF) In-Person SHOAT Criteria (PDF) Virtual SHOAT Criteria (PDF)
Start Your Paperwork

After you've selected a site, complete and submit a Placement Confirmation Form to ensure that it is approved and that the hours you serve there will be recorded on your academic transcript. Although faculty and CSLCE staff set minimum service hour requirements, community partners may have their own requirements, so be sure to verify expectations with all parties.

You must submit your placement confirmation before you begin volunteering at a site. If you volunteer at multiple placement sites, you must file a separate placement confirmation for each one. If you are pursuing a 4th or 5th credit option, you will also need to fill out a contract.

Placement Confirmation (PDF) 4th/5th Credit Option Contract (PDF)

At this point, we request that you take a moment to tell us how your experience with service-learning has been so far. Our online first impression survey takes approximately three to five minutes to complete. All responses all confidential.

First Impression Survey
Volunteer and Reflect

We recommend that you take time to record and reflect on your service-learning experience while you volunteer. You should always check with your instructors for assignment details, but most service-learning courses and extra credit options require a reflection assignment (journal, essay, class presentation, etc.). Keeping track of your thoughts throughout the experience will make completing it easier. The CSLCE has resources and sample journal excerpts to help you get started.

You'll also need to track your service hours using a SHOAT hour log form (single-site or multi-site). Ask your site supervisor to verify your hours each week, then submit copies to your instructor (if you're volunteering for course credit) and to the CSLCE. Some instructors might also ask you to submit a Mid-Semester Progress Report to evaluate how things are going at your placement site.

SHOAT Hour Log (PDF) Multiple SHOAT Hour Log (PDF) Mid-Semester Progress Report (PDF)

You must individually complete the required number of service hours for each service-learning option or course you take. Hours completed for one class cannot be used to meet the requirements for another class. Orientations, training hours, and club meetings do not count toward service hours.

Finalize Your Paperwork

If you are volunteering for course credit, it's important to check with your instructor about any additional service-related assignments or due dates. Dates specified by instructors take precedence over dates set by the CSLCE.

Feedback helps us and our community partners to make your service experience more enjoyable, effective, and beneficial, so please also take a few minutes to fill out our questionnaire after you have completed your hours. Some instructors expect you to fill out this questionnaire, so be sure to confirm whether it's a requirement for any of your courses!

All responses are anonymous.

Online Service-Learning Questionnaire Service-Learning Questionnaire Download (PDF)

Service-Learning Scholarships

We award service-learning scholarships annually. To be eligible to apply, you must be a full- or part-time EFSC student with a minimum overall GPA of at least 2.5, who has completed a minimum of 75 hours of documented service through the CSLCE. You must also have submitted a FAFSA for the current year and attend EFSC for the next academic year (two terms).

Click or tap on a scholarship to learn more:

Outstanding Student Humanitarian Scholarship

Application Deadline: March 31st

Additional Eligibility Requirements:
To apply for this scholarship, you must be a high school graduate or have obtained GED certification.

Application Materials:
To apply, you must submit the following materials through the online application system at the same time:

  • Application
  • An essay (500 words) entitled "My Humanitarian Service" that describes a significant humanitarian service you have performed; include the number of hours you spent doing the service and a description of the benefits to the community, the college, and yourself
  • Your unofficial EFSC transcript (available via FloridaShines)
  • Three letters of reference, including one from the site where you performed your humanitarian effort
Terms:
  • The $1,000 is to be used in one academic year ($500 for the Fall Term and $500 for the Spring Term)
  • You must maintain a 2.5 GPA at EFSC to be eligible for the second term's scholarship
  • If you fail to complete a term, you must repay the full amount of the scholarship award
On-Campus Community Service Scholarship

Application Deadline: March 31st

Application Materials:
To apply, you must submit the following materials through the online application system at the same time:

  • Application
  • An essay (500 words) entitled "On-Campus Community Service" that describes a significant on-campus or community service you have performed; include the number of hours you spent doing the service and a description of the benefits to the community, the college, and yourself
  • Your unofficial EFSC transcript (available via FloridaShines)
  • Three letters of reference, including one from the site where you performed your community service
Terms:
  • The $500 is to be used in one academic year ($250 for the Fall Term and $250 for the Spring Term)
  • You must maintain a 2.5 GPA at EFSC to be eligible for the second term's scholarship
  • If you fail to complete a term, you must repay the full amount of the scholarship award

Citizen Scholar Program

Go above and beyond in the service-learning program, and you can graduate with the coveted Citizen Scholar distinction! Becoming a Citizen Scholar will enable you to:

  • Enter the workforce with the skills to achieve and succeed
  • Develop leadership skills by working with program staff and professionals at your placement site
  • Become an active, lifelong learner
  • Achieve personal growth
  • Foster a working knowledge of the community, its needs, and how you can make a difference
Requirements
  • 300 community service hours
  • Completion of a reflection journal
  • 3 service-learning class components OR 4th/5th credit hour options
  • Community service academic class (3 credit hours)
  • 3.0 cumulative GPA
  • Integrative final essay

If you are interested in the Citizen Scholar program, contact the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement for more information. You must meet all the requirements for the program at least one month prior to graduation. If you do so, you'll receive a cord of distinction for graduation, a special listing in the graduation program, service hours on your academic transcript, recognition at our annual volunteer recognition event, a letter from the College President, and a Citizen Scholar certificate.

Get In Touch

The Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement is centrally located on the Cocoa Campus, but you can contact a representative for any EFSC campus. Service-Learning staff are available Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Be sure to check our Frequently Asked Questions page, too!

Main Service-Learning Phone Number: 321-433-7610

Table Caption
   Campus Contact

   Cocoa

Erin Baird
Cocoa Campus
Bldg. 12, Rm. 305
bairde@easternflorida.edu
321-433-7613
   Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville
Susan Slaton
Cocoa Campus
Bldg. 12, Rm. 306
slatons@easternflorida.edu
321-433-7611