UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY-BASED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FROM THE AGENCY’S PERSPECTIVE LAURA LITTLEPAGE BETH GAZLEY TERESA A. BENNETT INDIANA UNIVERSITY

State of the research  Little written on role of the community organization as host, teacher, and mentor to students.  Imperial, Perry, & Katula (2007) identified five of 107 SL studies that examined community outcomes.  However, experiential learning in a community setting is more than a form of student learning:  Not only a pedagogical tool, but also…  An important public policy tool used to promote student community awareness and civic engagement.  A form of volunteerism used by community agencies to build staff capacity.

Gaps in Research  Challenges (versus benefits) of service learning  Impact on host agencies  ASSUMPTION:  REALITY: “Win-win” situation McIntyre, Webb & Hite, Marketing Education Review, 2005 “Working with service learners has the potential to be more painful and more beneficial than working with [other] volunteers” Barry Lessow, CEO, Monroe County United Way

Methodology  Survey developed from focus groups and case studies  Peer reviewed and pre-tested  Administered to nonprofits in Marion County (Indianapolis) and Monroe County (Bloomington)  Two phases: phone screener and web survey  Screened for those who involve students  Over 50% response rates  Caveats

Who is involving students? Of all nonprofits, 2/3 have worked with students in some capacity  Mutual benefit organizations much less likely to work with students (less than half)  Human services and health organizations much more likely (over 80%)

Why don’t you work with students?  Exclusive to members / mission (34.2%)  Have never been approached (26.3%)  No need for college students / not a great fit (16.5%)

Academic Departments Working with Nonprofits  Public Affairs & Policy (including public & nonprofit management) 26.4%  Liberal Arts (including languages, humanities, natural sciences) 24.0%  Other 23.6%  Business, Marketing, Tourism, related fields 22.4%  Medical and Health Professions 18.3%  Education17.5%  Journalism and Communication17.1%  Science, Technology, Computer Science, Engineering11.8%  Fine and Performing Arts11.8%  Physical Recreation and Education8.9%  Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Services2.0%

Colleges and Universities Nonprofits Have Worked With  IU Bloomington 94.9% (Monroe County) 28.8% (Marion County)  Ivy Tech 46.8% 20.2%  IUPUI 10.1% 54.0%  Purdue University 8.9% 20.2%  Ball State 5.1% 20.2%  CTS5.1% 4.3%  Univ. of Indianapolis 5.1% 28.2%  Vincennes University 3.8% 1.8%  Butler University 2.5% 31.3%  Marian College 1.3% 11.7%  Martin University 0.0% 7.4%  Other 7.6% 31.9%

What are students doing?  General program volunteers--67% of all NPOs reporting  Interns--55%  Involved through a service learning class--34%

What are service-learners doing?  44% of nonprofits said that service- learners are often or always providing direct service  31% -- projects for the agency  33% -- projects related to the student’s coursework

How are service learners managed? Some weak parallels between service-learner management and common management practices for community volunteers:  Agency keeps a record of volunteer hours: 43% for service-learners compared to 73% for community volunteers  Screening, training, orientation or other intake process to place student: 35% vs. 79%  Final report or reflection: 34% vs. 26%  Student recognized at volunteer event: 37% vs. 91%  Job description: 27% vs. 72%

What are organizational attitudes about student volunteers?  88% feel to some or a great extent that their staff is eager to work with students  82% -- student work is as good as the work that other volunteers provide  70% -- their agency’s mission supports student civic engagement  51% -- teaching students about my field is part of my job  42% don’t feel to some or a great extent that when it comes to involving student volunteers, the college schedule can pose problems for my agency

Organizational attitudes about working with service-learners

How involved are they with the class?  47 percent have never been asked to attend a class presentation of the results of the project  42 percent have never been asked to attend the class as a guest speaker or visitor

Nonprofits indicated that the following are essential to the success of campus partnerships:  Clear and ongoing communication between agency, students and faculty-- 39%  Faculty and students understand the agency’s mission- - 32%  A match of student skills to agency needs-- 30%  Training and orientation of student volunteers-- 29%  Agencies understand the goals of service-learning-- 27%  The ability to choose the students we work with--26%

What actions might improve their experience?  The item ranked number one was:  More faculty involvement, such as joint curriculum planning, face-to-face pre-semester meetings and orientations for professors and all community partners

Ability to take on more student volunteers  When asked to what extent can their agency take on more volunteers:  32% said they can take on more community volunteers to a great extent  28 % said they can take on more service- learners to a great extent  26% said they can take on more interns to a great extent

What is the impact of all student involvement?  72% reported that student volunteers of all kinds have increased their agency’s visibility in the community  67% -- student volunteers have continued to volunteer after their volunteer commitment  66% -- improved client services  64% -- increased their agency’s visibility on campus  61% -- helped build campus-community relationships

Conclusion  Nonprofits feel that working with students has an impact, but it does create work for them and relationships between campus and community could be improved.

THANK YOU! Questions?