UNO faculty members have the opportunity to teach three different types of service learning courses at UNO: traditional, P-16, or service learning courses connected to the Maverick Philanthropy Initiative.
Traditional service learning courses include a UNO course that partners with a community partner (nonprofit organization, business, or governmental agency) to meet student learning goals while completing a community-identified project.
P-16 service learning courses include a UNO course, community partner (nonprofit organization, business, or governmental agency), and a Preschool-12th grade (P-12) course. P-16 service learning courses meet both P-12 and UNO course learning goals while completing a community-identified project. These courses often include interdisciplinary collaborations where partners from different disciplines combine to meet the project goals.
Maverick Philanthropy Initiative courses are service learning courses that are also designed to encourage an interest in philanthropy while educating students on the real-life impacts of giving. By offering a tangible benefit to a community partner that students discover, vet, and select together, the courses provide a unique and memorable learning opportunity.
UNO Faculty Support
Whether you are thinking of connecting your course with a local community partner or partnering with a P-12 class in the P-16 Initiative, the SLA is here to support your innovative teaching efforts.
Service Learning 101
Service Learning 101 is a two-hour workshop typically offered 2-3 times per semester that introduces the concepts and quality standards of service learning. This workshop provides UNO faculty the opportunity to identify and discuss (in a small group setting) the integration of service learning into course curricula. Upon request, the workshop can be delivered to department or faculty groups.
Advancing the Practice
Advancing the Practice is a one-hour workshop focused on topics relating to the Quality Standards of Service Learning. This workshop offered once per fall and spring semester, concentrates on a selected topic and promotes the sharing of best practices and experience while opening up discussion of recommended strategies.
Individual Consultations
Individual meetings can be arranged to meet individual faculty needs for service learning ideas, strategies, resources, project planning, or syllabus development. Consultations can also be customized to meet the needs of UNO faculty, departments, or community agencies.
Faculty Fellows
In 2020, the Service Learning Academy completed an Academic Program Review in an effort to provide space for reflection and assessment of strengths, weaknesses, and plans for the future. The Review Team, comprised of both internal and external reviewers, listened to stakeholders and compiled suggestions for the future. One suggestion that has been implemented in the 2020-2021 academic year is a redesign of the Faculty Fellows program, which has been broken into two groups. These two Fellows groups are made possible by Academic Affairs and the Service Learning Academy. Please click here for more information.
Community Partnerships
The Service Learning Academy develops and maintains relationships with the Greater Omaha nonprofit community, as well as government entities and others who serve the good of the community. This liaison function stays abreast of community trends, collaborations, resources, and needs while serving as a bridge between scholarship and community. Contact the Service Learning Academy for more information, or visit the Community Partners page.
Developing Partnerships
The Service Learning Academy will provide an individual introduction for UNO faculty, P-16 partners, and nonprofit/government entity partners as a way to facilitate partnerships.
Additional Resources
In addition to creating engaging learning environments, service learning also leads to new avenues for research and publication. For students and educators interested in research opportunities, please view the following pages.
Conference Opportunities
Publication Opportunities
Research Resource Site
P-16 Initiative Support
If your partnership or project involves both a university component and K-12 education, you may be eligible for funding and personnel support.
Resources
Service learning partnerships that include a P-16 connection (both K-12 and UNO Higher Education partners) are eligible for resources that include but are not limited to funding for project transportation, supplies, and food with the approval of a completed project plan and SLA-approved budget.
Graduate Assistant Support
SLA-approved P-16 projects are assigned a graduate assistant (GA) to assist with project administration and logistics. These GAs coordinate multiple projects for multiple teams.