Pre-Semester Checklist

Syllabus

When designing your course syllabus, include the following components:

• This course meets: include a note on the service learning requirement, especially if they take time outside of class time. For example:
  • "In-person, MW 11:00-12:20 with an additional 30 service learning hours over the course of the semester."
  • "In-person, MW 11:00-12:20 with 2 service learning hours per week".
• Course Topics & Schedule:
  • Service Learning: schedule in-class time for orientation to principles of Service Learning, readings on best practices, and planning for community-based projects. Reflection activities should be systematically embedded throughout the course. Students reflect on service as well as community needs, equity, and issues around diversity.
  • Academic Internship: consider scheduling time to discuss students' rights and responsibilities, career development content, and a final presentation or poster session.
• Assignments / Grading & Evaluation:
  • List service projects, recommended community partners, and expectations for securing placement. Or, explain the expectations for securing and conducting the internship placement.
  • Clearly outline student responsibilities, service requirements (min of 10 hours) or internship hours requirements (typically 45 hrs for 1 unit of academic credit), and how the students' success will be measured and assessed.
  • Include a statement explaining that all students must report their service learning/internship placements and complete the required risk management forms in the S4 database prior to the beginning of their service. You may include these instructions for using S4, the campus database for risk management and placement records. A Canvas module with this content is available through CCBL. Register for this resource here.
• In some cases (e.g., when students intern in medical facilities or schools), it may be prudent to list known additional requirements, particularly ones for which the students may incur out-of-pocket expenses, e.g.,
  • immunizations and/or tests,
  • background checks,
  • HIPAA training - to access the training, first, log into the CSU Learn portal, then navigate to the HIPAA: Protecting Patient Privacy training.
  • Bloodborne Pathogens training - to access the training, first, log into the CSU Learn portal, then navigate to the Bloodborne Pathogens training.
  • Mandated Reporter of Child Abuse training - to access the training, first, log into the CSU Learn portal, then navigate to the Mandated Reporters of Child Abuse training.

Community Partnerships

To grow and formalize the community connections you have made so far and develop new ones, connect with CCBL's Community Partner Coordinator, Stacy Becker.

• All community partners must be fully approved by the university, have a current agreement with the university on file, and carry general liability insurance of not less than two million dollars ($2,000,000) for each occurrence and four million dollars ($4,000,000) in the aggregate. (Exceptions may be made by request for organizations with low-risk activities.) Such coverage is to be obtained from a carrier rated A or better by AM Best or a qualified program of self-insurance.
• Stacy can connect you with the existing community partners in the field of your course, who already have agreements with the university.
• Stacy can check if the community partners with whom you are working have agreements with the university.
• If you wish to bring a new community partner on board, fill out the Faculty Request for New Learning Site form and email it to Stacy.Becker@humboldt.edu. Be sure to review the faculty responsibility reminders at the bottom of this document. Your email will prompt Stacy to reach out to the community partner to fill out and sign our Learning Site Agreement and Site Self-Assessment documents. Stacy will work with the community partner and campus Risk Management to ensure that the risk requirements are met.

S4 Reporting and Risk Management

Cal Poly Humboldt students must conduct their service and internship hours ONLY at sites that have been fully approved by the university (see the previous section for details).

Students are required to record their community placements and fill out required forms using the S4 Database PRIOR to beginning their placement. This database serves as a document repository as well as an emergency contact/location tool. To aid faculty and students, the CCBL developed the following support materials:

• S4 User Guides for faculty explaining the basic navigation around S4.

• S4 Student Walkthroughs explaining how to get into S4, report placement site, fill out required forms, and use the optional timesheet functionality.

• A Canvas module for students that can be copied into a Canvas course content. This module contains video and written instructions on all S4 steps the students are required to complete prior to starting their community placement. Faculty teaching service learning courses, academic internships, and other community-engaged courses can self-register in our Community Engaged Learning Toolkit Canvas course to review and copy this module.

Additionally, we strongly recommend that you review our Risk Management FAQ section to prepare for the questions and scenarios you are likely to encounter.