Community Partners - Service-Learning

Service-learning is a teaching methodology that utilizes service experiences in the community as text for learning in the classroom. Local nonprofit organizations, government agencies and schools serve as co-educators and provide real world learning situations for students to address unmet community needs. Service-learning activities inform, clarify, illustrate and stimulate additional thought about academic topics covered in the classroom, as well as encourage students to develop or strengthen a habit of service, social responsibility and community engagement. On-site work or projects are combined with reflective academic assignments that help students learn by doing.

Almost every college at CSUF offers service-learning. Students enrolled in service-learning courses will participate by engaging in 15 to 40 hours of service per semester. For more information on service-learning and how you can get involved, please contact the CICE office at (657) 278-3746 or cice@fullerton.edu.

General Site Guidelines and Responsibilities

Community Partners interested in offering service-learning opportunities are required to:

• provide a clear position description for the service-learning experience


• provide consistent supervision by a professional staff


• provide orientation to the student and his or her specific assignments


• meet with and provide feedback to the student


• ensure that no more than 20% of a student's time is spent on clerical or administrative tasks.

• Service-Learning courses are offered in all majors and disciplines at Cal State Fullerton (including political science, biology and engineering, to name a few!).


• Faculty members have varying degrees of involvement with partners sites. Faculty members may work with you collaboratively to create a project for the students, or you may take on individual service-learning students to assist your organization in meeting community needs.


• Consider contacting us if you have an identified community need and wish to enlist students on a short-term basis to address that need. We will investigate possibilities of partnering you with faculty to create a service-learning project


• By offering service-learning you are introducing students to community involvement and promoting a lifelong ethic of engagement and community service.