We engage students in UGA’s public service mission as a fundamental part of their academic experience at UGA.
Service-learning enhances student learning through the application of academic skills and knowledge to address a community-identified need, issue, or problem. Service-learning is a core part of UGA’s experiential learning requirement.
Service-learning differs from community service, internships, or field study experiences because the service activity is connected to the course learning goals through reflection and critical analysis, and seeks to balance the benefits to the student with benefits to the community partners and the public good.
The Office of Service-Learning is jointly supported by UGA’s Office of Instruction and Public Service & Outreach.
We Build Faculty Capacity
The OSL encourages community-engaged teaching and research through expanded faculty development. We offer workshops, consultations and grants, organize the annual service-learning fellows program, and present awards to faculty for their work in service-learning instruction and research.
We Support Community Partners
The OSL develops community-university partnerships for service-learning projects and placements. Some of our partnerships include Experience UGA, Engage GA, the AmeriCorps VISTA Network, and the AmeriCorps Community Food Fellows.
We Enhance Student Learning
The OSL supports student programs and opportunities for service-learning and experiential learning. These opportunities include becoming an Experience UGA Ambassador, joining Campus Kitchen, and applying to be a PSO Student Scholar. We are also starting a new youth sports and literacy tutoring program.
We Make a Positive Impact
The OSL measures the impact of service-learning through scholarship, assessment and institutional tracking. This includes our service-learning course surveys and publishing the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement (JHEOE).
News
- Celebrating the 20th Cohort of Service-Learning Fellows
This year, the Office of Service-Learning is celebrating its 20th cohort of the Service-Learning Fellows Program with 10 participating University of Georgia faculty members. “Each year, we are excited by UGA faculty members’ passion…
Read more - Experience UGA wins 2024 ITGA Presidential Excellence Award
The University of Georgia’s Office of Service-Learning announces that its collaborative program, Experience UGA, was recently recognized for its impact in the community with the 2024 International Town & Gown Association (ITGA) Presidential Excellence Award….
Read more - Inside-Out Program Tears Down Barriers
For the last seven years, Meigs Professor of Sociology Sarah Shannon has cultivated life-changing connections between University of Georgia students and the incarcerated members of our community. Shannon’s Inside-Out at UGA (SOCI 4470S) service-learning…
Read more - 2024 Service-Learning Excellence Awards
Two University of Georgia faculty members have been recognized by the Office of Service-Learning with Service-Learning Excellence Awards in 2024. These awards recognize faculty for outstanding service-learning instruction and for advancing service-learning scholarship. Since…
Read more - Vice President Dunn remembered through fund for service-learning
Without Del Dunn, there would be no Office of Service-Learning at the University of Georgia. During his decades-long career at UGA, Dunn was active on many committees and task forces dedicated to strengthening and…
Read more - Our 2023 OSL-ebration!
Sometimes, reading the numbers doesn’t fully capture the impact of the work we do in the Office of Service-Learning, so this year, we wanted to show our impact as visually as possible. Scroll through…
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