Morgan Studer explains how CSL promotes community partnerships

When Indianapolis community organizations want to partner with IUPUI, they have a number of ways they may approach this process. While some organizations call or email the CSL directly, they may also connect with CSL via the community in-take form (an online form that allows organizations to indicate their goals for partnering with IUPUI ). An organization may also connect directly with faculty or staff they know whose areas of interest align with the interests of the community partner.

Similarly, first-time undergraduate faculty at IUPUI who are looking to integrate service learning into their courses may be looking for community partners that will be a good fit for their course goals; these faculty may reach out to organizations on their own, or they may connect with CSL for ideas on potential partners with whom to reach out.

Many of these queries, from both the community and faculty, wind up on Morgan’s desk or in her inbox. Morgan says, “I am typically the one within CSL right now who reaches back out and learns a little bit more about what they’re [community partners or faculty] looking for.” One of Morgan’s main areas of focus within CSL is facilitating conversations between faculty, staff, and community members to determine what they are looking for from service learning and how service learning can be integrated with their goals most effectively. She also works to pair community members with faculty based on their areas of need and interests; Morgan keeps a finger on the pulse of individual interests, and when she thinks of two interests that will be compatible, she helps potential partners begin the process of developing a relationship to begin working on common interests and goals.

The prevalence of community-based learning courses has increased substantially over the last decade. According to IUPUI’s “2015 Community Engagement Report,” the number of instructors engaging in this style of coursework has increased from 92 to 209 (see Table 1). The same table also indicates that for 561 course sections there were 486 participating community partners; clearly, not only is maintaining these relationships important but also the foundations of these relationships must be rock-solid to achieve the best experience possible.

Service learning, a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized community experience designed around mutually identified course and community goals, helps students integrate critical skills that may not always be developed in a classroom setting. Morgan oversees the Service Learning Assistantship (SLA) program, which is a scholarship program within the Sam H. Jones Community Service Scholarship Program. Students who serve as SLAs establish a mentoring relationship with their faculty members, and depending on the community partner, gain workplace experience in a variety of areas. Morgan says, “It’s more than getting a student to help with the work, it’s helping engage that student and mentoring them so they are learning and taking away some good knowledge from the process and developing what we would call civic-minded graduates.” She emphasizes, however, that this relationship is not solely for the benefit of the student, but rather, “mutual reciprocity” is the foundation of community-based learning.

The goals of community and campus partners may not always align in terms of expectations. Morgan recommends that before any arrangement is finalized, both sides discuss what this relationship will look like and what students will be expected to do for the community partner, as well as what students are expecting to receive from this experience in terms of time spent, experience gained, etc. She also believes it is important for both sides to recognize each other’s limitations and manage expectations so that mutual goals can be met.