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Loyola University New Orleans (New
Orleans, LA)
The
Advisory Committee Model
Summary
Loyola selected the advisory committee model as a tool for integrating
service-learning within the institution.
The Practice
The primary objective of the committee is to oversee planning, implementation,
and evaluation of proposed service-learning objectives. A second goal
is to create a sense of community and synergy among administrators, students,
faculty, and community-service organizations.
Committee membership recruitment was conducted in a manner to achieve
balanced representation from faculty, students, administration, staff,
and community agencies. This structure creates the best opportunity for
synergy while preventing any one partner from dominating.
The Committee is broken into smaller subcommittees formed from a cross
section of the Advisory Committee. These are faculty development, community
partnerships, student engagement, and evaluation. A fifth subcommittee,
executive/arbitration, consists of the committee chair and chairs of the
other four subcommittees. Subcommittee chairs report on activities at
meetings of the full committee. Subcommittees developed their own mission
statements and objectives for three years within the context of committee
goals. These mission statements are:
- Community Partnerships—To develop and maintain relationships
between community agencies and the University that are mutually beneficial
to both parties. This includes matching, fostering, and nurturing partnerships
that join academic interests with the needs of the community.
- Faculty Development—To promote awareness of service-learning
among faculty, participation of faculty across the disciplines, and
recognition of faculty incorporating service-learning into their curricula.
- Student Engagement—To promote awareness among students and
faculty that service-learning should be an important part of their educational
experience. This will be accomplished by raising awareness of service-learning
as an integral component to education of the “whole person,”
engaging in honest, active dialogue about the state of service-learning,
and acting as ambassadors for service-learning both within the Loyola
and metropolitan New Orleans communities as well as on state, regional,
and national levels.
- Evaluation—To develop and oversee the formative and summative
evaluations of service-learning activities with attention to the voices
of students, faculty, administrators, and community partners.
Effectiveness
The committee maintains continuity despite membership changes from graduations,
faculty reassignment, and turnover in community agency representation
and actually allows these infusions of “new blood” to create
a more dynamic environment.
The Committee’s involvement in the service-learning program played
a key role in producing the following successes:
- expansion in the number and quality of partnerships with community
agencies;
- an increase in the numbers of faculty, disciplines, and students
involved in service-learning;
- development of data collection systems that will result in continuous
program improvement; and
- improved positive publicity for the University within both the internal
and external community.
Resources
Click here
for additional information on Loyola University New Orleans’ service-learning
program and its Advisory Committee.
Contact Information
Carol Jeandron, Ph.D.
Director
Office of Service Learning
Loyola University New Orleans
6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 115
New Orleans, LA
Phone: 504-865-2283
cajeandr@loyno.edu
Harlen Henegar
Aerospace Science Instructor
Saint Tammany Parish Public School System
100 Bulldog Drive
Mandeville, LA 70471
Phone: 985-892-7112 ext. 5
hheneg@bellsouth.net
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