College of Nursing Service-Learning

COVID-19 and other illnesses present a constantly changing set of circumstances that impact service-learning in a variety of ways. Your patience, flexibility, and understanding are greatly appreciated.

Students are expected to adhere to all University of Cincinnati policies and protocols at all times. In addition, students are expected to adhere to the policies and protocols of their service-learning site as well.

You are presented with a variety of service-learning opportunities, and if any given opportunity does not meet your needs, please consider another option. Contact your instructor or the Center for Community engagement (community.engagement@uc.edu, 513-556-1559) with questions or concerns.

Individual needs on the volunteer.uc.edu site indicate where and how each activity takes place. Virtual and face-to-face activities are subject to change, so be sure you understand the expectations of your service-learning site before you finalize your placement.

If you are not comfortable with a given option, please explore other options or contact your instructor to talk about alternative options.

10 service hours must be completed during the semester. Ideally, service is completed consistently and regularly (weekly or every other week, depending on your site). However, your availability may lead you to supplement regular service with a one-time opportunity or an activity that requires a more limited commitment. Service cannot start prior to the semester and cannot be completed after the end of the semester without permission from the instructor.

Please note: Many community partner agencies require MORE than 10 hours in order to recoup a reasonable return on their investment in you. This investment includes training you, expenses related to your intake process (such as background checks), and more. These opportunities deepen your personal and professional growth, and give you a headstart on your future goals. Do not shy away from an opportunity simply because it asks more than 10 hours of you.

If you're having individual issues meeting the service expectations for this course, contact your instructor.

Students cannot double-count hours for course requirements AND scholarship requirements, in accordance with scholarship guidelines. Any hours beyond the required 10 service hours for the Introduction to Professional Nursing course can be counted toward other requirements.

If you have a Cincinnatus scholarship, for example, you are expected to complete 10 service hours for your course in addition to your scholarhip requirements, but you can use any hours beyond the initial 10 to satisfy your Cincinnatus requirement. Hours attributed to your section of Introduction to Pofessional Nursing through volunteer.uc.edu wil be used to satisfy that requirement, unattributed hours will be used to satisfy other scholarship requirements.

• Make a plan! Look at the academic calendar, the calendar of your service-learning site if applicable, and do the math.
• If you have scholarship community serive requirements:
  • Get ahead on your scholarship service requirement whenever possible. Consider using academic breaks, if possible.
  • Use winter break and other breaks in the academic schedule to earn scholarship service hours. You cannot earn hours for this class outside of the semester during which you are enrolled.
  • If you serve more than 10 hours at your service-learning site, you can count those additional hours toward your scholarship or other requirements. This is managed within volunteer.uc.edu based on associating your service-learning user group with your service-learning hours.

Most UC scholarships are overseen by Student Financial Aid. Contact cincinnatus@uc.edu for more information.

Spend some time thinking about issues that are important to you, and find a balance between work that you care about and what fits with your schedule and other needs. Work with your instructor and Center for Community Engagement resources to identify the best option for you. Check out volunteer.uc.edu and the content on this page for site options and instructions for how to start the placement process.

As soon as possible!

You can initiate the process by clicking the "Register" button associated with a specific volunteer opportunity. Note that some organizations have a series of needs and you are required to respond to all needs in the series in order to participate. Read the opportunity description thoroughly, and ask the agency contact person any questions you may have.

Here's an example of what you might say: "Dear Contact, My name is Liz Lemon, and I'm a first-year student in the College of Nursing at UC. I am participating in the service-learning course and am interested in volunteering at your site because...I'd like to move forward with the application and training process. I can be reached by email or phone...Thank you! Sincerely, Liz Lemon"

Most sites have an application and training process. Some sites require additional documentation, a background check, and/or immunizations and immunization records.

For general questions contact your instructor or the Center for Community Engagement (community.engagement@uc.edu, 513-556-1559).

For questions about specific volunteer needs, contact the organization manager (contact person) listed on the organization's profile page within volunteer.uc.edu. You can search for organizatinos using the tools menu on volunteer.uc.edu.