For our community partners, collaborating with the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) means working together to educate our future community leaders and promoting a greater good in order to meet community needs.
Service learning is an experiential method of teaching. Collaborative partnerships between faculty, students, and community organizations create projects that are tightly linked to course content and promote academic learning while meeting the needs of the community. Reflection activities before, during, and after each experience (project) facilitate critical thinking and problem-solving. Community partners become “teachers of context,” by sharing the perspective of constituencies in the community that they represent, thus expanding students’ world views.
The UNO Service Learning Academy develops and maintains relationships with the Greater Omaha community, as well as government entities and others who serve the good of the community. This liaison function stays abreast of community trends, collaborations, resources, and needs while serving as a bridge between scholarship and community. Contact the Service Learning Academy for assistance.
Benefits to Community Partners
As a community partner, your organization:
- Provides additional resources and information to community organizations
- Helps students become invested in their community and in the particular partner organization (civic attitudes)
- Helps community members to value youth as contributors
- Recognition of projects in local/social media
- Nominations for ServeNebraska Awards
- Nominations for Regional Awards
- Support for other recognitions/grant applications
Additional benefits to organizations and the community:
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Fills gaps in community resources
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Develops sustainable relationships among all players so that collaboration can be more fluid in the future
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Increased exposure to more people about your organization and your work
Connecting with UNO for Service Learning Opportunities
If you are an area community organization, government agency, small business, or P-16 educator interested in exploring how to partner with a service learning course, please contact us.
The Service Learning Academy is excited to work with you to explore and develop partnerships to help meet community-identified needs and develop service learning courses.
Developing Partnerships
The Service Learning Academy will provide individual introduction for UNO faculty, P-16 partners, and community/government entity partners as a way to facilitate partnerships.
Eight Standards of Service Learning
The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) has established a set of eight standards as a guide to quality service learning. While they are targeted to the K-12 education audience, they are adaptable to the higher education environment and to the understanding of community partners, as well.
1. Meaningful service
2. Link to curriculum
3. Reflection
4. Diversity
5. Youth Voice
6. Partnerships
7. Progress monitoring
8. Duration and intensity