INTRODUCTION
This
report summarizes service opportunities available through the University of
California, Santa Cruz and the community service performed by the students,
faculty and staff at UCSC. The
report identifies campus service opportunities, University outreach programs,
student community service participation, and faculty and staff community service
participation in activities performed during the summer of 1998 and the academic
year of 1998-99. The estimates
provided in the report are based on surveys conducted during 1999, and Winter
2000.
This
report has been prepared in response to inquiries by campus and community
members regarding the amount of community service performed by UCSC students,
faculty and staff. The
information will also be shared with the University of California, Office of the
President (UCOP), which is conducting a system-wide assessment of community
service activities performed by the students in the UC system.
The UCOP investigation follows California Governor Davis’s suggestion
that he will propose a requirement to engage all California college students in
fulfilling a “community service requirement” as a condition of graduation.
Introduction
to Terms
There is often confusion about community service related
terms. For the purposes of this
report, volunteer work is non-paid
service to the community. Community service will be defined as any type of service that
benefits the campus or other community—including paid service, volunteer work
and service learning. Service learning is the integration of community service with the
curriculum of a course. Through
service learning, students may apply methods or theories of academia to the real
world. Service is followed by
analysis, allowing one to look at prior hypotheses and reflect on the
implications of the service. Community
service that is not service learning is sometimes referred to as non-academic service.
UNDERGRADUATE
COMMUNITY SERVICE SURVEY
The
Community Service Survey was distributed to undergraduate students at UCSC for
the purpose of determining the amount and types of community service they
performed outside of service learning courses.
(Undergraduate student participation in service learning is reported
separately.) Surveys were posted on
the web and announced via email addresses to 7,000 undergraduate students who
were enrolled at UCSC during the summer of 1998 and the academic year 1998-99.
Paper surveys were also provided upon request.
Undergraduate
Survey
Respondents
There
were 640 undergraduate surveys completed and returned.
Survey responses were received from approximately 7 percent of the total
undergraduate population (1998-99), and 9% of those surveyed.
57 percent of the undergraduate students that contributed to community
service were females and 43 percent were males; 42 percent were freshpersons and
sophomores, and 58 percent were juniors and seniors.
Undergraduate
Service
Performed
Of
the survey respondents, 53 percent said they contributed time to community
service. These students
identified 17,000 hours of community service participation that occurred between
June 1998 and the end of June 1999. In
addition, students identified many other service activities that they performed,
but failed to indicate the number of hours of their service participation.
If survey respondents were reflective of the rest of the 1998-99
undergraduate population, it could be estimated that undergraduate students
participated in over 255,000 hours of community service in the summer of 1998
and the academic year of 1998-99 (excluding community service performed as part
of a service learning course).
Types
of Undergraduate Community Services Performed
Most
of the community service performed by students between June 1998 and the end of
June 1999 could be reflected in the following areas:
Specific
Undergraduate Service Locations and Activities
Schools,
Education and Libraries—includes classroom assistance; computer training; curriculum
development; tutoring, peer advising and/or mentoring; and volunteering at
various campus and community libraries, such as the UCSC Library and the
Women’s Studies Library at UCSC.
Private
Business—includes
advertising service, working for private business, consulting, lectures and
speeches, political fundraising, technical and clerical assistance, and working
for the City or County Governments.
Humanitarian
Services—includes
performing service for Above the Line, the Adopt-A-Family Program, the American
Red Cross, Barrios Unidos, Easter Seals, the Familia Center, Make a Wish
Foundation, Meals-on-Wheels, the Needle Exchange Center, nursing homes, Planned
Parenthood, soup kitchens, Suicide Prevention, the Resource Center for
Non-Violence, Teenage Moms Infant Center, UNICEF, UCSC Multi-cultural Advisory
Board and the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center.
Also includes tutoring non-english speaking people and advocacy group
assistance, such as working for organizations that promote labor rights.
Environmental
Services—includes
performing service for campus organizations, such as the Arboretum, Campus’
Natural Reserve or Farm and Agroecology Department, or assisting with campus
recycling. Off campus environmental
services include participating in or volunteering at beach cleanups,
Bike-to-Work Day, the Clean Water Project, Earth Day festivities, environmental
research, graffiti removal, Habitat for Humanity, highway cleanup, Marine Mammal
Center, Moss Landing Marine Labs, Pacific Coast Farmers’ Markets, Surf rider
Foundation, Yellow Bike Project of Santa Cruz, and Wildland Restoration
Projects.
Church
and Religious Services—the main areas of assistance are providing services and lectures at
churches, synagogues, etc.
Health
Services—includes
performing service for the AIDS walks and other fund raising walks, blood
donations, medical care facilities (Dominican, Watsonville Hospitals, clinics),
Race-for-the-Cure, Santa Cruz AIDS Project, the Santa Cruz County Health
Services-HIV Prevention Program and the UCSC AIDS quilt presentation,
Youth
Humanitarian Services—includes performing service for Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boys
and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girls Scouts, Head Start, high school
sports and cheerleading teams, Navel Sea Cadet Corps, student recreation center,
YMCA camps, the Young Life Program, youth athletic teams, and other youth
non-profit organizations.
Cultural
and Arts Services–includes volunteering at ballet performances, Banana Slug Fair, First
Night Santa Cruz, KZSC Radio Station, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, UCSC Arts and
Lectures Committee.
Undergraduate
Student
Motivation for Performing Community Service
Students were asked to identify on a scale of 1 to 5, the
reasons or motivations that led them to perform community service.
The reasons or motivations identified on the form were Financial Rewards;
Beliefs, Convictions, or Principles; Career Preparation or Advancement; Interest
in Civic Affairs; Sense of Social Responsibility; Commitment of protecting the
Rights and Welfare of Others; Course Requirements; or Personal Reasons.
The following chart depicts the students’ responses:
Undergraduate
Student
Comments
SERVICE
LEARNING PARTICIPATION
As
determined by the UC Service Learning Committee, a service learning course must include the performance of meaningful
service, provide time for students to engage in structured or guided reflection,
be integrated into the curriculum and exist within the context of one or more
academic discipline(s). Although
already investigating student participation in service learning, UCSC instigated
a broader study after the University of California Service Learning Committee
meeting in August 1999. The University
of California, Santa Cruz Report on Service Learning, by Carolyn Boyd,
describes undergraduate service learning participation during the academic year
of 1998-99. Based on data collected
from this report and academic departments, community service performed as part
of a service learning course is estimated below (see the following page for more
details).
Undergraduate
Service
Learning Hours
It is estimated
that undergraduates performed approximately 245,000 hours of community service
as part of a service-learning course during the academic year of 1998-99 at
UCSC. Approximately 2,585 students performed this service.
There were thirteen different formal service-learning courses that were
offered a total of twenty-four times during the 1998-99 academic year.
Seven departments offered at least one formal service-learning course,
and twenty-seven departments had at least one student enrolled in a
service-learning course during the academic year of 1998-99.
Details
Regarding the University of California, Santa Cruz Report on Service Learning
The study measured student participation according to a
head count and a 5-unit count. The
head count estimated the number of
students that participated in service learning during the 1998-99 academic
year by department, and the five-unit count determined
how many 5-unit courses were completed.
For example, if one student completed a 5-unit course and another
completed a 2-unit course, their total 5-unit count would be 1.4. In addition, informal and formal service-learning courses
were defined and calculated separately. A
formal service learning course is one in which service is performed as part of a
structured course. Students are
required to spend time in class, in addition to time spent in the field.
Generally the course requires readings and written work relating to the
service that is being performed. On
the other hand, an informal service learning course is one in which there is no
structured class time and the course is usually performed as a field study.
A faculty sponsor advises his or her students on related materials and
also reads and grades students’ work.
Estimating
the Number of Community Service Hours
Performed
as part of a Service Learning Course
In order to estimate the number of community service
hours performed as part of a service-learning course, each department that
participated in service-learning during the 1998-99 academic year was contacted.
The departments were asked for the average number of community service
hours performed per student in their informal and formal service learning
courses. For those departments that
did not respond, an average was created from the other respondents and applied
to their own departments. It should
be noted that the following numbers reflect service learning, however additional
community service may have been performed as part of a course that did not meet
the service-learning criteria. For
example, teaching assistants offer a great service in every academic department
at UCSC, however they are not necessarily required to reflect on their
experience and therefore their participation is not recorded.
GRADUATE
COMMUNITY SERVICE SURVEY
The
Community Service Survey was distributed to graduate students via the Web at
UCSC to determine the amount and types of community service performed, including
service performed as part of a service learning course.
Regrettably, information on the email addresses for graduate students was
incomplete, so the majority of the information was gathered from distributing
the Graduate Community Service Survey via academic departments.
When departments were willing to participate, surveys were dispersed
approximately in proportion to the number of students obtaining degrees in the
department during the 1998-99 academic year.
Graduate
Survey Respondents
The unfortunate circumstances that required
re-distribution of the graduate surveys, did not allow time for follow-up
requests to graduate students. Furthermore,
survey distribution was dependent on each department’s participation.
Slightly more than 1% of graduate students responded to the
questionnaire, therefore the numbers outlined below should be considered
critically. No demographic information is available regarding the survey
respondents.
Graduate
Service
Performed
There
were an insufficient number of graduate surveys returned to persuasively
determine the amount of community service performed by all graduate students,
however to achieve a rough estimate of the total graduate student participation
one may apply the national ratio of volunteer service participation (48.8%) and
the average number of service hours performed by graduate community service
participants, to the graduate population.
Although only an estimate, this number would total approximately 105,000
hours, and represents community service (including service learning) that
occurred during the summer of 1998 and the 1998-99 academic year.
While
probably an overstatement of service participation by the overall graduate
student population, of the included respondents almost sixty-seven percent
participated in some form of community service during the summer of 1998 and the
academic year of 1998-99. The
average amount of service among those who indicated that they participated in
community service was approximately 224 hours.
The average amount of service performed by all graduate survey
respondents was 149.4 hours.
Non-Academic
Community Service: Surveys indicated that
the average amount of non-academic service performed during the summer of 1998
and the academic year of 1998-99 by service participants was approximately 239
hours. The average amount of
non-academic service performed by the total number of respondents was
approximately 140 hours.
Service
Learning:
Approximately seventeen percent of respondents participated in service learning.
This is probably an underestimate of total graduate service learning
participation. Respondents who
performed community service as part of a service learning course performed an
average of 58.5 hours of service.
Specific Graduate
Service Locations and Activities
Non-Academic
Community Service:
Some community
service positions fulfilled by graduate students include: AIDS walk organizer,
bible study leader, note-taker for disabled students, peer-advisor, and youth
counselor.
Service
Learning: Although most graduate departments do not call for service,
education students are required to act as classroom assistants in several
different courses. In the
laboratory to Applied Classroom Analysis and Methods students attend classrooms
for 10-12 hours per week and observe and teach different size groups under the
direction of a master teacher. Furthermore,
students enrolled in Intermediate Student Teaching have part-time responsibility
for public school classes and teach for fourteen to sixteen hours per week.
The Advanced Student Teaching series is a quarter of full-time,
supervised teaching. Education
students may also apply for a teaching apprenticeship.
During the 1998-99 academic year education students accounted for 17% of
all graduate students, and the department contained more students than any
other. Undoubtedly, education
students’ contribution to the community through service learning is
substantial.
In
addition to the service learning outlined above, graduate students may perform
service learning through research or internships, which encompass their academic
objectives. One student reported
performing research for the Environmental Studies Department, and another Earth
Science graduate student interned at Fred Keeley’s office and studied the
Pajaro groundwater problem.
Graduate
Student
Motivation for Performing Community Service
Students were asked to rank their reasons and motivations
for performing community service on a scale of one to five, with one
representing very important, three representing important, and five representing
not important. The chart below
demonstrates how the graduate respondents ranked the importance of the following
reasons and motivations for performing community service.
 | There
were many positive comments made by community organizations regarding UCSC
student volunteers. Although it
would be untimely to note them all, some of these are listed below.
“This
agency and the clients we serve have benefited tremendously from the interns
and volunteers we have had from UCSC."
“The
energy and enthusiasm of the students is very much appreciated."
"We have always had most of our volunteers come from UCSC and 3 of 4 paid
staff are UCSC alumni.”
“All of the students we have had from UCSC have been
exceptional,
dependable
and a real asset to our agency.”
“The assistance of UCSC students has proved invaluable to us. We are a
very
small non-profit agency and rely on such volunteers.”
“Students are great! They
benefit the agency a lot!”
“We have received excellent students from several programs. They have been
authentic, warm, encouraging, and committed.
In addition, they have been eager to
work with our particular population.”
|
 | Several
organizations pointed out that while their agency greatly benefited from the
participation of UCSC students, that the students also benefited from the
experience. Furthermore,
one organization commented that their agency is often able to meet the
educational goals and needs of students.
|
| Survey
results demonstrated that organizations have different needs. For example, a few
agencies commented that they could use as many volunteers as possible, while
others noted that they had sufficient assistance at the time being.
Furthermore, some agencies noted that they preferred particular types of
volunteers. One agency said that
they liked to have interns who were involved academically, while another
commented that they preferred to have interns that were involved solely because
of their own interest. Some agencies requested volunteers from particular
disciplines, generally for volunteers outside of the social sciences.
|
| In
addition, some organizations questioned how to go about requesting help at the
university, suggesting that a standard procedure to inquire about volunteers
would be useful for community organizations.
Such a procedure could also be helpful for students, since most
information on volunteer opportunities is currently dispersed among different
departments.
|
| Although
there were few criticisms regarding UCSC volunteers, one organization complained
that students sometimes visit to get information for a school assignment, yet
they never volunteer. Another
agency stated it was frustrating when student employees leave their jobs to
return to school (at the end of breaks or vacations).
|
FACULTY
AND STAFF COMMUNITY SERVICE SURVEY
The
following information comes from results of the Community Service Survey that
was distributed to all Faculty and Staff at UCSC to determine the amount and
types of community service they perform. Surveys
were sent via campus mail and were also posted on the World Wide Web.
Approximately 3,100 surveys were distributed to faculty and staff (based
on available campus mail addresses). There
were 463 surveys returned or 15 percent of the total surveys distributed.
Faculty
and Staff Survey Respondents
| Of
the survey respondents, 80 percent said they performed community service
during the summer of 1998 and the 1998-99 academic year.
The number of respondents is approximately 12 percent of the 3,100
surveys distributed, or 7% of the Faculty and Staff Headcount for 1998-99 of
5,591.
|
| Faculty
responses accounted for 19 percent of the surveys returned or 12 percent of
the total UCSC Faculty Headcount for 1998-99 (591).
|
| Staff
comprised 81 percent of the surveys returned or 9 percent of the total UCSC
Staff Headcount (4,930).
|
| Of
the total respondents 28 percent were male and 69 percent were female.
|
| The
age of survey respondents:
| Survey respondents ages 18-29
|
12% |
| Survey respondents ages 30-40
|
20% |
| Survey respondents ages 40-50
|
36% |
| Survey respondents ages 50-60
|
26% |
| Survey respondents ages 60+
|
3% |
| Survey respondents undeclared
|
3% |
Faculty
and Staff Service
Performed
The number of hours identified by those who
contributed to community service was 40,000 hours.
In addition to these hours, there are many other service activities
identified in the survey by Faculty and Staff that did not include the hours of
participation.
Types of
Community Services Performed
| Cultural Events and Entertainment
|
21% |
| Environmental Issues/Recreation
|
17% |
| Humanitarian and Community Services
|
15% |
| Schools and other Educational Venues
|
14% |
| Other Child/Youth Oriented Services |
12% |
| Athletics
|
11% |
| Health Related Services
|
7% |
| Religious/Church Related Services |
3% |
|
Cultural
Events and Entertainment—includes performing service for the African American Theatre Board of
Directors, Cabrillo Music Festival, Cabrillo Symphonic Choir, Cultural Council
of Santa Cruz, Fiesta Patrias, First Night Santa Cruz, Japanese Cultural Fair,
Jazz Ensemble, KUSP Radio, Kuumbwa, Lesbian/Gay Chorus, Mountain Community
Theater, New Music Works, Pacific Rim Film Festival, Pajaro Valley Performing
Arts Association, PBS Television, San Jose Symphony, Santa Cruz Acappella, Santa
Cruz Arts Commission, Santa Cruz Ballet Theater, Santa Cruz Bay City Opera,
Santa Cruz Chorale, Santa Cruz Community Television, Santa Cruz Cultural Action
Plan, Santa Cruz Dance Society, Santa Cruz Museum Association, Santa Cruz
Renaissance Singers, Santa Cruz Symphony, Scotts Valley Artistic Skating Club,
Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Tandy Beal Company, UCSC Arts and Lectures and
Watsonville Cultural Center.
Environmental
Issues/Recreation—includes performing service for the Boony Doon Fire Team, Campus
Natural Reserve Restoration, Community Action Board of Directors, Coast Guard
Auxiliary, Electric Bicycle Promotion, Elkhorn Slough Docent, Habitat for
Humanity, Habitat Reserve Conservation Management, Land Trust of Santa Cruz
County, Life Labs, Long Marine Laboratory, Mission Street Widening Task Force,
Natural Heritage Conservation, Natural History Museum, Neary Lagoon Cooperative,
Neighborhood Watch, Parks and Recreation Commission, Rural Bonny Doon
Association, Salinas Community Police Academy, Santa Cruz Community Farm, Santa
Cruz County Fish and Game Commission, Santa Cruz County Traffic Safety
Coalition, Santa Cruz Transit Authority, Seacliff Docent, Spirit of Watsonville,
State Park Mounted Assistant Unit, UCSC Horticulture Department, Wildlife Refuge
Conservation and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Humanitarian
and Community Services—includes
performing service for Above the Line; the American Red Cross; Amnesty
International; the Asian American Community Group (AACG); the Battered Women’s
Task Force; the California Prostitute Education Project; CAPE (Coalition of
Asian Pacific Employees); citizenship education; the Childhood Immunization
Project; the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz; Death Penalty Focus; the
Familia Center; Families in Transition; the Family Services Association of Santa
Cruz; Gateway Coalition; a Guatamala Community; the Hospice Caring Project; the
International Charitable Foundations; Legal Service for Prisoners with Children;
the Lion’s Club; the Live Oak Senior Center (Music for Senior Meals); Meals on
Wheels; Mondanero Baskin Women’s Center; NAACP; Planned Parenthood; Project
P.R.I.D.E.; the Santa Cruz Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Center; the
Resource Center for Non-violence; the Santa Cruz Commission for Prevention of
Violence Against Women; the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union; the Santa Cruz
City Council; the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce; the Santa Cruz
Transportation Commission; the Central Coast Chapter for the National
Association of Purchasing Management; the Santa Cruz County Labor Council; the
Salvation Army; the Satellite Shelter; the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department;
the Second Harvest Food Bank; SFCC (UCSC Faculty/Staff of Color Coalition);
SHARE (Community Food Coop.); the SPCA; St. Vincent de Paul; the United Way; the
Walnut Avenue Women’s Center; the Welfare and Low Income Support Network and
Women’s Crisis Support.
Schools
and other Educational Venues—includes performing service for ACCESS (Introduction to Research for
Minority Children), the Association of Live Oak Home School Club, the Cabrillo
College Mentor Teacher Program, Cabrillo Scholarships Group, Delta School, the
Early Childhood College Advisory Committee, Friends of the Library, the Granary
Child Care Center, the Literacy Project, the Live Oak Elementary Site Council,
Mission School Jr. High School Board, Outreach UC Merced, public libraries, San
Lorenzo Valley High School (Board for developing curriculum), the Santa Cruz
High School Outreach Program, the Soquel High School Boosters, St. Francis
Catholic High School, various elementary schools (classroom assistants) and the
Vista Verde Advisory Committee.
Other
Child/Youth Oriented Services—includes
performing service for ACCESS (8 week introduction to Research for Local
Minority Children), the African American Parent Group, Big Brothers/Big Sisters,
the Blaine Street Kids Club and Parent Co-op, the Boys and Girls Club, CASA
Child Advocates, the Children’s Center of San Lorenzo Valley, CHIPS Childhood
Immunization Project, the Cub Scouts, the Girl Scouts, Grandma Sue’s Community
Project, the Local Childcare Planning Council and the YMCA.
Athletics—includes
performing service for the Adult Athletic League Board, GALS Softball, Mountain
Bikers of Santa Cruz, Sentinel Triathlon Race Committee, Special Olympics,
Surfrider Santa Cruz Board, Team in Learning (Marathon Walk), Ultimate Frisbee
and youth athletics.
Health
Related Services—includes
performing service for the AIDS Quilt Organizing Committee, Birth Networking of
Santa Cruz County, breast cancer fundraising, California AIDS Ride, Dominican
Hospital, Helping Hands, the Hospice Caring Project, Leukemia Society, Mental
Health Client Action Association, Santa Cruz AIDS Research Foundation, Santa
Cruz Women’s Health Center, the Substance Abuse Prevention Board, WomenCARE
and Women’s Cancer Center.
Religious/Church
Related Activities—includes
volunteering for community service related activities at various places of
worship, including the All Saints Church, Calvary Episcopal Church, First
Congregational Church, Holy Cross Church, Holy Eucharist Church, Santa Cruz Zen
Center, United Temple and Vipassana Santa Cruz. In addition, some volunteers help feed the homeless.
University
Sponsored Donation Projects
Many faculty and staff, as well as students participated in
various University Sponsored Donation Projects during 1998-99.
These projects are conducted annually at UCSC.
The United Way of Santa Cruz County presented UCSC
with its Gold Award in 1999 that is one of the highest honors accorded to any
business or organization contributing to the annual fund-raising campaign.
In 1998, the UCSC Faculty and Staff donated more than $80,000 for
charitable organizations in Santa Cruz County, a 10 per cent increase over 1997.
Over the past five years, UCSC employees have contributed more than
$353,000. In 1998, UCSC was the
second largest contributor in Santa Cruz County.
UCSC
Student, Staff and Faculty collected over 14,000 pounds of food for the Second
Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.
This is a six-fold increase over previous years.
Some examples of the generosity and civic mindedness of the students,
faculty and staff include: students from Sigma Omicron Pi and Pi Alpha Phi
raised nearly $200 from their Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich food drive.
Sodexho Marriot donated $300 on behalf of UCSC students who each gave one
meal from their meal card to UCSC’s Food Drive.
Many
Faculty and Staff contribute through their units to donate to the Adopt a Family
Program, which matches families in need with donors—providing toys, clothing,
and a food certificate for families in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.
Faculty/Staff
Comments
In
addition to the information requested in the surveys, space was provided for
faculty and staff to leave comments regarding community service.
There were a variety of comments, ranging from thanks for survey
distribution to complaints about the request of information.
Comments are summarized below.
|
Many
comments were regarding participation or interest in community service
activities. One survey respondent
stated, “My community service is very important to me and takes a good
amount of time and effort.” Another
respondent claimed that she had been volunteering since she was 9 or 10 years
old. A faculty member mentioned
that his spouse performed extensive volunteer work at a local elementary school.
A few people commented that they used to perform community service,
however other commitments no longer allowed them to do so.
Additional respondents stated that although they did not have time to
commit to community service, they did provide financial support to a variety of
community organizations. Some
respondents were interested in getting the word out about the service groups
with which they participate. Others
expressed interest in performing community service, and many indicated that they
would be interested in receiving information regarding service events and
activities.
|
|
Most
comments people made were regarding their busy schedules, which prevented them
from participating in community service activities. Family commitments and demanding employment were mentioned
the most often. A few people
discussed the rising cost of living in Santa Cruz, and the need to work long
hours or two jobs to be able to stay in the area.
Some staff members thought the campus should give incentives for
participating in community service. A
member of the faculty said that if there were less pressure for review,
advancement and tenure it would be much easier to become involved in community
service. Many respondents
recommended release time for community service.
|
|
A number
of faculty and staff expressed discontent with the university’s request for
information, and were unhappy with their community service being classified as a
contribution by UCSC staff. One
individual suggested that the university might sponsor a beach clean up or
wheelchair cleaning event.
|
ALUMNI
COMMUNITY SERVICE PARTICIPATION
While
the university has no record of the alumnus’s total participation, UCSC alumni
also dedicate their time to community service.
In fact, in February of 1997 the Peace Corps acknowledged the university
for the large amount of former UCSC students who spend their time offering
assistance. UCSC ranked in
the top 25 of the “1998 List of Colleges and Universities with Graduates
Currently Serving as Peace Corps Volunteers.”
In addition, UCSC students have often volunteer in greater proportion
than other UC students.
Over
20% of former UCSC students also participate in the Alumni Association, which
welcomed its 10,000th member in October 1999.
Members of the Alumni Association may contribute to the enrichment of the
campus by offering their assistance in the following areas:
Career Advice Network: The Career Advice Network consists primarily of UC Santa Cruz
alumni, who help by sharing career insights and information with current UCSC
students and alumni.
Admissions Outreach Volunteers Program: Alumni volunteers attend high school and community college
events as representatives of UCSC to share their experience as former students
with prospective students. In the
spring, the Alumni Association assists the Admissions Office in “yield
events” where newly admitted students can talk with alumni before deciding
whether or not to enroll at UC Santa Cruz.
Other alumni outreach activities include mentoring new students,
telephoning prospective students, and hosting local receptions for newly
admitted students.
Legislative Advocacy Network: In cooperation with the Alumni Associations of the University
of California and the University of California systemwide Office of the
President, the UCSC Alumni Association has established a Legislative Advocacy
Network. UCSC alumni who are
members of the Legislative Advocacy Network come to Sacramento each year, along
with alumni volunteers of other UC campuses, to spend a day in the state
capital, meeting with members of the state legislature to discuss current
educational and research issues of common concern.
College Service Award: The Alumni Association awards eight $500 scholarships for
outstanding service – one at each of the colleges.
Alumni Association Scholarship Fund: UCSC Alumni Council established an endowed Alumni Association
Scholarship Fund due to UCSC students need for increased private support.
The long-term goal is to build an endowment of at least $1 million.
Interest income generated by the endowment fund, combined with a portion
of annual contributions, is used to fund yearly scholarship awards.
Close to fifty UCSC students have benefited to date, receiving need-based
scholarships of up to $2,500.
UCSC
CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
|
Campus resources are available to help individuals find a
community organization in which to perform service.
|
Six majors in the social sciences have field study
coordinators,
whose primary focus is to keep track of intern opportunities, place students in
field studies and evaluate the experience.
These departments are Community Studies, Economics, Environmental
Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, and Psychology.
The Community Studies Major requires that students perform service at an
agency for a 6-month internship. Additional
departments post related intern and volunteer opportunities at their offices.
The Student Volunteer Connection (SVC)
is a resource center that makes available a plethora of information regarding
community volunteer opportunities to students, faculty and staff.
Furthermore, the SVC organizes three to four one-day volunteer events per
quarter.
The UCSC Women’s Center
encourages community service through its partnership with the Walnut Avenue
Women’s Center. The campus center
also announces other women-related volunteer opportunities and offers advocacy
training.
|
Colleges
also encourage community service through college-sponsored volunteer activities
and community service related courses.
|
In the 1998-99 academic year, Crown College
participated in a clothing drive and a toy drive. In addition, Residential Assistants and the College Programs
Office organized volunteer events with the Campus Reserve Clean-Up, the AIDS
Memorial Quilt, the Kids Around the University Program, and a soup kitchen.
A quad in College Eight adopted a family
through a local service agency during the holiday season of 1998.
In addition, there was a school supplies collection drive this fall.
The collection was offered to a middle school in Watsonville.
Merrill College is affiliated with several courses that
engage students in their local communities, including the Live Oak Elementary
School Classroom Connection. Through
this program UCSC students act as mentors to Live Oak students, assist with
reading and writing and help out at the after-school program.
The Oakes Serve Program,
which is run through the Oakes College, serves a variety of community
organizations in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Some of the organizations that Oakes Serves assists are Barrios Unidos,
the Familia Center and Planned Parenthood.
|
There is a campus funding source for students interested
in initiating service projects.
|
Each quarter, the Community Service Project funds
(approved by students in a 1969 referendum) provide resources to UCSC students
who have a desire to reach out to the community. These funds are allocated to
facilitate student participation in projects that address social concerns while
providing services to benefit the local non-campus area.
Any UCSC student may apply for use of these funds with a faculty and
community sponsor, however CSP projects must demonstrate student involvement in
planning, management, and operations. A committee composed of student
representatives and faculty/staff chairs determine whether the applicants meet
the criteria. Grant awards went to several programs in the 1998-99 academic
year, including but not limited to the Pescadero Affinity Project, the Beach
Flat’s Music School for Kids, and the Citizenship Follow-Up Program.
The Pescadero Affinity Project is a mentoring program between UCSC
students and students in Pescadero. The
Beach Flat’s Music School for Kids involved 6 bilingual UCSC music students
and 15 children. The program
provided instruments for the children, and the UCSC students taught music
lessons twice a week. The
Citizenship Follow-Up Program, which is linked to the S.C. Immigration Project,
is a need assessment of citizenship applicants.
The CSP also permanently funds the Student Volunteer Connection for
operation costs.
|
Student
and campus organizations encourage service in the community and/or offer
students, faculty and staff opportunities to volunteer on campus.
|
Some student organizations are service based, or
promote better social understanding. For example, the California Public
Interest Research Group (Calpirg) is an environmental group, which sponsors
volunteer events in the community and on-campus. Most fraternities and
sororities require volunteer service each quarter.
Other departments and programs that offer on-campus
volunteer opportunities are:
Office of
Physical Education and Recreation which provides athletic events; Campus
Advisory Committees (for example, the Admissions and Financial Aid, the Natural
Reserves Advisory, and the Transportation Committees); campus laboratories;
campus-wide and system-wide Student Government; cultural productions (for
example, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Arts and Lectures and student productions); the
Farm and Garden; the Arboretum; the Long Marine Lab and the Seymour Marine
Discovery Lab; Health Services; Rape Prevention Education; Alcohol/ Drugs
Prevention Program; HIV Prevention (including the Condom Co-op); the Lick
Observatory; the Office of Admissions (tasks include phone drives, etc.);
student co-ops (Bike Co-op and Kresge Co-op); student media (Chinquapin, City on
a Hill, Fish Rap Live, KZSC, Las Girlfriends, etc.); student resource centers
(African-American Student Life Resource and Cultural Center; Asian American/
Pacific Islander Resource Center; Chicano Latino Student Life Resource Center;
and Gay Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center); and the UCSC Child
Care Center.
|
Friends
and other Groups at UC Santa Cruz offer many ways in which people can
participate in the life of the campus.
|
Arboretum Associates: The Arboretum
Associates is a friends group devoted to assisting the development and
maintenance of the UCSC Arboretum gardens.
Friends of the Dickens Project: The Friends of the Dickens Project support programs for the
general public during “The Dickens Universe”.
The Friends sponsor performances and special lectures by visiting
scholars, refreshments, dances, films and games, and other enriching activities.
Friends of the Farm and Garden: The Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden support and promote
the work of the UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Through community education, members help spread the word about the need
for farming and gardening systems that are environmentally and socially sound.
The Friends also sponsor two annual plant sales and other
community-oriented events to raise funds for the Apprenticeship in Ecological
Horticulture.
Friends of the Library: The Friends of the UCSC Library work to enrich the University
Library and strengthen it as a vital center for scholarly life in part by:
- Providing resources and support for enhancing
library collections.
- Sponsoring library-related projects and events for
the UCSC and Santa Cruz local communities.
- Publicizing the contributions of the UCSC Library
to the educational and cultural life of the Monterey Bay area.
Friends of the Long Marine Lab: The Friends is a volunteer group formed in 1979 by community
members who wished to support the mission of research and education in the lab.
Friends of Shakespeare Santa Cruz: Friends supports Shakespeare Santa Cruz by providing the
actors and crew with food and drink.
Lifelong Learners: The
UCSC Lifelong Learners is a voluntary organization for anyone who loves
learning.
UCSC Women’s Club: The
UCSC Women’s Club raises money for re-entry women’s scholarships and
provides an atmosphere of support for women’s issues, research, and
scholarship.
UC Santa Cruz Foundation: The foundation promotes and supports academic programs,
scholarships and fellowships, and capital improvements at UCSC through it
private fund-raising efforts.
UCSC Extension Host Families: Host families are needed for two-week homestays for a group
of Japanese college women.
OUTREACH
PROGRAMS
Listed below are a number of outreach activities that are
affiliated with the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The University of California has embarked on an
aggressive and innovative academic outreach program to promote college and
school partnerships, and to prepare students from disadvantaged circumstances
for eligibility to attend UC or other institutions of higher learning.
There are a multitude of outreach programs affiliated with UCSC and
identified below to which students,
faculty and staff dedicate a great deal of time.
| Academic
Excellence Honors Program (ACE)
|
|
ACCESS:
The Baccalaureate Bridge to the Biomedical Sciences
|
|
Affinity
Mentor Project
|
|
Art
Education Outreach
|
|
Athletics
Department
|
|
AVANCE
Project
|
|
California
Consortium for Teacher Development (CCTD)
|
|
California
Reading and Literature Program (CRLP)
|
|
California
State Summer School in Mathematics and Science (COSMOS)
|
|
Center
for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE)
|
|
Central
California Writing Project
|
|
Chancellor’s
Educational Partnership Advisory Council
|
|
Chemistry
Department’s Summer Institute
|
|
Chicano
Latino Student Life Resource Center
|
|
Community
Teaching Fellow Program
|
|
Concurrent
Enrollment, High School Honors & Life-Long Learners Programs
|
|
Dickens
Project
|
|
Early
Academic Outreach Program (EAOP)
|
|
Education
Partnership Center
|
|
Kids
Around the University (KATU)
|
|
Language
Acquisition in Science Education in Rural Schools (LASERS)
|
|
Math
Diagnostic Testing Project
|
|
Mathematics,
Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA)
|
|
Minority
Access to Research Career Program (MARC) and the Initiative for Minority Student
Development (IMSD)
|
|
Monterey
Bay Area Math Project
|
|
Monterey
Bay Educational Consortium (MBEC)
|
|
Monterey
Bay Education, Science and Technology Center
|
|
Monterey
Bay Science Project
|
|
New
Teacher Center
|
|
Partnership
Schools
|
|
Public
Education Program at Long Marine Lab
|
|
Santa
Cruz New Teacher Project
|
|
Schools
Plus
|
|
Seaside
Middle School Math/ Science Institute
|
|
Society
for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
|
|
Step-to-College
Program
|
|
Themes
Project
|
|
Transfer
Partnerships Program
|
|
UCSC
Scholarships
|
|
Upward
Bound Math and Science Program (UBMS)
|
|
Women’s
Center
|
CONCLUSION
UCSC Students, Faculty and Staff have made an
immeasurable impact on the local Santa Cruz area and other communities.
In addition, campus organizations and university affiliated outreach
programs provide services to the community.
| Undergraduate
students’ impact on the community has been most significant among schools,
libraries, and other education related organizations.
Graduate students also perform community service in local schools.
Education students are required to act as classroom assistants to
obtain their certification, and account for 17% of the total graduate
population. |
| Other
types of services that students perform in the community relate to the
environment, church/religion, health and the arts. |
| Faculty
and Staff perform most of their community service at cultural events.
They also perform service for environmentally related organizations,
humanitarian groups, local government agencies, schools, youth agencies and more. |
| Campus
organizations promote community service, and also offer opportunities to
volunteer on-campus. |
| A
variety of UCSC Outreach Programs offer children from disadvantaged
circumstances the opportunity to participate in activities that enhance
their UC-eligibility.
|
However, the benefits of community service and service
learning are not only limited to community organizations, but also extend to
those who perform service. Chancellor
Greenwood stated in the Summer 1999 UC Santa Cruz Review that “service
learning is an outstanding example of an educational initiative that benefits
everyone.” Through service
learning students gain a better understanding of theoretical material and often
find motivation and a new sense of direction.
Other forms of community service are also mutually beneficial to the
community and students, as some community organizations noted in their comments
regarding student service. For
example, volunteering may improve future job performance of participants by
increasing confidence and cheerfulness.
University students, faculty and staff have
supported the community through their service, and community opportunities have
allowed service participants to gain a better understanding of the community and
civic responsibility. The
University of California, Santa Cruz will continue to support this mutually
beneficial relationship.
REFERENCES
Outside Sources
California Department of Finance.
“Santa Cruz County Statistics.”
California County
Profiles. On-line.
(http://www.dof.ca.gov/html/fs_data/profiles/pf_home.htm).
(viewed April, 2000).
U.S. Census Bureau.
“Percent of Adult Population Doing Volunteer Work: 1995.”
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1998.
USA:
Department of Commerce. (1998).
University Sources
UCSC Course Catalog
(1998-99)
UCSC Currents (on-line editions – 1995-2000)
Enrollment Fact Sheets
(Office of Planning and Budget – Fall 1999)
Faculty and Staff Employment Statistics
(Office of Planning and Budget – Fall 1999)
University of California, Santa Cruz Report on
Service Learning (Office
of Planning and Budget – Fall 1999)
UC Santa Cruz Review
(Summer 1999)
