Dahl School of Business

Community Skills and Service Learning

Service is one of Viterbo University's core values.  To us, service means working for the common good in the spirit of humility and joy.  As such, all Dahl School of Business students fulfill a service project by giving back some significant measure of themselves to their community. This giving should be the beginning of a lifelong process.  To facilitate the successful completion of this requirement, the faculty of the Dahl School of Business provides the following guidelines.

Below are the minimum requirements for the Service Learning:

1. The Service shall be measurable, significant and provided within a specific time frame;
2. A Service Learning Plan shall be developed during the first semester in attendance and approved by advisor; periodically reviewed and updated;
3. The Service shall meet a community need;
4. The student shall be actively involved in providing the Service;
5. The Service Learning requirement and paper shall be completed a minimum or 30 days prior to graduation.

Students develop a Service Learning Plan with the guidance of their advisors that includes the following components:

• A Plan that details the specific Service activities; (Service Learning Plan form)
• A method to provide Interim progress reports to the advisor;
• A final paper that describes the specific activities undertaken, Services provided and benefits derived by both the provider and recipient of these Services. This reflective paper should be not less than 5 pages in length and follow standard APA style.

• The concluding paper prepared by students shall document reflection and integration of Service Learning experiences.

Students may achieve Service Learning requirements by participating in several (five or six) smaller projects or by completing a couple of larger projects that provide continuous service to the community. The actual type of service contributions may vary from student to student, but all shall exceed the normal level of service contributed by Viterbo students to the community. To help facilitate Service Learning activities, the School may post to a bulletin board documenting needs of the community which could be undertaken to meet Service Learning requirements.

Also, below are guidelines that the university looks for in accessing community learning:

1. Personal growth:  Has the student shown growth and development in his/her understanding and commitment to community service?
2. Community influence:  Has the student exhibited actions which have had an influence on improving community conditions?
3. Integrative activities:  Has the student embraced the notion of community as demonstrated by involvement in collaborative efforts to provide community service?
4. Service mentality:  Does the student demonstrate a service mentality, likely to result in a life-long commitment to service?