Student Support

Becoming a Community Partner

 

General Overview

Thank you for your interest in becoming a community partner with the Santa Monica College Applied and Service Learning Program. The students in this program are very different from traditional volunteers who provide service to an organization. They have specific learning objectives to meet while serving at an organization while volunteers do not. The students in this program also require more commitment from the supervisor than traditional volunteers. Their time commitment options with you may also be more limited than some of your volunteers. Therefore, organizations should consider their own needs and capacity to host applied and service-learning students prior to applying. Does your organization have unmet needs that could be met by students enrolled in a particular course and/or field of study? How many students can your organization utilize at one time or each semester? Does your organization require more hours than our students able to complete? Does your organization have the staffing to support students; specifically, at least one person who will be assigned to help applied and service-learning students understand their role at your organization as well as assist them in making the necessary connections between their involvement at your organization and their academic experiences?

Steps to Becoming a Community Partner

If your organization would like to become a community partner, please complete the following steps:

  1. Review the Community Partner Minimum Requirements

  2. Be able to commit to our Community Partner Expectations

  3. Submit the required Applied and Service Learning Forms to the Applied and Service-Learning Program

  4. Attend a Community Partner Site Visit scheduled by the Applied and Service-Learning Program

  5. Be added to the Community Partner Database