Community Partners Guide

Institute for Freedom and Community
The Svoboda Center for Civic Engagement
For Community Partners

Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) encourages students to apply what they learn in the classroom within community contexts for the common good.

Often referred to as *community-based research*, *service-learning*, *community-based learning* and *public scholarship*, academic civic engagement facilitates the development of skills, habits of mind and relationships that prepare students for future internship, research, civic leadership and work roles.

Examples of benefits to the community include:

service-related activities such as tutoring, volunteering, and providing enrichment experiences

Examples of products students have created include

marketing plans, grant proposals, statistical research, public art, theatrical and musical productions, videos, photo collections, and outreach/educational materials.

There are a wide variety of projects that work well, and many can be modified to work if they don’t seem to fit at first, so whatever your idea, consider contacting us to explore the options.

Some variables to consider are the timing and schedule.

Students are available for fall and spring semesters of the academic year, September through early May (except for breaks.)
January Term is a one-month term during January when students enroll in just one course and work intensively on that topic.
Work with community partners may happen during class-time or outside of class time, depending on the activities.

Transportation

Students have access to a variety of options such as buses, biking, and walking, but generally do not have cars.

XH2S2679 — Community Based Work Study (CBWS) allows students with Federal or State financial funding to earn their work study awards by working off campus at local non-profit organizations or in preK-8 classrooms, typically for 8-10 hours per week.

Both the community organization and institution contribute to the work study wage, with the organization only contributing 25% of the students’ total wage (tutor positions are fully covered by St. Olaf). CBWS gives students the opportunity to devote a significant amount of work study time to a local project while learning about community issues and services.

Please contact Academic Civic Engagement at civic-engage@stolaf.edu for more information.

Employers must be a federal, state, or local public agencies or certain private nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Off-campus FWS jobs with federal, state, or local public agencies or private nonprofit organizations must be in the public interest. Off-campus FWS jobs with private, for-profit organizations must be academically relevant to the maximum extent possible.

Structure of the program:

- Cost sharing of student compensation – 75% St. Olaf College / 25% Community Partner; 100% St. Olaf College for all tutor positions.

- Billing – Community Partners are invoiced at the end of each academic semester

- Rate of Pay – $15.00/hr (2024-2025) is the standard. Higher rates may be available depending on jurisdiction and job type.

- Supervisory – Organization has sole discretion of employment terms related to the scope of work. Organization will have access a timecard approver for student employees.

Orientation and onboarding

How will you orient students to your organization/community? What should students know about your organization/community before engaging with you?
How is the culture of your organization similar to or different from what you know about the culture of St. Olaf? How could that help or hinder this partnership?
What is your and your organization’s preferred communication method, and how is that shared with students to participate in?

Ongoing Supervision

How much will students need supervision to complete this work? Who will supervise students?
What does co-education mean to you? How could you see your organization as a co-educator of St. Olaf students?

Prioritizing Projects

Do you have specific projects in mind that this partnership could work on? Or do you anticipate building a project around a combination of students’ needs and your organization’s needs?
How might you allow room for students to direct the work they are they doing (if/when appropriate)?

Organizations who wish to participate may contact the Academic Civic Engagement Office (civic-engage@stolaf.edu) to determine eligibility, needs, and ability to post additional positions.

We will provide details of the program and expectations for both all entities. If all things are in order, an agreement will be established and signed by representative of St. Olaf College and the Organization. This agreement must be signed and on file with St. Olaf before jobs will be posted per federal regulations.

1. Create a Job Description

Work with the ACE office to create a job description for new positions or to update existing job descriptions:
- Job Description template
- Guide to writing student job descriptions

2. Job POSTINGs

The ACE office will post jobs on the partners’ behalf on the Student Employment job board.
For equitable hiring and compliance purposes, new vacancies or created jobs must be posted on the job board for all students to see.

3. Review Applications

Applicants are cross-checked to determine that they meet eligibility requirements.
Applications are forwarded onto the partner, and students undergo the organization’s hiring and selection process as appropriate.
- Sample interview questions

4. Extend a Job Offer

Supervisors alert the ACE office about which students they will be hiring.
A job offer will be made to the selected candidate. If a student is eligible for hire, an accepted job offer will generate a timecard for the respective position. Note: this process can take between 5-10 business days.
A STUDENT MAY NOT BEGIN WITHOUT AN ACCEPTED JOB OFFER AND TIME CARD.
In order for the entire hiring process to be satisfied, a student requires a work award and required employment paperwork.
Selected students reports to work once we confirm all employment documentations are in order.

A St. Olaf staff member will check in with you;

at the beginning of the academic year (August) to gather information on your organization’s opportunities for student engagement in the coming year;
at the midpoint of the semester (middle of October and middle of March);
in January to beginning planning for the following academic year
and at the end of the academic year (May).
You will be given the opportunity to reflect on the partnership and express your concerns and/or successes.

During a specific project or program, your organization’s communication with students will be determined on an individual basis.
Feel free to contact St. Olaf at any time if you have questions, comments, or critiques regarding your organization’s partnership with St. Olaf.
You can stop by the ACE Office (3rd floor of Tomson Hall within the Smith Center for Global Engagement suite) on St. Olaf’s campus, or you can always reach a staff member by phone or email.
Let us know what communication methods you prefer and how to best reach you.

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