About this Volume

Volume 1a: A Resource Guide for Community Engaged Learning: Service-Learning Edition

Volume 1a is a resource guide primarily for service-learning faculty and service-learning/community engagement staff on CSU campuses. Risk Management and Procurement Officers are also encouraged to use this guide to better understand their roles in supporting service-learning placements. While some information in this volume will apply to other types of experiential education, Volume 1a is not intended to cover the intricacies that exist in each of the different types of experiential education programs, including other forms of curricular community-engaged learning. Future volumes in this series will be released as they become available. All types of experiential education need to examine risk mitigation issues as they pertain to their programs. 

Volume 1a is an updated revision of the Community Service Learning in the California State University – A Resource Guide for Managing Risk in Service Learning (2011), including a new section on student rights, and an update to the student participation guidelines. This edition also highlights “voices from the field,” sharing the successful work of campuses including the CalState S4 database. Additionally, this volume includes three at-a-glance documents – one for faculty, one for campus service-learning staff and leaders, and one for campus risk managers – which provide a snapshot of essential practices that support both the mitigation of risk and the creation of positive service-learning experiences when implemented. Furthermore, electronic usage of forms is strongly suggested as it mitigates risk, facilitates easier storage and retrieval, and eliminates paper waste leading to better environmental sustainability. 

Finally, the volume includes a flow chart (pdf) constructed as a blueprint to walk the reader through the risk mitigation process in a logical and easy-to-follow manner. Designed to work together, the segments contained in this resource guide can be used independently in instances where portions of the process are already underway on a campus. As the CSU moves towards improving quality and impactful service-learning experiences for all its students, this guide provides the necessary steps in creating new opportunities while appropriately mitigating associated risks. Considering numerous perspectives, the resource guide is intended to represent a commonsense and reasonable approach.