For Community Partners

We are so excited that you are interested in becoming a community partner for CSUSM to support our students' engagement with service learning. Whether you are a new or current community partner, please view: 

• Our Service Learning Events page to learn about opportunities to connect with our students and faculty as well as other community partners. 

• Our Service Learning Community Partner Handbook to learn about roles, responsibilites, and procedures.  

Also, feel free to reach out to the Service Learning Office with any questions and feedback. 

What is Service Learning?

Service learning incorporates community work into the curriculum, giving students real-world learning experiences that enhance their academic learning while providing a tangible benefit for the community. At CSUSM, Service Learning Office supports students who engage in service learning as part of a course. Students are expected to engage in 10 to 40 hours of service learning as part of their service learning courses. Our students and faculty search our S4 database to find community partners to work with for the service learning component of the course.       

• How do Students Benefit from Service Learning?
  • Learning outcomes—deeper understanding of course material, positive impact on student engagement, retention, and graduation rates.
  • Personal outcomes—enhances leadership, collaboration, communication skills.
  • Social outcomes—appreciation of diversity, cultural competence, empathy, civic engagement
• How do Community Partners Benefit?
  • By educating students about current issues that impact
    the community and inspiring the next generation of community leaders.
  • Extra hands to support the important work you do.
  • Developing relationships with CSUSM and other Community Partners.
  • Increasing visibility of your organization on campus and in the community.

  • Energy and enthusiasm of student volunteers who may be inspired by your mission and carry it forward in their future lives and careers.
  • College students can become positive role models for organizations working with under served youths.
  • Creating connections with students for long-term volunteering or hiring.
  • Opportunities for your organization to collaborate in faculty research.

Get to Know Our Students 

Applying to Become a Community Partner

• Step 1: Fill out and Submit a Request to Initatate Partnership Form

  Complete the Request to Initiate Partnership form online. To process your application in a timely manner, please ensure to answer all questions thoroughly. Please note your “Main Contact” information will be listed in the S4 database for our students and faculty to view as the point of contact for your organization. Make sure to identify at least one generic service learning opportunity for your organization when completing the form. You can always add more opportunities later. 

  Community Partners can submit the form anytime througout the year. However, this form must be submitted by Week 6 of a 16-week course and Week 2 of a 8-week course by a site (community partner) for the Service Learning Office to process the request in a timely manner for that semester. 

  The Request to Initiate Partnership Form can only be filled by a Community Partner. Students and Faculty who complete the form, will have their request DENIED.

• Step 2: Sign a University- Community Partnership Agreement
  Once your Request to Initiate Partnership Form is reviewed and approved by the Service Learning Office, you will receive a University Community Partnership Agreement via email to review and sign. The agreement will be valid for 1 or 5 years. Upon receiving your signed agreement, the Service Learning Office will upload your organization's information to the S4 Database for our students and faculty to search and find.  

This process takes approxiamately 4 weeks and depends on the Service Learning Office receiving responses from the community partner in a timely manner.  

Listing a New Opportunity for Your Organization 

If you already have a current University Community Partnership Agreement and want to submit a new service learning opportunity to be posted in the S4 database, please complete the New Service Learning Opportunity Form. The Service Learning Office will review your submission within 3-5 business days and you will contact you via email.