• About the Carlson Center
• Get Involved
• Service Learning
  • Students
  • Community Partners
  • Faculty
• GEN ST 350: Independent Fieldwork
• Students in Service
• MLK Jr Day of Service
• Fellowships and Awards
• Spring Celebration
• Support the Carlson Center

Community Partners & Service-Learning

Strategic Match Process:
How does my organization get connected with service-learning students?

As we prepare for each academic quarter, the Carlson Center is in close communication with faculty members who plan to incorporate service-learning into their curriculum.  Depending on the faculty member’s preference, service-learning can either be an optional or required component of their class.  As these classes are confirmed, they are posted on the Carlson Center website. If you see a class that intrigues you, you have questions about, or you are interested in being matched with, contact the Carlson Center for more details.

Concurrently, the Carlson Center is in conversation with our community partners about their anticipated needs for the upcoming academic quarter.  To access these needs, we ask our community partners to submit position descriptions through EXPO, our online system.

As a community organization interested in working with service-learners, Carlson Center staff carefully reviews the mission of your organization and the position descriptions you submit.  Based on this information, Carlson Center staff make a strategic match between courses and community organizations.  For example, an environmental organization might be placed with a class called Society and Sustainable Environments.  An organization with an education position might be placed with Race, Ethnicity, and Education.  Organizations are often matched with multiple courses.

At the beginning of the quarter, students enrolled in service-learning courses log into the online system to view the service-learning position descriptions that have been matched with their class.  They are able to review the full position description your organization submitted prior to the beginning of the quarter.  The Carlson Center has compiled tips for writing an effective service-learning position.

Online registration occurs on a “first come, first served” basis.  Generally, registration is open for 3 days.  During this time, students can browse their options online and make a service-learning placement selection based on their interests, skills, and time schedule.

Upon completing their online registration, students are expected to contact their site supervisor to confirm or set up an orientation time. Learn more about providing a service-learning orientation.

At any time during or after the registration process, community partners can log into the online system to view students placed with their organization.  Here community partners will find the name of the student, the class in which they are enrolled, and a UW e-mail address.  This information can be helpful as community partners anticipate hearing from and preparing for orientations for their new service-learning students.

While the vast majority of the time clear position descriptions and the student self-selection process yield an excellent match for both the organization and the student, in rare cases you may find during the orientation that the student is not the best match for your organization. If this happens, please contact us as soon as possible so we can work with the student to find an alternative opportunity and/or work with you to find volunteers to fulfill this work.