Tips for Community Partners
Attracting and Training Experiential Learning Students
Establishing/Maintaining Contact with CEL
The Center for Experiential Learning serves as the facilitator and mediator for many aspects of the experiential learning process at Loyola: exploring and documenting the interests and needs of community partner agencies; matching faculty/course objectives with relevant community opportunities; connecting student service learners and interns with placements appropriate to their course of study and experience. Community organizations wishing to partner with Loyola University students (as volunteers, service learners, interns, etc.) and faculty should begin by contacting CEL to establish a partnership.
Once an organization is partnered with CEL, they should keep CEL staff up-to-date on new developments and opportunities at their organization. Regular communication will help guarantee that CEL staff remains attuned to agencies' needs and interests as they work with Loyola faculty and students interested in experiential learning opportunities.
Experience eRecruiting
One of the most important ways community partners communicate directly with Loyola students is through Loyola’s eRecruiting system, an interactive, searchable database of community partners and service/internship opportunities at their agencies maintained by CEL and Loyola’s Career Development Center. CEL sets up an eRecruiting account, free of charge, for all of its community partners. Partners can use eRecruiting to post agency and volunteer/paid position descriptions, to change and update contact information, to process student applications for posted positions, and to search web-based resume books for qualified Loyola students and alumni seeking volunteer and employment opportunities.
We encourage you to post all internship and volunteer service opportunities on eRecruiting. This is a FREE site to help employer partners engage students at Loyola University.
- Log in to eRecruiting (current account holders only)
- Contact CEL Staff to inquire about obtaining or using your eRecruiting account
- General eRecruiting instructions from Loyola's Career Development Center
- Download CEL's "Community Partner Cheat Sheets" (PDF) with specialized eRecruiting instructions for posting organization descriptions, service-learning opportunities, and volunteer positions
- Download CEL's sample eRecruiting organization description (PDF)
Structuring an Effective Orientation for Experiential Learners
Once students have decided on a particular service site placement, they need to be orientated to that site and their duties by the site coordinator/supervisor. It is important that students be familiar with the agency and staff, understand their responsibilities, learn about policies and attend any necessary trainings. The more information supervisors can cover during the on-site orientation, the more prepared students will be to serve there effectively. A good orientation should include:
Agency information: Whom do you serve? What are the demographics, funding sources, mission, agency philosophy? Be sure to include a tour of the facility(-ies) where students will serve.
Staff: Who are some of the staff with whom students will be working, and what are their positions? Is there any jargon or language generally used by staff that students should know?
Responsibilities: What is expected of the students? What role will they play in the agency? How will their performance be appraised?
Policies: Sign-in/out, dress code, office rules, hours of operation, available hours for student service, protocols for notifying the agency if a student is ill or cannot attend.
Training: If any is needed, what kind? Where/when will it take place?
Supervision: It is important that all students have a contact person at the community site who will supervise them, answer their questions/concerns, and help them to reflect on their experiences and how these relate to their academic objectives.
Adapted from the Service Learning Program at College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL
(T. Milne and S. Gustis, 2007)