Note: This article's focus is on the next-generation Service Learning Module (SLM), released by Galaxy Digital in late 2017/early 2018. For information on the old version (Legacy SLM), click here. The SLM is an add-on module and is not part of a standard Connect platform. SLM features are only available to clients who have purchased the module.

Get Connected's Service Learning Module (SLM) is a tool that makes it easy for school administrators to create, manage, track the impact of, and report on student service-learning courses and programs. Educators and service-learning program directors can efficiently communicate volunteer opportunities to the entire campus, and it's simple for students to find volunteer opportunities, respond to them, and submit their hours.

The SLM is designed for use by four different roles:

  • Connect site managers/SLM administrators
  • Agency managers
  • Professors/instructors
  • Students

Below you'll find descriptions of each role's responsibilities in the module. You can click the links provided to learn more about each role, and about the various steps and procedures involved in using the SLM.

Connect Site Managers/SLM Administrators

This individual (or group) is responsible for setting up the SLM for use by students, faculty, and agency managers. The site manager creates blocks (academic periods) in the system, adds courses, assigns agencies and needs to courses, and establishes course reflection questions for students.

Site managers can also create needs on behalf of agencies, and can indicate whether a need will be public on the site or privately available to one or more courses.

Click a link below for more information on the setup processes in the SLM.

Site managers also have access to the following course report User Group (Course) Summary, a report that shows the name of each course, the total course members (including instructors), unique need responses, and volunteer hours entered, pending, approved, or denied.

Agency Managers

The agency manager's role is typically to post volunteer opportunities for students participating in service learning. Agency managers can assign specific needs to courses and can make those needs privately available to those courses. Agency managers can also approve (or deny) volunteer hours and can message students who have responded to their posted opportunities.

Agency managers should be aware that both site managers and course instructors can post needs for courses on an agency's behalf.

To learn more, check out the Agency Manager's Guide to SLM to learn more.

Professors/Instructors

Course instructors can access their instructor portal at any time to see stats related to their courses, including number of students, hours logged, volunteerism goals (hours), and percentage complete. In addition, the portal includes the following features:

  • A full roster of students of each course taught.
  • A link that can be sent to students to join the course in the SLM setup.
  • Drilled-down data on each student, including their email, reference ID (as applicable), need responses, and hours submitted.
  • A searchable list of needs assigned to each course, with the ability to add a need on behalf of an agency manager.
  • A searchable list of need responses associated with each course, with the ability to add a response on behalf of a student.
  • A searchable list of volunteer hours submitted for each course, with the ability to add, approve, or deny hours.

The Leader's Guide to SLM is available for professors, instructors, course assistants, and anyone else managing an SLM course.

Students

Students are responsible for finding volunteer opportunities, responding to them, performing the volunteer work, and submitting their hours. Check out our Student's Guide to SLM for information on using SLM as a student.