Service
Service Hours Reporting Portal is OPEN!
Please read new instructions sent to your siue.edu email carefully! Questions can be directed to vhovers@siue.edu.
Check your service hours total here.
Why Service?
Community service is one of the foundations of the Honors experience. It is designed to make students aware of issues that exist in the real world and to show connections between what is being learned in the classroom and the world beyond college. Community service also provides the opportunity for students to participate in shaping the lives and experiences of others.
All Honors students are required to complete 50 hours of service, up to 15 hours on-campus, before they graduate. This cap is meant to recognize the opportunities for service within our own campus community, but also push Honors students to seek service experiences in communities beyond the university.
Service completed for other programs on campus may also count toward the Honors requirement, but must be submitted directly to the Honors program through the Honors Service reporting form.
If you have any questions, concerns, or problems relating to the service requirement, please do not hesitate to write to Dr. Zachary Riebeling zriebel@siue.edu.
What is Service?
Simply put, service is the giving of one’s time and labor without the expectation of material benefit. Service activities provide the opportunity to interact with communities outside of one’s own, to engage with the problems and the struggles of the world, and to reflect on one’s own experiences and identity.
What does NOT Count?
While students may receive tokens of appreciation (a provided meal, a free shirt, drinks while working), any other type of compensation is normally not allowed (with few exceptions). Direct pay and other types of non-monetary but tangible benefits will not be counted as service.
Religious Engagement
While religious programs and institutions can be valuable facilitators of service opportunities—such as free food pantries or free clothing drives—SIUE adheres to CNCS AmeriCorps guidelines that prohibit service hours to religious institutions where the direct service involves:
- conducting worship
- religious instruction
- proselytization
- the creation or maintenance of buildings devoted to religious worship
As a basic rule, if the primary purpose of the activity is a religious one (rather than charitable), the activity will not be accepted for Honors.
Service Opportunities (more coming soon!)
Honors Alternative Spring Break/Alternative Summer Beginnings (ASB)
Each year, the Honors ASB sponsors a trip to a different location that allows students to engage in a week-long volunteer activity during traditional break times (either spring break or at the end of the spring term). In past trips to New Orleans, students have helped with housing rehabilitation, community gardens and organizations serving persons with disabilities. In addition to service, participants participate in reflection activities and take advantage of cultural opportunities in the area.
HSA Service Committee
The Honors Service Committee plans volunteer opportunities for students throughout the academic year. The committee has done events with food pantries, cleaning up walking paths and online research, and is always looking for new and interesting ways for students to volunteer. The committee and its activities are open to all honors students.
HSA Community Garden
The Community Garden is focused on using sustainable methods to grow nutritious food. Produce from the Community Garden will be donated to campus food scarcity resources. Students will have the opportunity to get outside, learn new skills and give back to their community.
Successful Communities Collaborative
The Successful Communities Collaborative is a program that integrates graduate, professional and advanced undergraduate students to implement change with partner cities by enrolling in specific related courses. Projects may include engineering, urban design, planning, cost-benefit analysis, economic development, legal and policy analysis, community engagement, and marketing or public relations campaigns.
Kimmel Service Saturdays
Service Saturday provides site coordination and transportation to students seeking service opportunities. Students can complete service projects dealing with homelessness, poverty, animal rights and welfare, food insecurity, environmental sustainability and home repair.
Campus Food Scarcity
The Cougar Cupboard located in the Morris University Center serves students, staff and faculty with emergent food issues. The Cougar Cupboard provides three days of food for visitors, has resources for additional food insecurities.
The Food Recovery Network is a student powered initiative centered on food sustainability. Students meals with food recovered from campus and community partners to be donated to community agencies that distribute food to their clients.
Service on Your Own
Students can create or find their own service opportunities in the St. Louis, Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area, or in their hometown. These opportunities must adhere to the Service Guidelines and must be reported in the Honors Service portal.
Contact
Please write to Dr. Zachary Riebeling zriebel@siue.edu with any questions or problems related to the Honors service requirement.
