Students

Global Citizens Project and Awards

The Global Citizens Project is a university-wide initiative aimed at preparing you to succeed in today's interconnected world. But what is a global citizen and why should you want to be one? A global citizen can adapt and even thrive in all sorts of situations whether they involve diverse people, places, events, challenges, or opportunities. So being a global citizen means that you are flexible, knowledgeable about the world, collaborative, and with strong leadership skills. Employers and graduate schools seek these qualities in their candidates. The Global Citizens Project will help you develop these qualities. Complete information about the Global Citizens Project can be found here.

The Global Citizen Awards program is a fun and flexible way to develop the qualities of a global citizen and be rewarded for your accomplishments. Complete information about the Global Citizens Awards and their requirements can be found here. Pre-approved globally engaged activities, including co-curricular global community service, are among the requirements for earning the awards. Service is critical in the lives of global citizens and benefits you in addition to those whom you are serving. By enacting your values and learning from those who are different from you through service, you will learn to apply your skills and acquire a greater depth of understanding about the world around you. Such experiences and the perspectives you develop from these experiences are highly valued by your future employers and/or graduate programs. Yet, most importantly, engaging in service as a global citizen shows those whom you serve that you care—about the community, the world and all its citizens.  By working together with your service partners, you help to make the world a better place for us all to live ... one small action at a time.

What is "global" community service and how is it different from "regular" community service?

As with a broad definition of community service, we consider globally engaged community service to involve collaboration with an appropriate agency or community organization, address needs or concerns identified by the community (local, regional, or global), have a public purpose or result in benefits to the community, and involve opportunities for critical reflection. The difference is that global community service should also enhance your understanding of the global or cultural context in which the service occurs.

Where do I find service-learning courses that will count toward this requirement?

Students can find service-learning courses through OASIS by selecting Service-Learning on the Schedule of Classes search page (see image below). Also, please note that the phrase "Service-Learning Experience" will appear underneath service-learning course titles on your curricular transcript.

I found a course that I think qualifies as a global service-learning course, but it is not designated as such on the Schedule of Classes. May I use this course?

Possibly. USF has adopted Campus Compact's guidelines of service-learning courses. If the course you identified appears to incorporate all of Campus Compact's components (as listed below), please contact Dr. Bonnie Silvestri, interim Director of Service-Learning, in the Office of Community Engagement & Partnerships so she can review the course for inclusion in your Adventure Map.

According to Campus Compact*, service-learning syllabi:

• include community service as an expressed goal;
• specify approximate number of service hours students are expected to complete (usually 15-20 hours);
• describe the service-learning project;
• specify the roles and responsibilities of students in the service-learning project (e.g., transportation, time requirements, community contacts, etc.);
• describe the community-identified need(s) the service project meets;
• specify how students will be expected to demonstrate what they have learned in the service project (journal, papers, presentations);
• present course assignments that link the community service with course content;
• include a description of the reflection activities/assignments;
• and include a description of the expectations for the public dissemination of students' work.

* Adapted from Heffernan, K. (2001). Fundamentals of Service-Learning Course Construction. Providence, RI: Campus Compact.

How do I find global service opportunities and how do I get them pre-approved?

To find service opportunities through the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement (CLCE), log into www.usf.edu/BullSync and visit the Service Opportunities tab.

If you are having trouble accessing www.usf.edu/BullSync, try accessing the site with a different internet browser such as Firefox or Chrome; Internet Explorer is not compatible with BullSync.

All service activities on www.usf.eduBullSync have the potential to be globally approved, but your individual experiences may vary. If you have questions, about what opportunities are globally approved, you may visit the CLCE in the Marshall Student Center to talk with a staff member.

Can I split these 90 hours between multiple different service projects, or between service projects and a service-learning course?

Service-learning courses typically require students to perform 15-20 hours of service. Some of the pre-approved CLCE activities and service-learning courses will be split into multiple, small projects, whereas others are one, larger project. Both of these options are acceptable; you may also combine hours earned in CLCE-sponsored projects with service-learning courses to reach your total of 90 hours.

Several organizations require me to complete service. May I count my hours for other organizations for my Global Citizen Award requirements too?

Yes, however, your hours must all be pre-approved as globally engaged by OCEP or CLCE.

How will you know that I have completed this requirement toward my Global Citizen Award?

Please upload a copy of your co-curricular transcript confirming your completion of at least 90 hours, as well as the Activity Reflection in Canvas. See the Canvas quiz for specific instructions. If you completed any of your hours through a service-learning course, please indicate this in your Activity Reflection. Once we have validated your completion of the hours and/or service learning course, we will notify you of its acceptability with a 'grade' of 1 or unacceptability with a grade of '0' on your Activity Reflection.

If I choose to enroll in at least one service learning course toward my 90 hours, what grade must I earn in the course to allow this to "count" for the Global Citizen Award?

B or better.

For more information about the Global Citizen Awards, please contact the Global Citizens Project Staff at GCaward@usf.edu.