Agency Selection

Connect with the Appropriate Community Benefit Organization

Once you have designed your assignment, it is important to consider the type of agencies that would make appropriate partners for you and your students. You may want to ask yourself:

• Which agencies deal with issues covered in the course
  curriculum?
• Which agencies provide the type of service my students could
  provide?
• Which agencies serve the population that the service would
  address?

Here is a list of the commonly-used agencies. Once you have identified the type of agency, you can either contact the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning to find the right agency or contact the agency directly. Once an appropriate agency has been identified, meet with agency personnel to collaborate and discuss:

• your philosophy and your course objectives
• how your students can help them meet their needs
• the design of a service assignment that is mutually beneficial
• agency logistics (such as agency hours, check-in procedures)
• activities students would perform
• orientation and supervision responsibilities
• rules and regulations that the agency may have that students must abide by your expectations
• the agency's expectations
• procedure for agency feedback
• process for on-going communication
• Determine whether the agency is a good fit