Dr. Eric Hartman Work for Good, Ltd.

workforgoodinfo@gmail.com

SISPA Program Evaluation

• The Environment (Why?) • The Puzzle (How?) • Lessons Learned

– The Good – The Bad – The Applicable

• Progress & Possibilities • Looking toward the Future

Today’s Presentation

The Environment

• AmeriCorps • The Field of Service-Learning

– Community Impact – Carnegie Classification

• Assessment and Evaluation

SISPA program University population

University structure & incentives

SISPA administration

SISPA outcomes

Inputs, Filters, Policies, Programming … and Outcomes

SISPA Outputs

So What?

244 PA Students

244 Education

Awards

144,395 hours of volunteer service, with a value of

$2,961,541 for PA communities

Student Community Institution

Outputs # of service hours; extent of scholarship support

# of service hours; # of additional volunteers; # of agencies served

Percentage of students engaged in service; # of community partners

Outcomes Increased civic leadership skills; increased interest in relevant courses; increased concern for others; increased propensity for civic leadership through adulthood

Organizations’ perceptions; ability to address pressing social issues; growth in community capacity to motivate volunteers; confidence that contemporary service includes education and action related to root causes

Institutional identity as engaged institution; understanding of civic purpose among faculty, staff, admin and students; increased resource and research sharing between institution and community organizations

Considering SISPA Effects

• PHENND director selected 5 high-performing programs (Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Duquesne, Juniata, IUP)

• Conducted interviews with university office coordinators representing those 5 programs

• Conducted community organization interviews with 12 agency representatives, documented, reviewed, catalogued emerging themes

• Completed follow-up interviews with university representatives based on community interviews

Approaching Outcomes

The Good

• Positive reporting from community organization representatives

• Deep appreciation of university volunteers • Clear emphasis on importance of SISPA for

enhancing stability of relationships

A few of the documented community outcomes

Increasing community capacity

to address homelessness

24/7 Women’s

shelter

Blood drives supporting >

1,000 patients

Safe spaces for

youth Public health

programming for young parents

Rejuvenation of community

parks

Museum staffed, history

preserved

Educational programming for children in

hospital

Common Theme: Enhancing Stability

UNIVERSITY

COMMUNITY PARTNER

SISPA

Spring Term Volunteers

Greek Organizations

Service-Learning Students

Fall Term Volunteers

Events, Holiday Drives,

Unpredictable Initiatives

Varying Impact: Institutional Structure

• Duquesne requires service-learning from all undergraduates, putting much stronger faculty focus on service-learning programming

• IUP and Bloomsburg situated SISPA programming with off-campus work study programming

• Juniata connects SISPA with their Bonner Leaders program

Varying Impact: Tuition Assistance

• At a work study rate of $7.25 per hour, a SISPA who commits to 450 hours will earn $3,000, plus the tuition award of $1,468 for a total of $4,468. Over 3 years, this totals $13,404

• Annual cost of tuition: – IUP: $3,214 (2012-13 AY) – Bucknell: $43,628 (2011-12 AY)

• Nothing SISPA-specific • To the extent that organizational

representatives would say anything negative, it related to short-term, episodic, or unsystematic volunteering

The Bad = “I need to get 25 more volunteer

hours by the end of the week.”

The Bad

The Applicable

• AmeriCorps interests align with best practices in volunteer management

• Targeted programming yields targeted outcomes

• Focused volunteer management improves community organizations’ capacities and ability to meet goals – University Programming (Duquesne) – Organization Programming (Indiana Borough)

Volunteer Management Best Practices & AmeriCorps Interests

• Training and professional development opportunities for volunteers

• Annual measurement of the impacts of volunteers • Recognition activities, such as award ceremonies, for

volunteers • Written policies and job descriptions for volunteer

involvement • Screening procedures to identify suitable volunteers • Regular collection of information on volunteer numbers

and hours • Training for paid staff in working with volunteers • Regular supervision and communication with volunteers

Targeted Programming - Duquesne

Targeted Programming – Duquesne 2 1) Describe how the Community Engagement Scholar program will complement your existing service-learning/community engagement program or describe how the program will enable your department to establish such initiatives. 2) Scholars are expected to spend more than half of their time in an intensive community placement (4-5 hours per week). Please complete the following:

… b. Name of Agency or Group: ____________________ c. Please provide a general description of the work the students will do in this placement. d. Along with your application, please submit a letter of support from your partner agency that confirms they are willing to host the scholar and agree that the students’ work will help to meet a need they are experiencing. (See Appendix A for letter-of-support guidance).

3) How will you recruit your Scholar(s)? 4) Describe the level of supervision that they will receive. How will you ensure that they are contributing meaningfully to your department and to their community placement?

Targeted Programming – Indiana Borough

Targeting Programming – Indiana 2

Student Community Institution

Outputs # of service hours; extent of scholarship support

# of service hours; # of additional volunteers; # of agencies served

Percentage of students engaged in service; # of community partners

Outcomes Increased civic leadership skills; increased interest in relevant courses; increased concern for others; increased propensity for civic leadership through adulthood

Organizations’ perceptions; ability to address pressing social issues; growth in community capacity to motivate volunteers; confidence that contemporary service includes education and action related to root causes

Institutional identity as engaged institution; understanding of civic purpose among faculty, staff, admin and students; increased resource and research sharing between institution and community organizations

Progress and Possibilities: SISPA Effects

Looking Forward

• Survey organizational representatives – SISPA administrators send link to organizational

reps – Additional survey needed for univ-community

capacity increases at higher ed institution • Check for ‘worst case’ concerns • Monitor volunteer management best practices • Twice annually, 10 – 25 minutes, online

Looking Forward

Looking Forward

Looking Forward

Dr. Eric Hartman Work for Good, Ltd.

workforgoodinfo@gmail.com

Questions, Comments, Concerns?