Program Overview

Student Scholar Program

The Student Scholar Program is a community-based learning initiative that aims to cultivate civic responsibility amongst students. The program's goal is to enhance the professional development and leadership potential of Student Scholars while gaining community-based research and project coordination skills.

What is the Goal of the Student Scholar Program?

The goal of the program is to ensure that Student Scholars are able to contribute to CSUN's mission by assisting community-based learning professors and leading community-based learning students.

Who are Student Scholars?

Student Scholars are selected by professors to serve as the student leaders of a service-learning class and receive a scholarship grant for their leadership duties. They are chosen for showing leadership potential, an interest in civic engagement, and strong research and organizational skills.

What are the Requirements and Qualifications?

Each community-based learning professor has their own set of qualifications and required hours of availability. Student Scholars are typically asked to:

• Be enrolled at CSUN during the academic year they serve
• Attend the Student Scholar Training and Orientation in the beginning of the semester
• Assist students in the CBL course with the placement process using the S4 Database
• Volunteer for or attend at least one event organized by the OCE during their tenure as student scholars
• Work closely with their professor and complete the assigned tasks by the mutually agreed deadlines
• Sign a Confidentiality Statement and Student Scholarship Disbursement form

What are the Responsibilities of a Student Scholar?

The responsibilities of a Student Scholar vary depending on the community-based learning professor's project needs and goals. These duties may include:

• Managing the S4 Service Learning Database
• Tracking student placements, form submissions, and timelog submissions/approvals
• Assisting students in utilizing the database and getting their sites approved
• Completing Research and Reflection projects or Collecting data and critical literature for professor's class reflection pieces
• Tracking data to be used for the online Year-end Report on behalf of the Community-based Learning class
• Leading student projects or Serving as liaison between the class and their community partner
• Event coordinating and planning
• Collaborating with and supporting the Office of Community Engagement to complete Community Engagement assessment surveys
• Participating in the mid-semester networking meeting
• Collaborating with other Student Scholars on presentation/roundtable discussions on Community-based Learning and/or their project

Important Notes

• Student Scholars are not to serve as Academic Student Employees (Teaching Associates, Graduate Assistants, and Instructional Student Assistants) and therefore cannot participate in grading students' work, developing lesson plans, teaching lessons, etc.
• The program is a grant award with payment processed by University Cash Services and paid into the student's account as a scholarship payment towards the end of the semester.