Kory,
I think I'll tag team with Lloyd in providing some thoughts on your first
question.
> 1. What advice could you offer to help a Clearinghouse model work.
One method used on some campuses such as at Boston University is that they
have a Clearinghouse as one of the student-run projects within their
Coalition of Projects.
Regardless of where it's housed, it should be designed in a way that it can
be responsive to the different types of needs that exist among prospective
volunteers. Individual student placements are just one need. It would also
be ideal for the clearinghouse to meet the needs of student organizations who
want help finding service for their members. This could be a service day or
an on-going project. Another service to provide would be for faculty members
teaching service-learning courses. They can sometimes use assistance in
setting up the service part of their course.
In terms of successfully engaging lots of students, it's useful to think of
an old organizer's principle: "Paper doesn't move people; people do." A
successful clearinghouse should have both active and passive systems of
recruitment and placement. A passive system is one in which most or all of
the initiative is up to the individual student. It's all up to them to come
in, look through the bulletin board, directory, files, or database. It's up
to them to call the agency, figure out a good fit, arrange for
transportation, report back to you all, show up for sessions you're providing
for training or reflection. For some students this is what works for them.
Most students though, probably don't make it all the way through.
For most students, they'll need more person to person guidance and coaxing
and follow up throughout this process. They'll need an active system of
recruitment and placement. In an active system, students come in and meet
with someone (I'll call them a "service counselor" for sake of discussion),
possibly another student, to explore the student's interests, passions,
needs, availability, time commitment, even learning objectives. Based on this
discussion the "service counselor" might make a few suggestions and show the
student how to use whatever information systems you have available. This
could include how the service opportunities are categorized, what to look
for, etc.
The student should be left to browse for awhile but then should check back in
to indicate which one was chosen. Often the student might narrow it down and
ask for additional guidance in which one to choose. Once chosen, the "service
counselor" should guide them through the next few steps, emphasizing the
importance of reliability, good communication with the agency, training, and
reflection. The "service counselor" should also keep in touch with the
student and the agency to check that everything is going well. If things
don't work out, the "service counselor" would then be able to help the
student find a more appropriate fit rather than give up on service
altogether.
Obviously, this level of personal service would quickly become overwhelming
if it were done solely by you. It's a great role for students to play though.
In fact, it would be great for these "service counselors" (or whatever
they're called) to also be involved in finding and identifying the service
placements. Their continued work with student volunteers will give them more
and more insight into what constitutes an ideal placement. The program at
the University of California, Santa Barbara is an excellent model of a high
quality clearinghouse. I believe Brown has one that's student-run.
I hope this helps.
Thinking back to our discussion on models a few weeks back, I wonder if this
active system should be considered a distinct model from the passive one. It
seems like the active system is more accurately described as a Placement
Model.
What would folks on the list think of this rough categorization of models:
Clearinghouse Model
Placement Model
Coalition of Projects Model
Club Model (ie Circle K, Alpha Phi Omega, Rotaract)
The reason I keep thinking of models is that it could enhance discussion and
sharing. It might help program better identify which areas are
underdeveloped. A campus might have a strong and flourishing Coalition of
Projects and a Clearinghouse without a Placement component.
Any thoughts on that?
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