Ateneo's Service-Learning soars: Improved processes lead to 50% increase in faculty participation

An overhaul of the Service-Learning (SL) Load Application process at Ateneo de Manila University has led to a 50% increase in faculty participation during School Year (SY) 2023-2024, marking a significant milestone in the University's commitment to social engagement and community impact.

Service-Learning (SL) at Ateneo de Manila refers to “a course-based, credit-bearing educational approach that merges academic instruction and research with hands-on community engagement. In SL, students and community partners, under the active guidance of the faculty, collaboratively address real-world challenges, using these experiences to deeply reflect on the course and discipline, advance social justice, and foster community betterment.”

Faculty members from the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design (GBSEALD), School of Humanities (SOH), John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM), School of Science and Engineering (SOSE), and School of Social Sciences (SOSS) who implement Service-Learning activities as an educational approach in their undergraduate or graduate classes can apply for a Service-Learning load, irrespective of their rank or status.

For full-time faculty members, these SL loads contribute to the annual requirement of 30 units, and for part-time faculty, they count as additional teaching units. These teaching load units are given to faculty in recognition of the commendable effort they put into preparing and integrating SL activities into their respective classes.

At the start of every semester and intersession period, the Ateneo Service-Learning Program Management Team, housed under the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Social and Environmental Engagement for Development and Sustainability (OAVP-SEEDS), sends out a call for SL Load Applications. The team, composed of Dr Mark Anthony D Abenir (Program Manager for Service-Learning), Atty Sabrina Kate D. Paner-Montiel (Assistant Program Manager for Service-Learning), and Dr Genejane M Adarlo (Coordinator for Service-Learning Research), reviews all SL load applications and facilitates the approval of recommended SL units for faculty.

The number of SL load units a faculty member can obtain is determined by the tasks and responsibilities they plan to undertake during the conduct of the SL activities for their classes. These tasks can be fulfilled through fully online, onsite, or hybrid engagements. Faculty can be granted a unit load ranging from a minimum of 0.50 units to a maximum of 1.50 units per class.

Significant improvements to the SL Load Application process were implemented during SY 2023-2024, including the development of a clearer rubric and point-system for determining SL load units. These changes enabled the Ateneo Service-Learning Program Management Team to process all SL load applications more efficiently. Faculty were informed of their approved SL loads within the same semester of their application, a notable improvement over previous years when decisions were finalized later.

In the First Semester of SY 2023-2024, a total of 36.5 approved SL units were granted to 18 faculty members from JGSOM, SOH, and SOSS. In the Second Semester, another 31.5 approved SL units were granted to 18 faculty members from JGSOM, SOH, SOSE, and SOSS.

These enhancements to the SL Load Application process, coupled with the SL Team’s active promotion of Service-Learning in the University have also contributed to the increase in the number of faculty applying for SL Loads. Across the two semesters of SY 2023-2024, a total of 36 faculty members applied for and received SL Load units which is a 50% increase from the previous year’s total of 24 faculty members.

It’s worth noting that these numbers also include faculty members who applied for an SL load for their Graduate classes, showing how service-learning as an experiential pedagogy is able to cater to both Undergraduate and Graduate students and provide them with meaningful community engagement activities and learning opportunities.

Looking ahead to SY 2024-2025 and beyond, the Ateneo Service-Learning Program Management Team remains committed to further improving the SL Load Application process to make it more efficient, convenient, and encouraging for faculty members.

The goal is to expand the cohort of higher education faculty engaged in Service-Learning, thereby advancing the Ateneo Service-Learning goal: to actively enhance students' learning and research experiences by immersing them in real-world social challenges, enabling them to become persons for and with others.

For more information on Service-Learning and the SL Load Application process for faculty, you may email servicelearning@ateneo.edu.