Crafting a Guide for Student Volunteerism and the One-Stop Service at Stellenbosch University

Mike Leslie11 March 2011

With acknowledgements to Mouton et al, SURVEY OF THE OUT-OF-CLASS EXPERIENCES OF

STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AT THE MAIN CAMPUS IN STELLENBOSCH, 2010

OverviewStellenbosch University context

◦The creation of the One-Stop Service◦What the One-Stop Service does

Developing a booklet responsive to the needs of students

First and Second EditionsWhat lies ahead...

Students who participate in voluntary work/community service @ SU (N=1308)

Where and how do students volunteer at @ SU?

Organisation/structure through which voluntary work or community service is performed (N=434)

Frequency of voluntary work (N=425)

One-Stop Service origins RAG sought to make more visible its annual contribution through a new

initiative to demonstrate to students, the main fundraisers, the direct application of generated funds for social development;

A recent audit of Stellenbosch University asked the institution to develop “principles, processes, and monitoring mechanisms to assess the quality of current and new community interaction initiatives” (CHE, 2007: 34);

Efforts to develop MGD as an NPO had professionalized the organization, but made it increasingly less reliant on student volunteers for its programmes; and

A proliferation of short-term student projects generally lacking in coordination and capacity resulted in concerted efforts from student leadership to identify and create new campus-wide opportunities.

One-Stop Service takes shape“This new initiative could play an important role

to promote outstanding community interaction on campus by supporting individual students or groups who wanted to participate in community projects. It could help facilitate growth opportunities for students, increase the capacity of service providers by facilitating partnerships with student groups and increase the well-being of our communities by facilitating sustainable community-driven initiatives” (Burger, 2007)

Matie Community Service programmes

MGD

ABET

KLP

PrimaryHealth

Entrepre- neurship

One- Stop Service

One-Stop Service Advisory Board

One-Stop Service

SRC: CI

RAG

Student AffairsOne-Stop Service

Programme Manager

SU Academic staff

Div. Community Interaction

Other MGD staff

Maties RAG Financial contribution towards MGD 60% - One Stop Service Funds student driven projects

What does the One-Stop Service do?Sharing of knowledge, experience and

resourcesCo-ordination between student community

projectsAccess information regarding all student

involvement in communityProvide training and guidance for volunteers Enhance the professionalism of community

projects ‘ together we grow’

Where did the need arise?Following trainings and meetings, students

wanted more information on HOW to do things.

Structures, processes, and rules began to take shape and required transparency.

In the project proposal process we saw students still lacking an understanding of the WHY.

Experience and feedback necessitated further clarification*.

How has the booklet taken shape?First edition

Invited input from all stakeholders

Practicality first and foremost-What do students want to know?

Compiled any and all relevant documentation

Sorted and printed everything

Useful but less coherent

Still lacked important organisational, programmatic, and process information

Most relevant for student project leaders

Second editionReceived more constructive critique from stakeholders

Move towards balancing what students want and what they should know

More extensive editing process and common voice running throughout

Strengthened links and coherence of the booklet to specific programme activities

Direct application for short course participants

Still aimed at student project leaders but accessible and relevant to volunteers and other interested parties

Broader input!

Crafting a booklet responsive to student needsContext and structural understandingProgramme goals, activities, and theory of

changeA step by step explanation of the project

proposal process and templatesRights, risks, and responsibilitiesAdministrative information

For the future...Pilot of community interaction short

course (April-August 2011)Opportunity to incorporate partner

organisation feedbackSecond phase of community interaction

short course with project proposal process integrated (September-March 2011)

Review and revision for 2012

Contact details:

Mike LeslieCoordinator: International Student Life & IntegrationPostgraduate & International Office (PGIO)Stellenbosch UniversityPh: +27 21 808 9021C: +27 76 912 4767mikeleslie@sun.ac.za

THANKS!