As an ongoing approach to identify and promote experiential learning opportunities for our students, and as an additional way to better support our faculty who teach these courses, the University of Tennessee developed a course designation system for academic courses that include service-learning (S), undergraduate research (R), and internships (N). Teaching & Learning Innovation houses the S-Designation. The process was developed by the former Service-Learning Steering Committee in 2012, and approved for implementation by the Undergraduate Council and Faculty Senate in Fall 2016.
Proposals must be submitted by October 15, 2022 for consideration of inclusion in the 2022-23 catalogue. Upon submission, S-designation applications will be reviewed by the Service-Learning Subcommittee (learn more in the tab below), and successful applications routed to the Curriculum Committee of the Undergraduate Council.
Colleges seeking approval for courses to receive S-designation must follow the curricular submission guidelines for new courses. After the course add is approved at the College level, the Chair or designee of the College Curriculum Committee shall submit the course proposal with a statement of purpose to Molly Sullivan (see below) along with the following:
- S-Designation Application: Should include both General Course Information and completed Demonstration of Standards.
- A representative course syllabus: Should include a course description, clear indication that the course is a Service-Learning course, and course objectives defined in Standards 1 and 2 in the approval form.
- Documentation of approval of new course at the department and college levels. (Note that the addition of the “S” designation to a course number constitutes the proposal of a new course, even if developed from an existing course, and must follow the standard approval process for new courses.)
The college representative should email their materials to Molly Sullivan, Coordinator for Curriculum and Catalogue, at msulli27@utk.edu. Catalog proposal information must be sent as a Microsoft Word file; application material may be sent as Microsoft Word or PDF.
Following the submission instructions above, use the S-Designation Application to apply for the designation.
The Service-Learning Subcommittee reviews applications for the S-designation and recommends approved courses to the Undergraduate Council Curriculum Committee. The Subcommittee is composed of representatives from the Undergraduate Council, Teaching & Learning Innovation, and at-large faculty experts on service-learning.
Members include the following:
- Virginia Stormer, Subcommittee Chair, Teaching & Learning Innovation
- Katherine Ambroziak, College of Architecture & Design
- Laurie Meschke, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences
- Christine Nattrass, College of Arts & Sciences
- Javiette Samuel, Office of Community Engagement & Outreach, Diversity & Engagement
- Mandie Beeler, The Jones Center for Leadership & Service