Creating Sustainable Service-learning Programs:
A Role for Student Organizations
Curt DeBerg
California State University – Chico
Bernard Milano
KPMG Foundation
Dasaratha Rama
University of Massachusetts - Darmouth
Contact Author:
Dasaratha V. Rama
Department of Accounting & Finance
Charlton College of Business
University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth
North Dartmouth, MA 02747
(508) 999 8767
Draft: 04/25/2000
Creating Sustainable Service-learning Programs:
A Role for Student Organizations
Many undergraduate students participate in volunteer activities through student
organizations, national honors societies and campus-based student clubs. For example, a
recent study of 22,236 college undergraduates (Astin et. al. 2000) found that 46 percent of
the students participated in community service activities not linked to a course. The purpose
of this paper is to explore the role of student organizations in building sustainable
service-learning program through a combination of course-based and noncredit projects.
Astin et. al. (2000) also found that performing service as part of a course adds
significantly to the benefits associated with community service for all 11 outcome measures
studied except interpersonal skills, self-efficacy and leadership as compared to noncredit
community service activities. Benefits associated with course-based service were strongest
for the academic outcomes, especially writing skills. Similarly, results of Eyler and Giles
(1999) also suggest that application of service to coursework enhances service-learning
outcomes. While integrating service activities with coursework enhances educational
outcomes, a major challenge in course-based projects is the limited time available for
service activities in a course, especially given that service is typically only one of many
requirements in a course. Student organizations such as STUDENTS IN FREE
ENTERPRISE (SIFE) offer one way for addressing these concerns by providing a
structure for continuing course-based projects over extended time periods.
Further faculty report time and effort required for service-learning, and lack of
resources as barriers to service-learning (Stanton , Hammond 1994, National Association
of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges 1995, Robinson 1996, Wade and
Yarborough 1997). Another major way in which student organization can enhance
service-learning programs is by providing opportunities for students to assume leadership
roles in developing and managing projects. Such an approach provides rich educational
opportunities for students while simultaneously providing support to faculty in organizing
and managing projects.
We discuss a six year implementation experience with Students in Free Enterprise
(SIFE). SIFE is a non-profit educational organization that works in partnership with
business and higher education, providing college students the leadership experience of
establishing community outreach programs that teach others how market economies and
businesses operate. Currently, the SIFE organization consists of about 30,000 students at
over 600 colleges and universities in the U.S. SIFE has also expanded to 12 other
countries.. By carefully designing community service activities of student organizations
and integrating these activities with coursework, SIFE enhances the value of servicelearning projects for the community, students, faculty and universities. The following
sections discuss different elements of the SIFE implementation that helps in sustaining
service-learning.
Establishing and Communicating Outcomes
One key feature of SIFE that facilitates building and sustaining high quality
projects in the community is that SIFE programs have clearly defined outcomes for the
community and students. Each spring, SIFE teams compete against one another at one of
20 regional competitions throughout the United States. These regional and national
competitions provide a formal mechanism for communicating desired outcomes to SIFE
teams. Table 1 shows the judging criteria for SIFE competitions. As seen from the table,
the primary objective is to establish community outreach programs to teach others about
how businesses operate, how to identify market need for a product or service and how to
meet that need; how to produce that product or service; how to make a profit, the ethical
obligations businesses have to their customers and community, and the skills needed to
be successful in the global marketplace.
SIFE criteria also emphasize community impact through item 6 of the judging
criteria which involves measuring and quantifying project success. Again, to perform
well in the competition students have to be aware from the beginning that they need to
devise assessment techniques and collect data to document project success. Thus teams
have to pay attention to achieving well-defined, measurable outcomes through their
projects.
SIFE also organizes several special competitions (table 2). SIFE’s Home Office
finds several sponsors to create special competitions, and projects are designed that meet
their specific criteria. These special competitions focus SIFE activities on the
accomplishment of specific objectives for the community and the students. For example,
one competition focuses on enhancing a child’s understanding about how a business
operates, responsible consumerism, professional opportunities, and how business
impacts our daily lives. I BELIEVE THERE ARE BETTER EXAMPLES-“Responsible
use of credit”; “Reducing the national debt”, etc.
SIFE competitions also provide an equivalent of feedback/grading mechanisms
for noncredit settings. To defray costs of travel and provide additional incentives,
winning teams are awarded cash prizes. Business supporters and private foundations
provide this prize money. Winning teams at the regional competition advance to a
national competition held in Kansas City, Missouri in May each year. Judges at these
competitions include OVER 250 entrepreneurs, CEOs and other business leaders.
Another beneficial aspect is the added exposure to potential recruiters, given that many of
the judges for the competitions are industry leaders. (I WOULD REMOVE THIS The
judging criteria also identify educational outcomes for students. Educational outcomes
are discussed in the following section.
Designing Service Activities
The needs of students, community partners and faculty need to be balanced in
identifying service projects that can be sustained through a given service-learning
program. In SIFE, projects are selected in several ways. Many of the projects are
initiated when community members contact the faculty advisor. Alternatively, SIFE
students suggest ideas that they want to pursue. The project selection process emphasizes
building sustainable partnerships with the community. Almost half of the current
projects are either continuation projects, or improved significantly from the previous
year. Ongoing relationships have been developed or are being established with
organizations such as Butte County Office of Employment, Butte County Office of
Employment, City of Chico, Girl Scouts of America, County Center Day School,
Juvenile Hall etc.
Selecting appropriate service activities is essential to sustaining student
involvement. First, service activities must contribute to educational outcomes. Second,
service projects must be appropriate given student background and amount of time
students can spend on service activities.
SIFE Projects and Educational Outcomes
SIFE emphasizes teaching, tutoring and mentoring activities. Hedin (1987) notes
that peer-tutoring programs enhance academic achievement both for tutors and for
tutored students. Cohen, Kulik and Kulik (1982) found that in 33 of 39 studies, results
suggest that students who served as tutors performed better on exams than did control
students. Further, in 45 of the 52 achievement studies, the tutored students scored higher
on examination performance than those in a conventional class.
SIFE results are consistent with prior studies. For example, a summer program
for 30 high school students was assessed using (1) a 10 question pre, post economic
literacy test developed by National Council on Economic Education, (2) a 15 question pre
post business literacy test. In 1992, American adults scored an average of the 39% and
college graduates scored an average 51% on the economic literacy test. The students in
the SIFE program had average scores of 37.5% and 64.4% on the pre and post test
representing a significant improvement. Students showed a significant improvement on
11 of 15 questions in the business literacy test.
SIFE activities are structured to support the development of various personal
competencies in addition to basic business knowledge. As shown in table 1, SIFE
provides opportunities to develop broader competencies such as teamwork,
communication, project management and leadership skills. Such competencies are being
increasingly emphasized in business and accounting education (e.g., AAA Bedford
Committee 1986; Arthur Andersen et al. 1989; AECC 1990, AICPA 1999a,b). For
example, the recently released “AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the
Accounting Profession” calls for accounting graduates to exhibit highly complex and
integrated skills. Table 1 shows examples of how the judging criteria relate to a range of
personal competencies identified in the AICPA framework. Elements of AICPA
comptency definitions of professional demeanor, problem solving and decision making,
interaction, communication, leadership and project management skills are given in Table
Complexity and Diversity of Projects
The nature of SIFE projects make it feasible to sustain student involvement and
community partnerships for several reasons. Firts, the tutoring/mentoring tasks are of
manageable complexity for students especially if appropriate training is provided.
Project activities can be structured in a way that specific measurable outcomes can be
achieved in a reasonable time frame. Third, students typically acquire the business and
computer literacy skills that they have to teach to others early in their college curriculum.
By involving students from an early stage in the program it is feasible to create
opportunities for participation over longer time periods.
A fourth factor that contributes to sustainability of the SIFE program is that numerous
opportunities are available in the areas of teaching/tutoring/mentoring to engage a large
membership. As shown in table 1, the basic program developed for one high school has
been extended to other high schools, a summer program, a program for youth on
probation and a program for incarcerated youth. In addition, programs can be tailored to
different age groups – k-8, high school, college age students and adults. Further, a range
of topics can be covered in these programs including business and economic literacy, and
technology. There are also opportunities to create short term experiences such as Make a
Difference Day and Youth Entrepreneurship camps.
Finally, while a range of opportunities exist, the different projects involve similar
types of service. If students are engaged in projects that vary widely in nature and scope,
considerable resources may be required for organizing and managing these projects. For
example, considerable faculty time and effort is required for helping students acquire the
skills necessary for different types of projects, interacting with community organizations,
and offering frequent guidance and feedback in a classroom setting. In programs where
a large number of students are involved as in our SIFE example, faculty time may be a
significant constraint if the project activities vary considerably in nature and scope. To
summarize, focusing on a few types of service activities (teaching/tutoring/ mentoring)
activities helps to ensure that services are of acceptable quality.
Integrating SIFE Activities with the Curriculum
The SIFE implementation provides a model for sustaining student involvement in
service through a combination of course-linked and noncredit activities. As discussed in
previous sections, a key challenge in service-learning involves providing services of
value given limited student time on projects. Balancing student time on task against
community needs is crucial to project success. Longer term student involvement may be
necessary in order to achieve measurable outcomes and sustain community partnerships.
One approach to long term involvement is to continue a project in a course over
multiple semesters. A major limitation of this approach is that each new set of students
needs to be oriented and trained to perform competently. It may be difficult to ensure
continuity if the students involved in the project change every few months. Thus finding
avenues for continued involvement for students who have acquired the skills necessary to
perform competently may be crucial to long term sustainability of service-learning
programs.
In the SIFE program, students participate in an initial service experience in the
freshman/sophomore year course on Introduction to Business or Principles of
Accounting. Here the faculty adviser trains teams of university students to deliver a series
of business and computer literacy lessons to at-risk students enrolled in “alternative” high
schools. SIFE provides a structure for sustaining participation over an extended period.
It may be difficult to sustain student involvement in a project over 2 or 3 years entriely
through course-based projects since it is unlikely that the same service activity will fit the
requirements of numerous courses.
The community benefits because students who have acquired skills to deliver certain
types of services continue to be involved in providing these services for extended time
periods. Another advantage of this approach is that several veteran students can play a
coaching/mentoring role for rookie students. In contrast to projects where a single
faculty member has to guide numerous students, the additional support available for
rookie students in this model also enhances service quality. As discussed in the next
section support activities necessary to sustain community service projects (project
management, travel, public relations, mentoring and coaching others etc.) provide rich
opportunities for student development even when the nature of the service is unchanged.
Linking to Academic Program
As mentioned above, many students begin their SIFE involvement either through
an introductory business or accounting course. Veteran students can earn one credit for
leadership roles on projects. Recently, an interdisciplinary course of Technology,
Teamwork and Leadership has been created. SIFE officers, project leaders and several
students from computer science participate in this course. Students learn technology
skills such as computer animation, storyboarding etc. Extensive collaboration is needed
to author a presentation for the regional and national meetings.
One unique feature of SIFE is that even the noncredit activities are closely aligned
with a student’s academic program as follows:

The business literacy lessons which are the basis of the teaching/ tutoring activities
were authored by a faculty member

There is active faculty advisor involvement in SIFE activities

For many students, the work in noncredit settings is a continuation of a course
project. Thus the service is linked to the curriculum even though it is not part of the
course.

Rookie students are mentored by veteran students. Thus even for students who start
on a noncredit basis, the training/mentoring helps in connecting the service to the
academic program.

The SIFE competitions help in articulating and communicating outcomes even when
the project is in a noncredit setting. These outcomes include basic business/computer
literacy as well as broad personal competencies required for success as business
professionals. For example, the linkages between the SIFE criteria and AICPA core
competency framework were discussed in the outcomes section.
Reflection
Effective service-learning programs incorporate reflection before, during and after
the experience. Prior research suggests that ongoing reflection is key to enhancing
educational outcomes from service-learning (Eyler and Giles 1999). Students are
required to write reflection papers in SIFE activities integrated in courses.
However, there are also unique opportunities for reflection in SIFE in noncredit
settings through three types of activities (1) project management, (2) travel and sharing
experiences at regional and national meetings, and (3) mentoring/coaching college and
high school students in establishing similar programs. One example is a program for
public relations and dissemination. In addition to producing a documentary that aired on
the local PBS television station, members of this team have traveled to Washington, D.C.
over the past three years to participate in the American Association for Higher
Education’s national conference on school/college collaboration.
Reflection activities that occur in noncredit settings are usually led by students.
For example, the president arranges speakers and workshops for the weekly meetings.
Similarly, project leaders lead and facilitate reflection on project related activities through
regular meetings. As discussed in the subsequent sections on project management, and
travel and sharing, reflection activities are built into the day-to-day functioning of the
SIFE program.
Project Management
The need for continuity through extended student involvement in SIFE projects
must be balanced against the need to provide interesting and challenging experiences for
students. While the nature of the service is unchanged, SIFE provides extensive
opportunities for project management, public relations, peer coaching etc. to challenge
experiences for students as they continue their involvement over time. Another
advantage of this approach is that student leadership in managing projects reduces faculty
time and effort for implementing service-learning.
SIFE Structure
SIFE provides a structure for managing diverse projects effectively. For example,
some students serve as officers. Officers include a president, vice president, VP of
technology, VP of public relations, VP of special events, and a secretary. The president
organizes weekly member and officer meetings, and bimonthly team leader meetings, and
ensures that project deadlines are met. In addition, there are a number of project leaders
responsible for managing specific projects in the community. Project leaders participate
in an initial orientation session to explain project details to interested students. They also
conduct regular meetings to monitor project progress and take appropriate action. Also
as mentioned in the previous section, they help in training and mentoring junior students.
Resource Management
SIFE competitions require students to document their utilization of resources
including the Business Advisory Board (BAB), students/faculty from other disciplines
etc. The fact that students have to discuss resource utilization in their presentation guides
student activities and reflection throughout the project. Project leaders/officers have to
be aware of available resources, devise ways to effectively utilize resources and track
how resources have been utilized across projects. For example, the BAB can (1) help
make “connections” in the community, (2) provide a resource base for ideas, funding,
and further networking, (3) provide guest speakers, (4) serve as judges for Cal-High SIFE
and Summer SIFE projects, (5) help in selecting presenters, (5) attend friends of SIFE
Banquet, (6) host dinners and lunches to brainstorm ideas. Other departments can
support the presentation team as follows:

Documentary (Computer Science, Communications, Music)

Theme song (Music)

Introduction for presentation (Computer Graphics)

Annual report (Communications)
Students have also been effective in generating resources. For example, through the
efforts of SIFE students, a local business donated 11 computers to the County Center Day
School. Students have acquired state-of-the-art laptop computers and video display
projection systems by authoring grants within and external to the university. Starting in
fall 1996, the high school lessons were delivered using PowerPoint presentations and
motion graphics.
Student Orientation
At the beginning of every semester, an orientation session is organized in which
the officers/project leaders describe SIFE goals, projects and other activities involving
travel and presentations to students in freshmen/sophomore students.
Interested students then get an opportunity to interact with project leaders to get
additional information to help them choose projects.
The judging criteria for regional
and national competitions provide a framework for organizing and managing project
activities. For example, following the judging criteria the use of resources (Business
Advisory Board, other colleges etc.) is discussed at the orientation session.
Reflection on such issues early in the project offers advantages to all stakeholders
and contributes to project sustainability as follows: First, this approach ensures that
veteran students are developing plans for effective utilization of resources and for
assessing project success. Second, rookie students become aware of issues to be
addressed in project management and best practice issues in the early stages of their
involvement and are thus prepared to assume project management roles in the future.
Further, the emphasis on assessing project success and resource utilization can help in
stimulating student thinking and discussion on how to effectively deliver services to the
community. Such discussions can enhance the quality of the services provided through
the program.
Travel and Sharing
SIFE teams adopt rookie teams and travel to the campuses to make presentations
to students, faculty, administrators and business advisors. The teams have also traveled
to many regional, national and international conferences (Australia, Norway, Orlando).
Teams make multimedia presentations to educators on starting SIFE teams on campus.
Another program, Cal - High SIFE involves mentoring high schools in implementing
SIFE teams on their campus. By facilitating mentoring and coaching by experienced
teams, national organizations such as SIFE can play a key role in helping others learn
how to implement effective service-learning and build sustainable programs in their
communities.
In addition, there is an “Adopt a Sister Program” to encourage sharing of ideas
between veteran teams.
The idea is for veteran teams to share ideas about a few
successful projects. Sharing ideas about successful projects that can be replicated in
other settings is another way in which organizations such as SIFE can contribute to the
development of sustainable service-learning programs.
These mentoring activities provide opportunities for numerous students to reflect on
SIFE projects, best practices that help in achieving desired outcomes, project
management etc. and to communicate these issues to others. For example, currently
about 20 students are involved in mentoring high school teams.
Sustaining Service-learning through SIFE
This sections presents some data to show how student involvement and
community projects have been developed and sustained over the past six years. Currently
120 students are involved in SIFE projects. One way to describe student involvement
over time is in terms of number of students enrolled in the introductory courses. 30
students out of 120 students in the introductory courses, participated in the service
learning project and earned the extra credit in the previous semester (i.e., 25% chose the
service-learning option). About 40% of these students continue their involvement
beyond the course.
Students continue their involvement beyond the introduction to business or
principles of accounting course primarily on a noncredit basis. Note that many of these
students continue to be involved for multiple semesters. For example, of the 120 students
currently working on SIFE projects, 10 students have participated for 4 or more semesters
and 15 students have participated for 2-3 semesters. Students contribute significant time
to SIFE projects both in course based projects and in noncredit settings. 18 of the 120
students plan on taking on leadership roles this semester (50 hours or more), while 52
(31-49 hours) plan on being very active. Once students have had an initial service
experience through a course, SIFE provides a structure through which students can
assume greater responsibility for conceiving, implementing, and assessing outreach
projects in the community. Through such activities students can practice leadership and
project management skills that are difficult to teach in a traditional classroom
environment. As shown in table 1, there are numerous outreach projects involving
teaching, tutoring and mentoring. Several students get an opportunity to serve as project
leaders. About 20 students play leadership roles mentoring area high schools in
establishing SIFE chapters. As explained in a later section, about 15 students participate
in developing a multimedia presentation for business leaders at regional and national
meetings
The combination of credit and noncredit activities has contributed to a program
with a range of projects which are sustainable over time. Table provides examples of
several projects involving k-8, high school, college students and adults. Some of the
programs like the “Make a Difference Day” are of short duration. Others involve a more
intense involvement. For example, students contributed 4,500 hrs affecting 137 students
through the high school programs in 1998/99. There are two major indicators of project
success and sustainability. First, more than half of the projects are continuation of
successful projects from prior years. Second, many of the new projects are extensions of
successful projects in other communities. For example, a successful program for at-risk
high school students has been expanded to two other high schools and has led to the
development of a summer program, a program for students on probation and a program
for incarcerated youth.
Summary and Discussion
This paper discussed the role of student organizations in implementing sustainable
service-learning programs. By integrating noncredit activities of a student organization
and course-based service, academic programs can create avenues for sustained student
involvement and thus enhancing value to the community. Further, the structure and
activities of student organizations provides leadership and project management
opportunities for students.
In addition to enhancing educational opportunities, student participation in
mentoring/coaching, supervising and managing projects, travel and sharing information
with students in other institutions can provide support to faculty in implementing servicelearning. Since resource availability is viewed as a key barrier to service-learning, an
important way in which SIFE enhances sustainability is by identifying and using
resources such as the Business Advisory Board, other departments and participation in
competitions to acheive their outcomes
This paper focused on a specific student organization. While there may be
significant differences between missions and activities of student organizations, many of
the key ideas presented in this paper can be adapted to other contexts. For example, even
if there are no formal national competitions, student organizations can be asked to make
presentations to local business/community leaders. Similarly, regardless of the specific
community service activities an organization’s members engage in, the following best
practices can help in sustaining community partnerships (1) clearly defining communtiy
outcomes, (2) ensuring that students have appropriate skills and time, (3) articulating
educational goals that can be addressed through course-based and noncredit activities, (4)
developing long range partnerships with community organizations, (5) identifying a
range of course-linked and noncredit opportunities for service, and (6) exploring ways to
link the service with the curriculum. Finally, student organizations can play a key role in
project management and resource generation to support sustainable community
partnerships
I MIGHT HAVE MISSED IT BUT DID YOU IDENTIFY THAT THESE TEAMS ARE
MULTIDISCIPLINE INCLUDING STUDENTS NOT IN THE BUSINESS SCHOOL
SO THE EXPERIENCE PROVIDES FOR A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR THE
VALUE AND STRENGTH OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS ADDRESSING A TASK
References
Table 1: Judging Criteria for SIFE Regional/ National Competitions
Judging Criterion
1. How effectively did the students document their
activities in their presentation to the judges?
2. How effectively did the students document their
activities in their written annual report?
3. How creative, innovative, and effective were the
students in teaching others an understanding of how
market economies work?
4. How well did the students teach others how
businesses operate, how to identify market need for a
product or service and how to meet that need; how to
produce that product or service; how to make a profit,
what to do with that profit; and the ethical obligations
businesses have to their customers and community?
5. How successful were the students in teaching others
the skills and motivation needed to survive in the
global market? These skills might include teaching:
technology, communication, social, attitude, personal
responsibility, business ethics and moral conduct,
and entrepreneurial spirit.
6. Did the students quantify the results of their
educational programs, and did they ensure the
continuation of their successful SIFE programs in the
future?
7. How successful were the students in utilizing their
resources, which included but were not limited to
their Business Advisory Board, (2) college students
and faculty from non-business disciplines, and (3) the
mass media available (taking into consideration the
size and location of their community)?
AICPA Personal
Competencies Addressed
Communication Skills;
Interaction Skills,
Professional demeanor
Communication Skills;
Interaction Skills,
Professional demeanor
Communication Skills;
Interaction Skills, Leadership
Skills, Project Management
Skills, Professional
demeanor
Communication Skills;
Interaction Skills, Leadership
Skills, Project Management
Skills, Professional
demeanor
Communication Skills;
Interaction Skills, Leadership
Skills, Project Management
Skills
Project Management
Project Management
Table 2: SIFE Special Competitions
I. USA Weekend: Make a Difference Day

Projects should focus on how you made a difference through free enterprise education,
focusing on human interest (15 “finalists” earn $500 each)
II. Best Use of Internet (AT&T): (K-12) (Summer SIFE)

How creative and innovative was this Internet project as a teaching and communications
vehicle to reach students and teachers?
III. Best Use of Internet (AT&T): Teaching Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Business People (ECommerce Workshops)

How creative and innovative was this Internet project as an electronic vehicle to teach
entrepreneurs and small business how e-commerce can benefit their businesses
IV. Best In-Depth Education Project (Business Week) (Cal-High SIFE Challenge 2000)

SIFE Teams who develop outstanding, business related projects which have potential for
application nationally
V. Best Use of Mass Media (Business Week) (The Price is Right, starring Rob Best and Bob
Barker, Billboard, Live WebCast, Newspaper Articles, KPAY Make a Difference Day and
Halftime Shootout; KIXE in February, Entrepreneur Magazine in June 2000)

To encourage SIFE Teams to utilize all media resources to enhance their educational
programs and the visibility of SIFE
VI. Economic Education Integration (DEL Laboratories): K-12 (Cal-High SIFE/SIFE Week in
Chico)

Encourages SIFE Teams to work with the educational system to integrate free enterprise
education into their communities
VII. Economic Education Integration (DEL Laboratories): College Age Students & Adults
(ACCT 298C: Technology, Teamwork and Leadership)

Encourages SIFE Teams to work with the educational system to integrate free enterprise
education into their communities
VIII. Polsky Personal Investing to Achieve Financial Independence (Mutual Fund/Stock Market
Simulation)
 To teach fellow college students the importance of saving and investments and how to
achieve financial independence
IX. Teach a Child about Business (The Cupcake Factory)
 To further a child’s understanding about how a business operates, responsible consumerism,
professional opportunities, and how business impacts our daily lives.
Personal Competenices
Professional Demeanor
Cultivates growth in personal conduct and capabilities
Accepts professional development as a life-long process
Performs reliably under changing demands
Recognizes situations where professional ethical standards apply and behavesaccordingly
Commits to quality and efficiency
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Adapts to new contexts and promotes constructive change
Verifies information for problem definition and solution
Proposes and evaluates alternative solutions
Seeks consensus where appropriate
Analyzes the impact of potential actions
Knows when to follow directions, question plans or seek help
Interaction
Recognizes the value of working within diverse, cross-functional teams
Interacts and cooperates productively and maturely with others
Facilitates free expression and constructive activities of others
Coaches or mentors in appropriate circumstances
Commits to achievement of common goals when working on a team
Accepts suggestions and guidance of team leaders and other members
Recognizes and accommodates the protocols and expectations of teams
Leadership
Motivates others to achieve excellence
Rallies the support of others to accomplish objectives
Chairs teams or volunteers for projects
Values inputs and points of view of others and responds appropriately
Facilitates development of consensus or compromise as appropriate
Persuades others to a course of action by reasoning or incentive
Practices principles of effective governance
Communication
Organizes and effectively displays information so that it is meaningful to the receiving party
Expresses information and concepts with conciseness and clarity when writing and speaking
Uses interpersonal skills to facilitate effective interaction
Selects appropriate media for dissemination or accumulation of information.
Project Management
Determines project goals
Allocates project resources to maximize results
Effectively facilitates and controls the project process
Measures project progress
Takes corrective action as needed
Sees projects through to completion or orderly transition
Realistically estimates time and resource requirements
Recognizes situations where prompt and determined actions are needed and responds accordingly
SIFE Project Examples
K-8
Mentoring/tutoring at-risk
children from single
parent/welfare households
Program for Native American
Students
Gifted/Talented education
Boys and Girls Club
Youth Entrepreneurship Camp
Make a Difference Day
High School
Summer SIFE
Educating at-risk students ( 3
high schools)
Program for students on
probation
Mentoring project for
incarcerated youth
Mentoring High Schools in
starting SIFE
Make a Difference Day
Hey, Mom, I’m Going to
College
College
Polsky Personal Investing
Workshop
Teach business, computer
literacy
Work with students in starting
own business and sell goods at
university
Teach computer literacy
Teach business literacy
lessons,
Help students develop
business plans
Teach computer literacy
Teach lessons on
starting/managing business
Organize activities such as
writing a letter using WP,
digital camera, insert graphics,
browse Internet carnival with
games such as SIFE wheel of
fortune, face painting
Teach business, economic,
computer literacy lessons
Teach business, computer
literacy
Help students start and operate
class business
Teach business, computer
literacy
Help students start and operate
food cart at courthouse
Teach business, litreacy
lessons
Mentor high schools in
implemening SIFE teams on
their campus which participate
in their own competion at the
end of the year
Organize activities such as
writing a letter using WP,
digital camera, insert graphics,
browse Internet
Teach fellow college students
the importance of saving and
investments and how to
Stock Market Game
Technology Workshops
Adult
Global
E-Commerce Society
Workshop
Granny Goes Surfing
Adult Training Center
Import/Export Partnership
with Germany
UAE Workshops on Service
Learning and SIFE
achieve financial
independence
Teach fellow college students
the importance of saving and
investments and how to
achieve financial
independence
Offer Workshops onExcel,
Powerpoint and Web design
Teach entrepreneurs and small
business how e-commerce can
benefit their businesses
SIFE: Technology, Leadership, Teamwork
ACCT 298C
Course Syllabus – Spring 2000
Official Course Description
This course will provide an introduction to technology, leadership and teamwork skills
with one key deliverable: a 24-minute multimedia presentation.
Students will work together to design and produce a 24-minute multimedia presentation
documenting the service-learning projects completed by the 1999/2000 Chico State SIFE
team. Key dates (1) script completion, (2) all media will be completed (photos,
videotape), (3) first draft of production completed, with sound, animated graphics, etc.,
(4) public presentation at Friends of SIFE Banquet, (5) public presentation in San
Francisco at Regional SIFE Exposition, (6) final draft completed, (7)public presentation
in Kansas City, Missouri at International SIFE Exposition
This interdisciplinary course will consist of five interlinking teams:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Presenters (six SIFE students)
The Project Leaders (several students from SIFE)
The SIFE Officers (six students from SIFE)
The SIFE-Tech Team (a few students from SIFE)
The CSCI-Tech Team (several interns from Computer Science)
The Presenters are the “voice” of this year’s SIFE team. The Project Leaders and SIFE
Officers will be the key links between the Presenters and the two Tech Teams: SIFETech CSCI-Tech. Whatever media are needed to support the Presenters will be gathered
by Project Leaders and SIFE Officers, with guidance and direction from the two tech
teams.
This will take key teamwork and leadership skills, and technology skills (e,.g, design and
implementation of computer animation and special effects. We will investigate both the
technical and creative aspects of animation. The course will pay special attention to the
design and utilization of an integrated computer graphics production facility).
The primary "deliverable" of the class will be a 24-minute, multimedia presentation to 40
leading business executives in San Francisco on April 17, 2000. This presentation will be
repeated in Kansas City, Missouri on May 22-23, 2000, to hundreds of CEOs, senior
corporate officers, and entrepreneurs. The presentation will describe how the 1990/2000
SIFE team from CSU, Chico has created, delivered, and assessed several
entrepreneurship outreach projects to selected clients in Northern California.
Required Materials
“Fanning the Flames of Free Enterprise Education,” the Spring 2000 SIFE Handbook
from CSU, Chico (for SIFE Presenters, Officers, Team Leaders, and Tech members
only).
"The Art of 3-D Computer Animation and Imaging" by Issac Kerlow. Van Nostrand
Reinhold Publishing. ISBN 0-442-01896-7 (for SIFE-Tech and CSCI-Tech members
only)
Optional Materials
"Digital Character Animation", by George Maestri.New Ride Publishing. ISBN 1-56205559-3
"Principles of Three-Dimensional Computer Animation", by Michael O'Rourke. Norton
Publishing. ISBN 0-393-70202-2
"Lightwave 3D 5 Character Animation", by Doug Kelly Ventana Comm. Group Inc.
ISBN 1-56604-532-0
"The Illusion of Life - Disney Animation", by Ollie Johnston Hyperion Publishing. ISBN
0-7868-6070-7
"Lightwave User Guide and Reference Manual",by Newtek "Becoming a Computer
Animator", by Mike Morrison. SAMS Publishing. ISBN 0-672-30463-5
Software:
Lightwave 3-D"; by Newtek Corporation
"Maya"; by Alias/Wavefront or any 3D software of choice.
Course Requirements
Five requirements must be met in order to demonstrate that successful completion of this
course.
1. You must meet with the instructor for three hours each week.
2. Each Friday, you must submit a one or two paragraph summary of what you did that
week, along with a log of hours devoted to the project. The log must show at least 50
hours of service in order to earn three units of credit.
3. You must attend the Wednesday night SIFE meeting unless you have a documented
class conflict.
4. At the end of the semester, you must write a 1,000 word essay reflecting on your
experience. The paper should describe the project, explain what you learned, offer
recommendations to improve the project