IACBE-ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ASSEMBLEY MEETING
Tools that We Can Offer to Our Students and Assist Them to Become Better Citizens
Baltimore, MD
April 16, 2015
Hossein Noorian
Department of Business Management
College of Arts and Sciences
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
noorianh@wit.edu
(617) 989-4376
1
2
3
The President’s Higher Education
Community Service Honor Roll

Wentworth Institute of Technology (Wentworth) is located in Boston, MA.

Our vision statement emphasizes our commitment to academic excellence, community
service through urban engagement, service learning, college access and economic
growth by educating highly skilled professionals.

Wentworth has maintained both of its elective classifications from the Carnegie
Foundation:


Community engagement

Curricular engagement and outreach and partnerships since 2008
Center for Community and Learning Partnerships, that consists of three full time staff
members including an AmeriCorps*VISTA in addition to a budget exceeding $370,000
supporting the Center, has committed to making a difference in the city of Boston,
specifically the local communities.
4

Wentworth maintains a strong relationship with the public officials, such as the
connections with Boston City Council and our Massachusetts State Representative.

The Community Work-Study (CWS) Program at Wentworth pairs students with local
non-profit organizations to gain real-world experience. Three unique options for
financial assistance:

Working directly with a community-based organization

Leading a campus based service program

Working with faculty in a service-learning environment.
5
Center for Community and Learning
Partnerships (CLP@WIT)

Mission: Facilitate and strengthen partnerships that yield transformative educational
experiences.

Vision: To become a national model for Community-Based experimental learning, bringing
together faculty, students, and the local community to address problems in society.

Philosophy

Address Neighborhood Concerns

Grassroots Initiative

Focusing on assets and relationships

Producing reciprocal and transformative partnerships

Think Tank

Extraordinary Community Outcomes
6

Since 2005, the Center has been used for Community and Learning Partnerships to engage
in projects that build capacity and offer professional services to community organizations
throughout the neighborhoods of Boston.

In 2012, a new mission and direction was developed that focuses on empowering, inspiring
and innovating through experimental learning.

A new model focuses on Co+Build and how the presence of a university can invest in,
rather than undermine, neighborhood integrity.

The community building project

A community-focused design and construction program that brings Wentworth students

Community members together to complete hands on neighborhood projects
7
The Center for Community and Learning Partnerships
at Wentworth
Awards and Grants:

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Elective Community
Engagement Classification

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

$150,000.00 Grant from Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation (2015).


$50,000.00 Per Year for the Next Three Years To Fund “Boston Pipeline”.
$25,000.00 Grant from the Ford Foundation (2014).
8
CLP@WIT

Opportunities

Alternative Spring Break


Students represent Wentworth in another Community
Certificate in Service Learning

Students acknowledged for their involvement in the Community

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Students learn how to file their own taxes and help others

Co+Build: Students connect with fellow students who share an interest in giving back to the
community.

Community Work Study: Students gain valuable, real-world experience to build their resumes.

Facilitated Study Groups: Students help other students in their academic coursework.
9
Alternative Spring Break (ASB) at CLP
10
Certificate for Community Learning

The Certificate for Community Learning is a unique recognition
of Academic, Professional, and Civic accomplishment.

Students who enroll and successfully complete the program earn
a distinction that is prestigious not only to Wentworth, but across
the country.
11
Certificate for Community Learning Continued

Curricular

Service Learning


Complete Service Learning component in at least 4 courses

Complete Introduction to Community Learning Course

Senior Capstone
Co-Curricular

Extra-curricular involvement/Volunteer activities (unpaid)

Community based work (paid)
12
Procedures

Enroll in the Certificate for Community Learning Program

Participate in Certificate Advising each semester

Develop & Submit Community Learning Portfolio (semester prior to graduation) to
Wentworth

Utilize Certificate networking opportunities and preferred status for resources such as
student employment and education awards

If a participant decides to leave the Certificate Program; then student should take a brief
exit interview.
13
Completing the Certificate in Service Learning

Students will give a 15-20 minute presentation in their graduation year to the Service Learning
Committee, who is responsible for granting the Certificate in Community Learning.

The presentation should include a visual component as well as a smaller version of the students
presentation in a portfolio for Committee Members to see.

Suggested Content for the Portfolio

Table of Contents

Reflective Statement

Community Service Resume

Project Profiles

Support letters from Faculty and partners of the organizations the student helped in the
community

Any proof or visuals from the community work
14
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
History of VITA at Wentworth

Tax assistance program was formed in 2002

Taxes were initially filed manually until 2004

Partnership between Wentworth and ABCD* Parker Hill/Fenway

*ABCD-Action for Boston Community Development
**The unanticipated growth seen in VITA’s first few years made the program unsustainable in the Center’s space.

Transition from paper to electronic filing

Over 8,000 people from the community were served
15
How does it work?

Student volunteers are recruited by the Faculty Advisor, Student Coordinator, and
previous volunteers

Students participate in an intensive three day tax training program

Students must pass a tax exam to be able to file taxes

Students would be certified by the IRS
16
How does it work continue

The Center for Community and Learning Partnerships (CLP) creates a schedule for
appointments

Initial interview with taxpayers

Taxpayer is assigned to a student volunteer

Student Coordinator files all tax forms with the IRS

Maintain confidentially, ethics, and morals on all compiled information by the VITA
participants and student volunteers
17
VITA in Numbers

Years in operation: 12

Number of volunteers trained: 210+

Number of federal/state tax forms filed: 2,000+

Amount of tax refund: $1,200,000.00+

Students tax training hours: 2,100

Students tax preparing hours: 8,000
18
Why should students get involved?

Sense of volunteerism

Sense of self pride

Application of classroom knowledge

Learned skills (i.e. teamwork, networking, time management, etc.)
19
Management Alumni’s Involvement

Giving back to the community

Mentoring of current students

Sense of leadership

Stay involved with Wentworth
20
Ramp@clp

Six week summer bridge program

To Boston residences who will be attending Wentworth as first year students

Mentoring - One on one.

Academic Instruction

Project – Based learning


Individualized Support


By solving real-world problems with external collaborators
From the Center for Community and Learning Partnerships
Learning Communities

Throughout their time at Wentworth

Learn from External Partners

Design and build prototypes

Workshops with Wentworth student, faculty, deans, staff, and professionals from various disciplines.

Offers a $1,500 stipend to each participating student
21

As the largest student run organization in Boston, the Center has 18-year partnership
with the Mission Hill After School Program (MHASP) run through the Phillips Brooks
House Association.

Wentworth students mentor between seventy-five to one hundred 5-13 year-old
residents of the local housing developments.

Wentworth has two workforce development programs geared towards Boston Public
Schools (BPS) students

Project STRIVE (a school-to-work transition program for BPS students with a
variety of specials needs, Supported Training to Reach Independence through
Vocational Experiences)

Vocational School-to-Career program with Madison Park Technical Vocational
High School.
22


BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS PIPELINE

The Boston Public Schools (BPS) Pipeline is a series of aligned programming intended to improve the attendance,
retention, and graduation rates of Boston students in higher education.

To address these needs, the CLP develops and executes this programming, leveraging Wentworth resources to
provide effective programming to benefit Boston students.

In the BPS Pipeline, students gain access to college coursework through “Dual Enrollment” and develop a founding
for success at Wentworth through RAMP, a pre-college summer bridge program.
Dual Enrollment

By filling empty seats in existing classrooms, this program gives Boston students the opportunity to take collegelevel courses at Wentworth free of charge. Thus far “Dual Enrollment” has allowed students to explore coursework in
Mathematics and English, with other opportunities to be made available in the future.
23
Special thanks to Director Erik Miller and Ms. Courtney Wright, the
Community Engagement Coordinator at the Center for Community
and Learning Partnerships at Wentworth Institute of Technology for
their support and providing me with the information and data for this
report.
THANK YOU
Any questions?
24