Florida Gulf Coast University
EN-13: Community Service

CAMPUS BEAUTIFICATION DAY The FGCU Staff Advisory Council regularly collaborates with the Tree Campus USA Committee to host our annual Campus Beautification Day. The event takes place each year in January in celebration of Florida Arbor Day. The joint effort brings staff, faculty, and students working toward the common goal of beautifying an area of campus and increasing the amount of trees and native plants on campus. MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY Make a Difference Day takes place each October. The Office of Service Learning & Civic Engagement coordinates the event with support from the FGCU Foundation and Wells Fargo. FGCU students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as Wells Fargo employees, serve at various sites across southwest Florida. This event coincides with the national day of service. Please see the following website for more information: http://alumni.fgcu.edu/s/1630/index.aspx?sid=1630&gid=1&pgid=1425&crid=0&calpgid=13&calcid=664 COMCAST CARES DAY This event is similar to Make a Difference Day but takes place during the spring semester with financial support provided by Comcast. 2017 was the first annual Comcast Cares Day and it coincided with Earth Day celebrations across southwest Florida.

You cannot graduate from FGCU without completing service-learning. FROM THE COURSE CATALOG (http://www.fgcu.edu/Catalog/connect.asp) How Service-Learning Works: Students admitted to FGCU as first-year (FTIC) students or lower level transfers must complete 80 hours of service-learning as part of their graduation requirement. Students admitted as upper-level transfers must complete 40 hours of service-learning as part of their graduation requirement. FTIC students who have earned a Florida AA degree prior to matriculating at FGCU (through dual enrollment and accelerated credit) must complete 40 hours of service-learning as part of their graduation requirement. Students dual-enrolled in the FGCU Accelerated Collegiate Experience (ACE) program (part-time or full-time) will be required to complete 80 hours of service-learning as part of their graduation requirement. Students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree at another institution and are admitted to FGCU to complete a second undergraduate degree must complete 40 hours of service-learning as part of their second degree’s graduation requirements. Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree at FGCU and are re-admitted to FGCU to complete a second undergraduate degree have already fulfilled the degree requirements for service-learning; however, if they register for a class that has a service-learning requirement, they are obligated to complete it as a component of the course’s requirements. Although there is no service-learning graduation requirement for graduate level students, they may be enrolled in courses that integrate service-learning as an effective teaching methodology and therefore would engage in service as a component of their coursework. FROM THE UNIVERSITY COLLOQUIUM COURSE CATALOG University Colloquium is a graduation requirement for all undergraduates. Students are required to complete ten hours of service-learning related to the natural environment as part of the course. FROM FGCU's MISSION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES (http://www.fgcu.edu/info/mission.asp) FGCU emphasizes innovative, student-centered teaching and learning, promotes and practices environmental sustainability, embraces diversity, nurtures community partnerships, values public service, encourages civic responsibility, and cultivates habits of lifelong learning and the discovery of new knowledge. Informed and engaged citizens are essential to the creation of a civil and sustainable society. The University values the development of the responsible self grounded in honesty, courage, and compassion, and committed to advancing democratic ideals. Through service learning requirements, the University engages students in community involvement with time for formal reflection on their experiences. Integral to the University's philosophy is instilling in students an environmental consciousness that balances their economic and social aspirations with the imperative for ecological sustainability. *Nondegree and graduate students are excluded from our headcount for this credit. Please see the following link for details: http://www.fgcu.edu/Trustees/AgendaFile/2017/01-10-2017/BOTIS_1-10-2017.pdf