University of New Hampshire
EN-13: Community Service

As part of its comprehensive benefit package, the University System of New Hampshire offers status employees up to eight hours per year of paid community service time.

From the USNH Employee Benefits Policy
(https://www.usnh.edu/policy/usy/v-personnel-policies/employee-benefits#usyva415):
"4.15 Community Service. USNH encourages employees to become involved in our community—to provide voluntary support of programs that positively impact the quality of life within our employees’ community. The following guidelines apply to community service through a non-profit community program of a personal interest, or as part of a campus-sponsored activity.

4.15.1 An employee may take up to 8 hours of paid time during one working day per fiscal year to participate in a volunteer program. Supervisors must approve Community Service program participation at least 15 days before the program begins, to allow for the coordination of work-related responsibilities.

Volunteer time should not conflict with peak work schedules, result in cancellation of classes, create a need for overtime, cause conflicts with other employee’s schedules or otherwise run counter to Conflict of Interest (USY V.D.7) or Political Activity Regulations (USY V.D.8). If a conflict arises, or the requested activity does not fall within established guidelines, the request may be denied.

4.15.1.1 Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Volunteering with a non-profit, charitable organization, such as United Way, Habitat for Humanity, humane shelters, family assistance services, etc.
Assistance with grade school activities, such as reading or writing assistance, or chaperoning field trips
Staffing or donating to a blood drive, such as those sponsored by the Red Cross.
Providing support to a campus-specific community service event (such as those shown under www.unh.edu/serve)."

Our newly launched Sustainability Ambassadors program also encourages communtiy service.

NOTE: The number of students above is the headcount of undergraduates and graduates in fall 2023, slected to align with the service data which is from CY2023; it does not correspond to PRE-5, which reflects fall 2024.

UNH has several community service programs that promote active citizenship in the campus and our community. Our vision is that all of our graduates will leave campus as engaged citizens with the skills and intention to be active in strengthening their communities. This begins with the opportunity for incoming students to participate in PrOVES, one of the nation's top-ranked student orientation programs nationally, focused on community service. It continues with numerous opportunities to participate in community service through student programs, service learning, and special events .

OCCE provided some of the student data for this submission, which focuses on AY23-24. OCCE tracks community service participation across campus, in part through an online mechanism in which students log their service hours (https://www.unh.edu/serve/how-log-service-hours), and in part through outreach to student organizations. Their figures are included in the uploaded documentation (the "CSOs" line item).

The vast majority of hours represented are a result of service learning undertaken in the context of coursework, by students in programs from occupational therapy and nursing, to education, to social work to music to nutrition. Those data were provided by the departments and programs indicated.