Name: Fahd Nadeem

Roll#: 20-10797
Submitted to: Ms Irtifa
Class code: BUSN160

Topic: Introducing mandatory community service credit hours as part of graduation

requirements for all undergraduate students and recommend how to implement it effectively
within their 4 year bachelors program.
Introduction
We live in times where the focus of life is achieving success. Success however has become
associated with for wealth and materialistic endeavor. It can be argued that society has lost
sight of what is important, its bond weakened, slowly drifting further and further away. The
expanding world had made it so that we do not have time for each other or even ourselves.
We have become strangers to the concepts of socializing, helping fellow man and have
instead sought to tear each other down. All the while technology acts as a catalyst for the end
of traditional civility and perhaps our very own humanity. The universities are an important
institute in todays world. They are supposed to educate our children to create a better
tomorrow and while they may do a decent job at providing them with academia, students
enroll for, their job is far form over. An important part of universities is to socialize children,
for them to become better humans, to instill human decency and qualities which will help
them truly develop and hence prepare for the future. They can do so by introducing
mandatory community service.

Literature review.
According to Barber in A Season of Service: Introducing Service Learning into the Liberal
Arts Curriculum. There are various issues which need to be discussed before the
implementation of such a system. First point he bring up is the kind of service learning
which should be used in the universities. Should it be educational based or extra-curricular?
In his opinion student will best benefit and will gain most from deviating from formal
curricula hence gaining a completely new perspective and outlook. It also give hands on
experience on various fields the likes of which one is unlikely to gain in the classroom. He
goes on to discuss whether the service provided should be philanthropic or civic. The civic
approach can nurture a better relation between universities and their student bodies. Finding
your place in society and understanding your responsibility towards it. A philanthropic
approach instead will look to help the less fortunate and help share the burden they often
carry alone. Both noble conquests which feed in to each other. Hence either one will work in
achieving the goals set but it works best if both are combined. Barber talks about while it is
true that service especially in the philanthropic sense cant be coerced or mandated as it is
based on volunteering, if put in learning context and integrated within the curriculum as
serious academic work it can be required just as much as any other academia subjects. This
however can also be attacked on the bases of “forced volunteerism” hence creating a rift
between the institution and the student body. Hence making community service mandatory
can be slightly more complicated. It would require a variety of courses to be tested, revised
and evaluated to be viable. Letting the student body have a say within these decisions will not
only take away from the backlash one might face but instead create more enthusiasm within
the students.
When accomplished the question arises should there be credit hours allocated to service?
Students are there with a purpose in mind and can perhaps find it unfair to have to provide
community service to get their respective degrees however as mentioned earlier if the kinks
have been worked out this will no longer be an issue. Having credit hours to go with will
allow instructors to make serious academic demand form their students and better enforce
participation. Offering credit hours will sit well with students if they know community
service to be mandatory and ensures there aren’t clashes within their schedules. Providing
extra credit can also be a great motivator for children to go above and beyond in-service
learning. Barber than addresses whether we should have multiple courses or a single course
for service learning. Should there be a variety offered? He found at Rutgers that offering a
variety was more appealing to the students and the faculty. All courses teach the same core
values and have similar themes, but each variation is designed to reflect the needs of
respective departments students may belong to. Students can also be divided into teams
serving different agencies hence teaching them about teamwork and leadership qualities all
good universities should strive to instill in their students. Another great motivator according
to Barber is having the faculty itself participate in community service at the very least the
teachers teaching them should be doing so by setting an example for their students to earn
their respect.

An article published at youintern 12 Reasons Community Service Should Be Required

Curriculum offer various reasons as to why community service should be mandatory by
dwelling into the benefit it can provide children. First one being it can provide a platform for
children to use the skills and lessons they learn in class and apply them in real life scenarios.
Community service lead to better self confidence in their skills as well which can give back
by boosting their performance in academics. Children who partake in community service
understand its conditions and empathize with it, being more involved people who perform
community service are more likely to be voters, wanting to bring a positive change to the
community. Research also shows people wo have participated in community work are
healthier, both physically and mentally than those who are not. Especially those above the
age of 65. Community service also acts as a great form of networking and can help students
get scholarships as community service is one of the top aspects good universities especially in
the west look for when handing out scholarships.

Implementation in FCC

Barber speaks from experience as they have already implemented mandatory community
service at Rutgers university. It would be wise of FCC to follow suit. Implementing such a
program is no easy job and will require time and dedication elsewise it is not likely to sit well
with the student body. The course of action I propose is to implement at first, a 3-credit
mandatory course to be taught in FCC. Teacher instructing would also participate and at first
these are going to be team based. Once students grow accustomed to the idea changes can
come next year. More diverse courses should be added allowing children more of a say in to
what kind of work they would like to do. The data collected can help shortlist and refine the
courses which will best aid students. At this point FCC should make it so that students need 6
credits in community service divided between 2 classes. A basic level course not unlike what
we start with which is the same for everyone and then one which may pique their interest.
Partnerships will need to be formed with various institution where the children may work so
that students can get and join the classes reliably and there is less hassle. A major step to
incentivize students can be allowing them perform community service at a place of their own
choosing, as long as it is approved by the university hence giving them more choices to work
with. Students contribution to their respective programs and enthusiasm can and should be
measures to further refine the progress and determine how successful the implementation of
mandatory community work has been.

Conclusion
While implementing mandatory community service can have certain drawbacks such as
having the student body be against an implementation of such a system and lash out against
the administration or students may not really invest themselves in the program hence
defeating the purpose However the benefits far outweigh the cons. If the program is
integrated within the curriculum effectively not only will the issues mentioned above not be a
occurring but it shall teach children how to be leaders and team players. They will better be
ready for the real world and shall have practice dealing with practical problems. The chances
of students earning a scholarship will shoot up for further studies. Such a program is likely to
shape them in to a well-rounded human beings. Hence FCC should start working on
introducing mandatory community service at once in the university as implementing is
effectively will take its time.
Reference list

Venable (2012, November 8) 12 Reasons Community Service Should Be Required Curriculum

Retrieved from www.youtern.com

Barber. (1993) A Season of Service: Introducing Service Learning into the Liberal Arts
Curriculum