Lipscomb plans to launch SALT project in 2008
Chris Pepple |
According to Albert Schweitzer, “The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” Albert Schweitzer’s belief that true happiness is found in service is one that is based upon two prerequisites to service, seeking service and understanding how to serve. Seeking service and understanding how to serve each contain intellectual behaviors and academic fundamentals that can be taught and modeled through practical application and critical reflection. As part of our reaffirmation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Lipscomb University has developed a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that focuses on service-learning experiences for traditional undergraduate students.
The service-learning initiative is called the SALT Project (Serving and Learning Together). If the plan is approved in April 2007, a service-learning graduation requirement will begin with the incoming freshman class in the fall 2008 semester. The intent of service-learning experiences is to provide opportunities for students to focus on and understand the fulfillment of specific academic goals in the context of service.
The graduation requirement will involve student engagement in service-learning activities that can be selected from a variety of SALT experiences including coursework, mission trips, internships or service days. Opportunities for student reflection will be necessary to assess the learning that occurs through the service activity. SALT experiences should provide a way for students to grow in their understanding of how service-learning impacts them intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Service-learning activities enhance the academic program by allowing students to observe the application of an academic idea in a practical setting, and thereby learn how a pure textbook concept is translated in the context of service into an effective, useful tool.