Service, Service, Service: A Three-Layered Sandwich of Effective Learning
From Langara College
It is easy to become too focused in our everyday lives as students, instructors and administrators. We think about the next project due, the next task, and the next deadline but forget about the "big picture". It is important not to forget why colleges exist. All colleges have Mission Statements, and most of them include key words like service, community, and responsibility. These words are very important in remembering the main objective and expected outcome of a college education: becoming good citizens to build a good society. All of us - students, teachers, assistants, coordinators, administrators, Directors and Deans - can work together to achieve this through student service, school service, and community service.
Service Defined
Economists divide economic activity into two general categories: goods and services. Clearly, goods are tangible objects that can be owned. Economic (paid) services include education, healthcare, and transportation while examples of voluntary service can include volunteering with community organizations, taking some time to help less-fortunate people, improving nature or simply picking up trash in the park. Can service result in ownership? Service creates benefits for both the individual and for others, but service does result in ownership- the ownership of one's own society through social responsibility. By actively involving oneself in society for the benefit of others we become an important part of it. We take action through service to improve the community we live in. We have seen an increase in international students travelling to foreign countries to study and the college industry's movement towards the internationalization of courses and programs. This expands our idea of involving ourselves through service from our immediate community to the global community that is becoming closer and closer everyday. Canada has been recognized as a global leader in international service since it recommended the world's first 'peacekeeping force' be sent to Egypt in 1956, using leadership, sensitivity, and social responsibility to calm tensions. Today, Canada is emerging as a leader in education as well.
Services for Students
In the food service industry, good service is the backbone for any successful restaurant. It creates a welcoming, comfortable environment that brings customers back and makes them happy. Any good college will keep this idea in mind, set high standards of service, and make these standards a practiced habit. Colleges provide important, and sometimes necessary, services to students preparing to enter the 3rd and 4th years of an undergraduate degree. The benefits of enrolling in a "2+2" transfer program include the extra support, guidance, counselling and service students receive from the college. As with restaurants, this should be the foundation of our industry, too. Colleges are generally smaller than most universities, and the educational focus is on teaching and academic success for the student. We want to see our students do well and we offer our students the resources to do so. From academic, professional, and personal counselling, to disability services, financial aid, student employment and homestay placements, students often have more services available to them than they may realize. Colleges have to do more to promote and encourage the use of these services. These services will help the student be more successful through the support they offer. In restaurants, customers want consistency, professionalism, value and the best experience their money can buy. Colleges are much the same. The big difference between the food service industry and higher education is that we don't ask, "would you like fries with that?"
Students in Service
If a student were to make a list of all the services available for them to participate in here in Canada, the list would be pages long. Service plays an important role in students' experiences and success, benefiting them both academically and socially. Services promote a student's value in their academic (and professional) career, but also increase the student's value in society. An increased value comes from an interactive education that incorporates real-life experiences by using the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom. Leaders step forward from their classmates in colleges by the decisions they make and the actions they perform. Students will take the social responsibilities given to them and take possession of them. When international students return to their home countries, not only have they received a degree, they have also learned to become active citizens in society. Participation in service-related activities make a strong mark on a student's value as a potential employee and advance their career opportunities at home and internationally.
Community Service
Service and involvement in the community improve education, inspire new ideas, and strengthen our communities and society. Service allows the student to discover connections between the classroom and society. It also helps them realize the connections between what they do and the consequences of their actions. This creates responsible citizens and leaders. Service creates acceptance and strengthens diversity by showing students areas of their community that they may not have experienced or understood before. The more service opportunities colleges create for their students, the more effective and important the college becomes to the community it operates in.
At a time when our youth are being asked to improve the world we live in, the service they give back to our societies starts with them as individuals. By giving students opportunities and rewarding them, they can make a difference. If college administrators wish their students to become good citizens, colleges must take leading roles in our society. After all, it is the job of colleges and universities to nurture and educate good citizens in the communities we serve.
By Colin Boguski
International Marketing Manager
Langara College