APPLES is currently affiliated with more than 250 Triangle-area community partners where students can fulfill their service-learning requirement VSports app下载. APPLES partners allow students to provide a wide array of services while addressing different issues affecting our communities such as education, health, environment, homelessness, literacy, hunger and economic development.
Make sure you have the time V体育官网. Students in courses commit to serving at least 30 hours throughout the semester. Schedules for available volunteer opportunities are posted typically in the first week of class.
Review the posted course listing VSports手机版. This is typically posted the week before registration begins. These courses fill quickly, and some have special requirements. Make sure to read these carefully and submit any applications or other materials.
Enroll using Connect Carolina. Unless a course requires instructor permission or an application, students can enroll in APPLES courses through Connect Carolina V体育安卓版.
Find APPLES Spring 2026 Courses below: (You may also check Connect Carolina and search courses by HI-Service Learning. ) V体育ios版.
***Please note: Some APPLES service-learning courses may not fulfill the experiential education and/or high-impact experience requirement VSports最新版本. It is important to confirm this in advance if you are taking the course for this reason.
***This list is SUBJECT TO CHANGE V体育平台登录. Please use this as a reference list and make sure to cross-reference with the ConnectCarolina listings.
All APPLES courses require a minimum of 30 hours of service (as of fall 2025) VSports注册入口. The registration process for APPLES courses is through ConnectCarolina, unless a course is noted as requiring an application or instructor permission. For questions about registration, students should contact an academic adviser.
Once enrolled, students can maximize their service-learning experience with these easy steps. APPLES staff is available to assist with questions or concerns V体育官网入口.
Apply for a partnership grant. As students volunteer during the semester, students can apply for a partnership grant to deepen the service-learning experience. These grants fund supplementary materials for enhancement projects related to the student’s work with the community.
Complete the online module. Students can begin preparing for APPLES courses before the semester begins by completing the online course module. This module introduces students to the requirements, considerations and foundations of a service-learning experience.
Review the community partner listing. During the first few class meetings, students can view a listing of possible community partner opportunities. Each course has a unique process to assign volunteers to specific sites, keeping in mind student preferences, transportation and schedules.
Contact the community partner. Once a volunteer opportunity has been assigned, students should immediately contact the community partner and introduce themselves as an APPLES volunteer. Many courses require students to complete a service-learning agreement, time log or other forms to begin the service-learning experience. Students should be prepared in the initial meeting to review important information including: schedule for volunteering, dress codes, confidentiality, required tests or trainings, etc.
APPLES offers an array of services and resources to assist faculty in the development and integration of service-learning experiences in the classroom. Although specific understandings of service-learning pedagogy vary as the field has grown, the range of definitions has begun to converge on several core characteristics of service-learning. APPLES Service-Learning uses Bringle & Hatcher’s (1995) definition of academic service-learning as a “course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility.”
At a minimum, service-learning courses must meet the following criteria:
The APPLES staff is available to all faculty and instructors interested in service-learning pedagogy. Each semester, APPLES is working with more faculty, new disciplines and exciting courses. Faculty new to service-learning should contact Margaret Barrett (margaret.barrett@www.qiuluzeuv.cn) to schedule a consultation with a staff member.
To prepare for an APPLES course, consider the timeline below. For specific questions, contact APPLES.
Debrief with community partners.
Distribute course evaluation to students.
Complete faculty evaluation.
Various resources are available to faculty interested in developing a service-learning course. APPLES provides consultations with faculty and instructors on course design, providing resources to prepare students and cultivating community partnerships.
Faculty should begin conversations with community partners as early as possible to prepare for a course. This includes the initial stages of course development, as community partners offer a valuable perspective on the possibilities of service-learning in the community. Prior to teaching an APPLES course, faculty should continue conversations with community partners to confirm plans and to further discuss details.
The Service-Learning Series (above) is available for faculty teaching service-learning and provides an overview of service-learning, resources of course development, approaches to community partnerships and strategies for incorporating reflection.
Faculty should include information in the syllabus about specifics relating to service learning, including:
Once a course is developed the syllabus is reviewed by APPLES and submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Curricula for experiential education designation. Faculty must notify the APPLES office about teaching a service-learning course two months prior to the first day of student registration.
Course Development and Course Enhancement Grants are offered to faculty to build and enhance their service-learning courses. Applications are currently closed for the Spring 2025 semester. They will reopen at the start of the Fall 2025 semester. You can view and submit applications on the CCPS Portal.
A few weeks prior to the start of the semester, it is recommended to email enrolled students about the details of an APPLES course. This can confirm the commitment and intention of students and can even allow the students to begin volunteering as early as possible when the semester begins.
Faculty considering to develop or teach a service-learning course should contact Margaret Barrett (margaret.barrett@www.qiuluzeuv.cn).
APPLES maintains a service-learning syllabi bank and syllabi are available upon request. A sampling of APPLES course syllabi are available and are useful in understanding the different approaches and applications of service-learning across disciplines.
BIOL 294 Community Donations of the Cellular Components of Blood
ENGL 266 Into the Woods
COMM 668H The Ethnographic (Re)Turn
HBHE 610 Critical Approaches to Service-Learning: An Alternative Spring Break Course
JOMC 232 Public Relations Writing
More service-learning resources can be found here.
Most community partners are involved with service-learning courses. Students enrolled in designated service-learning classes combine academic coursework with community service. The service experience is directly linked to the content of their course. As a part of the course, students commit to serving three to five hours a week for 10 weeks with a specific community partner for a minimum of 30 hours over the course of the semester.
Organizations interested in becoming a community partner should contact Kate Palmer (kate.palmer@www.qiuluzeuv.cn) for more information.
Each semester APPLES course listings change and so do the needs of our community partners. Please review the listing of APPLES courses for the upcoming semester and consider how your needs can complement course content for a student volunteer. A volunteer supervisor is essential for providing on-going feedback to the student volunteer as well as evaluating their performance at the end of the semester. The service experience must be feasibly completed in three to five hours a week over a 10-week period during the semester.
Step 1Review the upcoming semester’s course offerings.
Step 2Request a student volunteer by contacting the coordinator for the course. This information is sent on the listserv. Please contact Kate Palmer to be added to the partner listserv.
Step 3APPLES will contact you with more information about courses and volunteers prior to the start of the semester.
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