Program Requirements
St. John Fisher College's Service Scholarship Program is designed to provide financial and academic assistance to incoming Fisher freshmen who exhibit a high degree of motivation and academic potential and have a demonstrated record of civic engagement. To encourage and honor the long history of community engagement at the College, the scholarship award reduces tuition and room and board fees for four years in exchange for community service that is coordinated through the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.
In order to maintain good standing and receive all benefits of the scholarship program, students must complete the following requirements:
- Engage in full time study as a matriculated student
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of degree requirements
- Fulfill a commitment to community service hours as indicated in the service scholars' manual
- Participate in a two-course learning community titled The Civic Self: Creating Identity through Community during the fall semester of their first year at St. John Fisher College
- Participate in the Community Engagement Workshops in the fall semester of the freshman year
- Complete a 1/2-credit service learning seminar in the spring semester of the freshman year (SERV 130C)
- Pass one service learning course (3-4 credits) taken at any time after the freshman year. Courses that fulfill this requirement can be found during registration each semester by searching for the service learning (SLC) attribute in the course listing
- Complete a 1/2 credit service learning retreat in the fall semester of the senior year (SERV 334)
Upon completion, students will be awarded a Certificate in Service Leadership.
Questions about the Fisher Service Scholars Program can be addressed to the academic program director or the assistant director of the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.
Note: Students fill out a learning agreement and commit to an hours-logged policy. The learning agreement is a document they write with their volunteer site supervisor. It outlines their goals, and is an important way of ensuring that they are utilized at the site in a way that matches their own vision for what they want to achieve through community service. The hours-logged policy is a simple form that ensures students are aware of the number of volunteer hours required each year by the service learning scholarship. Both the learning and hours-logged agreements are important for student responsibility and accountability.
Community service hours are recorded through the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. The scholarship program depends on one or two primary sites at which a student performs most of his or her volunteer hours. However, students can also volunteer at other, more temporary sites toward fulfilling their hours requirements. In addition, students can arrange to have a portion of the community service hours they perform during semester breaks credited toward their yearly hours requirements. The policies governing retention of the service scholarship are explained in a manual provided for all students. Further questions should be directed to the academic program director or the assistant director of the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.
Note: Students who study abroad during one or more semesters can make alternative arrangements with the assistant director of the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement to satisfy their community service hours and to the academic director of the Service Scholars Program to satisfy their service-learning seminar requirements.