The Product - Guidelines

    1. The Service Learning Experience (SLE) consists of a minimum of fifteen hours of service related to the student's chosen community issue. The product must be student-generated and should include artifacts from the SLE that demonstrate students' problem-solving skills. For example, students cannot purchase and assemble a model kit as a product. However, if a student designs a model, builds it from raw materials, and uses it to show application/synthesis of knowledge acquired from research and service, that would constitute an acceptable product.
    2. The product is tangible evidence of the effort and time invested in meeting the criteria established for the product. The student should show that this product is an extension, application, and synthesis of research and service and has practical applications in the real world.
    3. The product should be tangible evidence that reflects learning applications, critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, teamwork, and personal employability skills, such as responsibility, persistence, and independence.
    4. The product's conception, development, and refinement must respond to the identified need or desire. This phase of the graduation project offers students an opportunity to connect their educational aspirations with real-world career or community service opportunities.
    5. The quality of the product created should reflect a minimum of 15 hours of work.
    6. The product must be adequately documented with photographs, logs, letters, reflective journal entries, and other forms of documentation.
    7. The academic advisor and project coordinator must approve the product abstract/proposal.
    8. Students should avoid choosing topics that might require excessive expenses, as the state does not provide funding for student graduation projects.
    9. Successful completion of a graduation project is not dependent upon the amount of money invested in the graduation project.