A group of students has taken the first steps toward instituting
a program that will allow UCLA students to obtain an official
transcript of their service hours.
The program is currently in its infancy, with a handful of
groups participating in a test run that is presently in progress,
including the Community Service Commission, Circle K and the
Student Welfare Commission.
The service transcript will be an official record of a
student’s community service hours, similar to an academic
transcript, said Justin Schreiber, the former community service
commissioner for the Undergraduate Students Association
Council.
Schreiber spearheaded the campaign to implement a service
transcript, which began last spring and is finally getting off its
feet this fall.
The purpose of the service transcripts is to ensure students get
credit for the volunteer work they do.
“It’s basically to allow for those who are doing
service to get official recognition from the university,”
Schreiber said.
With the service transcript, students will be able to provide
potential employers and graduate schools with complete, official
information about their community service activities.
Only community service activities that are conducted through a
UCLA group will be counted.
“I think it’s a very good idea,” said Rick
Tuttle, administration alternate for USAC.
“It gives more of a complete picture to employers, your
grandchildren.”
The Center for Student Programming and MyUCLA are also
participating in the program.
“It’s something that CSP is willing to do when
presented to us,” said Kenn Heller, associate director of the
center.
“It actually gives another way of crediting students for
the extra activities they’re involved in,” he
added.
The role of the CSP is to review documented hours and verify
that the work was legitimately completed, Heller said.
MyUCLA has agreed to host a Web site for students to document
their hours.
The site will either be part of the MyUCLA Web site or
accessible through a link on the MyUCLA page.
For this coming year, only a handful of groups that began
working with the Community Service Commission last year will be
able to use the service transcripts, Schreiber said, adding that in
coming years, the service transcripts will hopefully expand to
include all UCLA community service groups.