Guidelines

The Service requirement at NCSSM has been a staple since the school's beginning, allowing students to give back to their home community and the state of North Carolina. Students are able to being volunteering the day following NCSSM commemencement of the academic year they were accepted (Class of 2025 may begin volunteering May 28, 2023). Students can volunteer at any point from the date above until the last day of Thanksgiving Break of their senior year to complete the 60 hour requirement. Please carefully read the FAQ below and email servicelearning@ncssm.edu with any questions or concerns you may have.

• • What do I need to do in order to complete the NCSSM Service Requirement?
    To complete the NCSSM Service Requirement, students must complete all 3 parts of the requirement. 

• Students must complete a minimum of 60 hours of service.

• Must attend a presentation session during their junior year to learn about opportunities 

• Present their service to a faculty/staff member and their peers during presentation week of their senior year.

• • When can my service begin? When should my service be completed?
    The incoming junior class may begin their service the day following NCSSM Commencement of the year they were accepted (Class of 2025 - May 28, 2023). All hours must be completed by the last day of Thanksgiving Break senior year.

  • How many hours do I have to complete?
    Students must complete a total of 60 hours of service to fulfill the NCSSM Service Requirement.  

  • Does my service hours have to be completed during the summer?
    Students may complete any hours at any point up until last day of Thanksgiving Break of their senior year.

  • Do my hours of service have to take place in NC?

Due to the original philosophy behind the Service Requirement (giving back to North Carolina residents) all service must have some content in NC. The only exceptions are circumstances where the student resides with a second parent out-of-state during the time of the service opportunity; or if the student resides in a community bordering Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Georgia and the service opportunity is more accessible in the neighboring state. If a student is traveling to another country, they can request volunteer hours be allowed in advance by contacting the Service Learning Coordinator. The Service Learning Coordinator should be informed of these special circumstances ahead of time, so that they can be a factor in considering final service approval. You can explain these instances in an email to the Service Learning Coordinator at servicelearning@ncssm.edu.

• • How do I record my service hours?

NCSSM is switching to a new service hours tracking platform which will be launched during the summer of 2024. Once the platform is active, this site will be updated with information regarding how to log and approve your hours in this system.

• • Who can approve my hours?

Adults who are not related to you and are not a member of the most recent graduating NCSSM class who are a supervisor at the organization should approve service hours in SchooLinks.

• • What types of service hours count towards my NCSSM Service Requirement?

Volunteering at nonprofit organizations, hopsitals through the volunteer program (Shadowing doctors/nurses does not qualify), schools, NC local government programs (please email the service learning coordinator to make sure your program will count), and qualifying  NCSSM opportunies.

• • What would NOT count for service? (This list is not exhaustive of everything that would not count for your service, but is a list of common ones received. As new ones come up, they will be added to this list.)

    • • • Internships: Some organization classify what would be considered service as an internship. If your opportunity is listed/advertised as an internship, please reach out to the service learning coordinator to approve the opportunity as service.

        • Donation Drives/Collection: Collecting items to donate to an organization

        • Shadowing doctors/nurses: (volunteering must be done through the volunteer coordinator at the hospital)

        • Doing something on your own to assist someone else (i.e. tutoring a student on your own, helping someone with yard work, etc)

  • What qualifies as service at NCSSM?

NCSSM opportunities include: volunteering through official NCSSM Service Learning opportunities, volunteering through a chartered NCSSM club, a service opportunity offered by a residence hall or NCSSM faculty/staff member.

• • What DOES NOT qualify as service?

Students cannot “double dip” service hours, meaning students cannot receive credit for their service academically, as an award, or receive any recognition and for the service requirement. Therefore, students may not use NCSSM summer research or mentorship hours to complete the service requirement as students are already receiving academic credit for the research experience. An example of double dipping outside of NCSSM would be hours for the Eagle and Gold Awards. In addition, students may not tutor NCSSM students in any capacity (through campus service or otherwise) for NCSSM Service Requirement hours.

1. The NCSSM Service Requirement hours must be separate from any type of award or recognition except the Durham Mayor’s Award, the Presidential Service Award, the Congressional Award, and the NCSSM Outstanding Service Award (awarded to students who complete more than 150 hours of service). 

2. NCSSM is NOT a qualifying organization for the Presidential Award or Congressional Award. Students interested in the Presidential Service Award, Congressional Award, or Durham Mayor's Award should look at those websites for information about how to receive the award.

3. Students are allowed and encouraged to use their NCSSM Service Requirement experiences in college and scholarship applications.

• • What club service would qualify as service for the NCSSM Service Requirement?

NCSSM clubs can receive NCSSM Service Requirement credit for service hours completed should certain guidelines be met. These guidelines can be reviewed on the Club Service page via Google Slidedeck or presentation recording.

• • Can my hours on Martin Luther King Jr Day count towards my NCSSM Service Requirement?

Yes! Those who volunteer on MLK Day through the NCSSM Service Learning opportunities or NCSSM club opportunities may register their hours through the new service platform to count for the Service Requirement. Do note that students would only be able to use hours from MLK Day during their junior year as MLK Day during senior year is after the deadline to complete all hours.

• • Can I use hours working with a research opportunity to fulfill my NCSSM Service Requirement hours?

Students can use research opportunities to fulfill their NCSSM Service Requirement if the agency is a nonprofit and located in NC. The NCSSM summer research and mentorship experiences do not fulfill this requirement as the student is already receiving credit for the course. If a student plans to volunteer at a nonprofit research laboratory, there are a few stipulations: the students work cannot be published and/or credited with any findings that will lead to financial gain, awards, or recognition and the student cannot use this type of service to fulfill assignments and/or requirements set forth by NCSSM or another organization.

• • May I use a service trip through a nonprofit organization to fulfil my service requirement hours?

Service trips to other states or abroad may be used to fulfil service requirement hours as long as: 1) the organization is a nonprofit organization based in NC and 2) a minimum of 20 hours are completed with the organization prior to or following the trip at the organization in NC. If a student participates in a service trip, the student may not include the following hours: time spent traveling, sightseeing, sleeping, etc. Students may only count time spent actively engaged in volunteer efforts.

• • Can I tutor with a virtual tutoring organization to fulfill my service hours? 

Online tutoring platforms must serve residents of NC and be located in NC. At this time, the only approved online tutoring platforms are SMath Tutors, NC Virtual Public Schools Peer Tutoring, ViPTutoring, TutorLion.

• • Can I accept a form of monetary compensation for my service?

Students cannot accept any form of monetary compensation (cash, checks, gift cards, etc.). NCSSM Service hours are strictly voluntary and must be unpaid. Any student who receives monetary compensation for their NCSSM Service Requirement hours will be subject to disciplinary action as determined by the Service Learning Coordinator and Director of Student Services.

• • Can students count prior service towards their NCSSM Service Requirement hours?

Service hours may not begin for a student until the day following NCSSM Commencement during their sophomore year. Students have from that date until the end of Thanksgiving Break of their senior year to complete the required hours.

May 26, 2024:

The Class of 2026 may begin their service 5/26/24. (The day following NCSSM Commencement). All hours must be completed by the last day of Thanksgiving Break of each classes senior year. This would be December 1, 2024 for the class of 2025.

August 2024: 

During August, the Service Learning Coordinator will be reaching out to any seniors who have submitted less than 30 hours in the new service tracking platform. This is to ensure all members of the class of 2025 has enough time to complete the 60 hour requirement. 

December 1, 2024: 

All members of the Class of 2024 must have completed and logged their 60 hour service into the new service tracking platform. Any seniors not having completed the requirement at this time will be contact by the Service Learning Coordinator by Friday, December 6, 2024 to create a plan for the completion of the requirement.

January 20-24, 2025

Members of the class of 2025 will be presenting about the service experiences to a faculty/staff member and members of the class of 2026. To find out more information about the presentation requirements, please visit HERE. Information will be sent out to students upon their return to campus following the winter break.

August 2024

• Mayor’s Award: Every year the Volunteer Center of Durham recognizes students who have served more than 100 volunteer hours in Durham community during the summer.  To be eligible for this award, the student must complete at least 100 volunteer hours in Durham (or surrounding areas) by August (exact date yet to be determined). Upon completion of 100 or more volunteer hours, the student will honored by the mayor of Durham, NC for their contributions to the city.  To receive more information about the Mayor’s Award, or to register, contact the Volunteer Center of Durham at 919.688.8977. (Please contact the Volunteer Center of Durham as NCSSM is not affiliated with this award.)

May 2025

• NCSSM Outstanding Service Award: Seniors who have completed and logged more than 150 approved hours of service by Sunday, May 11, 2025 for the NCSSM Service Requirement will receive the Outstanding Service Award from NCSSM at the Awards Ceremony at the end of the academic year.

All NCSSM students are required to share their service experience with their peers. Members of the Class of 2025 will be presenting between January 15th - 30th. Below you will find information regarding the presentation. Sign up information will be shared no later than January 12th and will include all dates/times except those on MLK Day. MLK Day presentations will count towards the NCSSM Service Requirement and will serve as 1 credit towards the MLK Day requirement for both campuses.

 Members of the class of 2025 will be presenting in groups of 7 and sessions will also include members from the class of 2026. This format will allow students to learn about service and organizations they may like to volunteer with in the future. Below you will find information regarding sign ups, topics to cover in your presentation, and the format for sessions. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the service learning coordinator, Sue Anne Lewis (servicelearning@ncssm.edu).

Class of 2025 Presentation Information: 

• Presentation Times: January 15th - 30th, times TBD. Students will present during 1 session.

• Presentation Length:  5-7 minutes (in order to stay on schedule, students will be stopped at the 7 minute mark)

• Sign Up: Link will be emailed no later than January 12th

• Presentation Format: PowerPoint, Prezzi, Google Slides, etc. via Zoom or Google Meet

• All students will receive an email from their session faciltator which will include the  virtual link to their session. 

Topics To Cover

• • Provide background information about organization(s). 

  • What population does the organization serve

  • What were your duties

  • Did anything surprise you during your time of service

  • What did you learn from the experience

  • How did your experience impact you

Session Information

• • Each session will include a maximum of 7 seniors, which will keep the session within the 1 hour time frame.

  • Must stay the duration of the presentation time until all members of the group have presented.

  • All in attendance must keep their camera on during the duration of the session to receive credit.

  • Must be attentive to peer presentations. Disruptive or disrespectful behavior will be reported to Service Learning Coordinator and student may be asked to attend an additional session.

  • Members of the class of 2026 will be in attendance during presentations as audience members