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Self
Reliance Foundation ~ Acceso Hispano Student Fellows Program |
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Setting Up a Student Fellows Program at Your School Student Fellows Service Component
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v Provide your students with an opportunity to use information technology and become involved with important social issues of the U.S. Hispanic community. v Become one of the colleges or universities to partner with the Self Reliance Foundation/Acceso Hispano to expand a network providing services to the entire U.S. Hispanic community. v Receive publicity as a university involved in Hispanic outreach services provided through an educational media and community service coalition. Through this coalition, which includes over 150 affiliated U.S. radio stations and more than 90 Spanish-language newspapers, we have the capacity to reach 90% of the Spanish-speaking U.S. population. v Help contribute to the overall awareness of the need for greater services throughout the country, specifically for the Hispanic population. v Your students who participate will have access to valuable resources, including financial aid and scholarship information, and will be able to earn money for college, participate in a local community service program, gain valuable work experience, and contribute to the U.S. Hispanic community. If this sounds like a good idea for your department or organization, please read the following on how to set up a program at your school. How to Set Up a Student Fellows Program At Your School:If the
Student Fellows Program is appealing to you, and you would like to form
a partnership with the Self Reliance Foundation/Hispanic Radio Network
Collaborative to provide a unique opportunity for your students, here’s
how to get started! Decide Where the Program Will Be Hosted Consider some of the following questions when choosing a department and site for the Student Fellows Program: v
What department(s) would draw a large number of interested
bilingual students? Some
ideas — Latin American Studies Department, Office of Ethnic Affairs,
School of Social Work, School of Communications. v
Is there adequate
space to set up a work site for students? Will they have access to phone lines and the Internet?
Keep in mind, the location of the work space does not necessarily
have to be within the department which will host the program (for example,
the Student Fellows Program at University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,
is hosted by the University's Outreach Services, but it is housed at
KUNM-FM Radio Station). v
Is a faculty or
staff member within that department willing to act as a primary contact
for SRF and as a local supervisor for the Student Fellows?
This person would communicate with the Student Fellows Program
Coordinator at SRF as issues arise which are relevant to the successful
implementation of the program (administrative, managerial, etc.).
He or she would also be responsible for periodically monitoring
the students’ progress by overseeing their work and signing their work-study
timesheets. If students are to earn academic credit for their work, this
supervisor should be someone within the department which is offering
them credit for their field-study/internship. v
Is the department’s computer systems staff available to
assist students when the need arises?
Whenever possible, SRF’s Student Fellows Program Coordinator
will talk students, via telephone, through any technical glitches that
may arise. However, students
may require occasional in-person computer support from your department. Decide
How Students Will Be Compensated Two basic options exist: v Work-Study: Students can earn work-study funds for their hours of work. Pros: Funds have already been allocated to help these students earn money, therefore it is a minimal expense to the school or department. Cons: This approach would limit the SRF Fellows Program to only those students who are eligible for work-study funds through the Financial Aid Office. If
you choose this approach, SRF can pay for 25% of the students’ work-study
wages, 25% would be covered by your university, and the remaining
50% would be paid for by Federal work-study funds. v
Academic Credit: If a specific department within your
school requires students to complete field-study hours or other types
of unpaid internships, the SRF Fellows Program may fit in perfectly.
For example, in a School of Social Work, students may have to
spend a minimum number of hours performing outreach work.
Or perhaps a student in the Latin American Studies Department
wants to work with the needs of Latinos in the U.S.
The hours that the students spend learning about different resources
around the country provides valuable hands-on learning experience. If you have other ideas on how to compensate the students — perhaps some combination of the above — we would be happy to discuss these possibilities with you. Please contact us if you have any questions or when you are ready to set up a program at your university. Become part of the network of institutions working to improve access to information for Hispanics around the country and the world! We look forward to hearing from you! Contact:
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1126 16th Street,
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Suite 350 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 360-4096 Fax: (202) 637-8801 |