Types of C&E courses
a. Service-work courses (service-learning). These courses have volunteer service work integrated into the course. The service effort required is typically 60-80h, including preparation time, spread out over up to one year to provide for better trust-building and more sustained engagement with the community over a longer period. This leads to better outcomes for both the community and students.
These courses integrate academic learning with impactful services conducted in collaboration with ministries and national agencies.
Various causes are supported, including children & youth, senior citizens, families, and persons with disabilities. Students will be fully trained by both NUS tutors and relevant agencies before embarking on service work.
b. Field/project-work courses (engagement-learning).
These C&E courses have field/project work integrated into the course, focusing on specific disciplinary skills and/or specific sectors of the community. The field/project work would typically require engagement with a community through dialogue, research, analysis, and/or formulation of an action plan (preferably, together with implementation of that plan) to bring a direct or indirect benefit to the identified community. The amount of effort required would also be about 60-80h, but will usually be completed within one semester.
Management Team
Chief, Communities & Engagement: Professor Melvin YAP (melvin@nus.edu.sg)
For service-learning programmes:
Director (Academics): Mr ZHENG Liren (z.liren@nus.edu.sg)
Director (Service Learning): Ms SIM Qin Ying (pvosqy@nus.edu.sg)
Assistant Director (Service Learning): Mr CHONG Bao Shen, Kenneth (pvocbsk@nus.edu.sg)
Special note on workload accounting: One-semester vs. year-long C&E courses
Some C&E courses, usually the field/project-work courses, are regular intense 4-Unit courses with work completed within one semester.
Other C&E courses, especially the service-work courses, are spread out over two consecutive semesters, or up to one year, that is, Semester 1 through Semester 2 to Special Term 2; or Semester 2 through the Special Terms to Semester 1 of following AY.
Such courses will then count 2 Units in the first semester and the other 2 Units in the following semester. An ‘IP’ (in-progress) grade will be assigned to courses that extend beyond current examination results release date or beyond one semester. The actual grade will be assigned upon course completion.
Thus, students can always register for these courses on top of their usual planned workload of 20 Units or so, without breaching workload cap per semester. Students generally do not have to ‘sacrifice’ any Major or other regular courses to read a year-long C&E course.