Centre for Global and Community Engagement - University of Ottawa

Join the 1800 students, 130 professors and 281 Community Partners who made the uOttawa's CSL Program a success during this academic year

For Students

For Professors

For Community Partners

What is CSL?

To be a successful CSL component in a classroom, three main characteristics have to be present:

  1. A quality placement with a community organization that serves the interest of the community and also of the student and professor;
  2. A volunteer experience that will contribute to enhance classroom teachings and;
  3. A volunteer experience that will create or increase social awareness and responsibility.  This is achieved through a meaningful self-reflection element integrated into the CSL course.

Benefits

Everybody wins!  CSL benefits all participants:

Students enhance their understanding of classroom teaching, develop their social awareness, sense of civic responsibility and CSL provides them with valuable job market skills.
Professors provide their students with an innovative alternative to traditional classroom teaching which enhances understanding of concepts taught in class, improves their relationship with their students and help better position their research.
Community Partners benefit on many fronts from their participation in the CSL Program: improved and increased service delivery; reached out to a greater clientele; greater completion and delivery of projects and recruitment of volunteers among uOttawa students.

Fund your CSL project

Each year, the CSL program awards several grants to support projects submitted by its registered and active participants. The grant can be used for the following:

  • Cover travel costs for students involved in CSL;
  • Assist with incremental costs for community partners directly related to taking on students from the University of Ottawa.  The funding is not meant to cover the recurrent costs of the organization;
  • Assist with start-up initiatives with community partners or for a new course.

Learn more about eligibility and process, click here

How does it work?

  1. Professors register their courses with the CSL Program
  2. They identify learning objectives for their couses and deterine how the CSL component is integrated into the course curriculum
  3. They decide what percentage of the course is devoted to CSL and how they will evaluate the CSL component (reflective journal, report, presentation, etc.)
  4. Students apply online for placements that are of interest for the course. Placements are offered on a first come, first served basis.
  5. Students contact the community partner and volunteer for a minimum of 30 hours over the session. This averages out to about three hours a week over weeks. The sooner, students start the better!.