Engr Gail dela Rita, XU-SLP Director, leads the monthly Social Development Coordinators' General Assembly. Supplied photo. 

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Xavier Ateneo’s Service Learning Program gears up for another school year of partnership and service learning engagement. Social formation is a hallmark of Jesuit Education and service learning as a tool to facilitate it is strategically integrated in the curriculum to create a space for collaboration among different academic programs in Xavier Ateneo as it works on addressing the concerns of communities through service learning engagements of students. 

Recognized as one of Xavier Ateneo’s best features in the recent PAASCU Accreditation, Service Learning Program (XU-SLP) explores interdisciplinary engagement among different academic programs and an expansion of partner communities to include those of surrounding Municipalities in Misamis Oriental such as Initao, Libertad, Gitagum, Laguindingan, Tagoloan and Jasaan.

These developments are seen to be necessary as Service Learning adapts the Universal Apostolic Preference of the Society of Jesus in the strengthening of social formation of students vis a vis the Province Roadmap in addressing concerns of communities through service learning engagements.

Since 2016, XU-SLP has engaged more students and faculty in various communities and sectors for discipline-based solutions and projects.

Below is the data collated since its institutionalization:

SY	No. of students engaged	No. of Faculty	No. of subjects	No. of Projects	No. of Partners
2016-2017	1,168	24	17	36	27
2017-2018	2,229	53	48	48	46
2018-2019	937	49	39	42	28

Note: Data for SY2018-2019 covers 4th-year students only due to the K-12 transition.

To date, XU-SLP has forged a total of 101 partnerships and has accomplished 126 programs/projects for communities. The following are some of the noteworthy engagements initiated by students in their respective communities:

COLLEGE	PROGRAM	PROJECT	COMMUNITY
Arts and Sciences (Natural Science)	Biology	Dengue Mosquito GIS Surveillance and Control Ovi Trap Installation	Barangay Macabalan, Barangay Nazareth, Municipality of Talakag, Bukidnon
Arts and Sciences (Social Sciences)	Psychology	Psychological Debriefing for Internally Displaced Learners and Parents following the Marawi Seige	Department of Education-CDO (Iponan and Balulang Elementary Schools)
Arts and Sciences (Humanities)	Philosophy	Education for Spiritual Formation, Philosophy of Leadership Workshop, and weekly logic tutorials for Camaman-an Youth	Barangay Camaman-an, Cagayan de Oro City
Engineering	Electrical Engineering	Engineering Ecological Sanitation Solutions- Phase 1 & Phase 2	Municipality of Alubijid, Misamis Oriental
Education	Basic and Secondary Education	Collaborative Action Research for Curriculum Enhancement, following the KUMILOS framework (UP Diliman)	DepEd Schools in Cagayan de Oro City
Business and Management	Business Administration Maj in Marketing	Deliberating the Appropriate Marketing Strategies Suitable for the Social Enterprises in Alubijid for Pitati, Salt & Cassava	People’s Organization in Brgy Baybay, Alubijid, Misamis Oriental
Agriculture	Development Communications	Humans of Cabanglasan - The life and stories of the Umayamnen Indigenous Peoples of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon	Umayamnen Tribal Community Of the Municipality of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon
Nursing	Community Health Nursing	Promotion on Clean and Green Environment through Herbal Medicine and Waste Segregation and Recycling	Barangay Lumbia and Barangay Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City
Computer Studies	Information System and Computer Science	Development of Water Concessionaires’ Database and Automated Billing Statement	Local Government Unit of the Municipality of Talakag Bukidnon

 

Together with these developments is XU-SLP’s commitment to improve on its policies and guidelines in order to simplify processes and encourage more faculty to integrate SL Framework into their respective subjects. Integration of SL in the syllabus is seen as one of the ways forward in order to establish a ladderized and developmental approach in facilitating service learning.

The Handbooks for Faculty and Students are in the pipeline as XU-SLP implementation will be in full swing on SY 2020-2021 following the K-12 transition. Load equivalency and terms of references are in place to provide an alternative space for instruction which will supplement an outcomes- based approach in teaching. A provision on honorarium for faculty is also given to those who have accomplished their service learning deliverables such as SL integration in the syllabus, accompany and mentor students in their SL engagement, and proper delivery of output to partner LGUs and communities.

XU-SLP is in high hopes that these developments will not only encourage more SL faculty to engage in service learning but inspire service through actual engagement in communities.∎

XU-SLP's formators and SD coordinators. Supplied photo.