Community Service

  • Dean Lopez with honors students at the annual Day of Service event.
  • A student working in the WMU Community Garden.
  • An honors student volunteers in the garden at Gibbs House.
  • An honors student volunteers in the greenhouse at Gibbs House.

Quick Info

  • 20 service hours are due each academic year until graduation from WMU (10 hours are due for an academic year if graduating in the fall semester, admitted to the LHC in a spring semester, or studying abroad in a fall or spring semester).

  • Annual submission deadline is June 30.

  • Service hours between July 1 and June 30 may count toward a given academic year for continuing honors students. New honors students may begin counting their first year’s volunteer hours after the first semester begins.

  • Use the LHC Community Service Log on ExperienceWMU to submit your full 20 service hours (instructions below).

  • Community service guidelines (below) are used to determine which activities will count and not count for the LHC service requirement.

  • Approval of service hours is at the discretion of the LHC. If you are unsure or have any questions about community service, please meet with an LHC advisor. 

Submitting and Tracking Your Hours

Once you have completed all 20 hours, submit your hours via the LHC Community Service Log in ExperienceWMU:

  1. Go to ExperienceWMU directly or by using the ExperienceWMU icon in the “Apps” tab on your GoWMU homepage.

  2. Sign-in to ExperienceWMU with your BroncoNet ID and password, if prompted.

  3. On the “Explore Western Michigan University” homepage, scroll to the “Memberships” section and select “Lee Honors College.”

  4. On the “Lee Honors College” organization homepage, scroll to the “Forms” section and select the available “LHC Community Service Log.” Use the available log even for overdue service hours. 

  5. Read the form information carefully and complete as prompted. (Remember, only submit the form when you have completed all 20 volunteer hours.)

  6. Click “Next” at the bottom of the form. Your submitted form will be routed to LHC staff for review. Any questions or comments from LHC staff regarding your form will be posted to your form submission in ExperienceWMU.

Track your community service requirement in your LHC Pathway in ExperienceWMU:

  1. On your ExperienceWMU homepage, click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.

  2. In the drop-down menu that appears, select “Paths.”

  3. In the drop-down menu below “My Paths,” select “Lee Honors College.”

Notes about your LHC Pathway:

  • Completed community service hours from academic year 2020-21 and prior have been completed in your LHC Pathway with generic info. 

  • LHC-sponsored events are also tracked in ExperienceWMU. Visit the LHC Events page for more information about the LHC-sponsored event requirement.

  • Please contact honors advisor Anthony Helms if you have questions or concerns about tracking of your LHC community service hours or events in your LHC Pathway.

Approval:

  • LHC Staff will review and either approve or deny your submitted service log.

  • If your submission is denied, the LHC staff reviewer will provide comments so that you can revise your submission. Resubmit your form with corrections to proceed. 

  • If your submission is approved, your community service requirement for the applicable year will be marked complete in your LHC Pathway in Experience WMU

Community Service Guidelines

The spirit of the LHC community service requirement is to build a sustained commitment to civic engagement and serving others. In this spirit, volunteer hours should directly benefit people in need, community betterment, cultural engagement, animals, the environment/sustainability efforts, students with academic difficulties, and other non-profit efforts and organizations that meet the guidelines below. These guidelines are effective as of July 1, 2023.

Community service activities must be performed through or for a non-profit organization in order to be accepted: 

  • Note about RSO activities: Volunteer activities through an RSO serving the community outside the RSO (in alignment with the statement above) can count. Activities serving the RSO itself will not count.

  • Note about faith-based organizations: Volunteer activities through a faith-based organization serving the community outside the organization (in alignment with the statement above) can count. Activities serving the faith-based organization itself (such as worship, events, building maintenance, membership, etc.) will not count.

Community service hours will be denied if the activities meet any of the following criteria:

  • Paid services or forgoing pay for those services.

  • Internships, clinicals, practicums, or field experiences.

  • Political campaigning and religious proselytizing (see note above).

  • Participation in RSOs, including membership or executive board responsibilities, such as recruitment, tabling, and attending meetings/events (see note above).

  • Personal/professional development activities, such as attending conferences.

  • Donating personal items, such as clothing or money, to an organization versus volunteering time to create items for donation and/or serving to manage donations  Please contact an LHC advisor if unsure or if you have questions. 

  • Participating in events, such as running a 5k, versus serving at the event.
Where to find service opportunities:

All volunteer hours, both within and outside of the Kalamazoo area, must follow the above-mentioned guidelines. Failure to do so will result in hours being denied upon submission. Any community service hours that appear to be falsified or plagiarized will be forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct. 

Any questions or concerns about opportunities should be directed to honors advising staff via appointment or email before activity participation and/or community service log submission.