digital service portfolio. The Office of Regional Stewardship will oversee and offer specific guidelines and procedures for the program. The students will receive a service honor cord to wear on their graduation robes and a Community Service Certificate of Achievement.
All students must register with the Office of Regional Stewardship (ORS) to begin their first service engagement. The ORS will conduct registration drives in UNV (University orientation) courses, and the office is also open to students year-round. All service hours must be completed with an approved agency on the ORS's Partner Agency List. Students can request agencies in their hometown be added to the list. Working with an agency who has not subscribed through the office could result in earned service hours not being accepted by the university. Hours can be tracked through existing advising software.
Students must complete a total of 200 service hours between their freshman and senior years. 50 of these hours can be civic engagement hours, but the other 150 hours must be served with approved community agencies. Students can earn additional cords if they complete additional community service hours (please see below). Each service cord will be a different color and have significance that will be posted in the program at graduation.
| Community Service Hours | Civic Engagement/Campus-Related Events Hours | Total Number of Hours | Number of Cords |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | 50 | 200 | 1 |
| 200 | 100 | 300 | 2 |
| 250 | 150 | 400 | 3 |
The Office of Regional Stewardship considers attendance at events like convocations, student recitals, and various cultural events as civic engagement that ultimately serves the KSU community. Students can complete 50 hours of civic engagement/campus-related events as long as they are pre-approved by OSR. The Office of Regional Stewardship will frequently update a calendar of campus community and service events that count toward civic engagement/campus-related events.
Students who are veterans, current members of the Reserve or National Guard or who are called to active duty, can earn up to half of their community service hours towards the service requirement and up to 100 hours toward the CORD Program (described below) requirements.
Student Veterans - Enrolled KSU students who are veterans and have completed military active duty with an honorable discharge can also earn up to 100 hours of service credit towards the community service requirement. To qualify for this credit, the student must present their military form DD-214 showing the discharge status to the Office of Regional Stewardship
National Guard and Military Reserve - Enrolled KSU students who are current members of the Military Reserve or National Guard can also earn up to 100 hours of service credit. The qualification for this credit is based upon completion of basic training, job training, and a minimum of one year cycle (one weekend per month and two-weeks