Jindal Home > Bachelor of Science Programs > UTDserv Community Engagement Initiative

UTDserv Community Engagement Initiative

Jindal School community service event at the North Texas Food bank

Volunteer in your Community

Sign up for Volunteer Trips Donate Today Volunteer Now

Enriching communities

Volunteer hours must involve direct, hands-on interaction with the community. Activities should be engaging, face-to-face and service-based.

UTDserv Information (download)

Goals and Objectives

To grow students’ professionalism, cultural competency and social responsibility while working with community members.

View completed projects

FAQ

Learn more and read about our Frequently Asked Questions for UTD Serv.


FAQ

Simple Process and Significant Impact

Students follow established processes to search for community engagement opportunities, report and approve their hours and complete the requirements seamlessly.

utdserv student process


Golden Rules

  • Verifier emails MUST be from an organizer’s domain: Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo are not acceptable.

  • All hours MUST be reported and verified within a 3-month period over a span of at least 10 weeks.

  • Pending hours will not count; it is your responsibility to make sure they are properly verified.

  • Share the impacts with JSOM in Engage UTD (GivePulse).

  • All hours submitted with a student organization MUST be approved by the org advisor. Officers can earn 10 hours (each semester) for general meetings/planning.

Key Statistics for UTDserv

443,768

Hours

8,353

Projects

5,520

Organizations

9,966

Student Volunteers

$14M+

Economic Value

JSOM aims to enhance community-university relations by maintaining a strong synergistic partnership in the DFW community. JSOM undergraduate students are expected to grow professionalism, cultural competency and social responsibility while serving community members.

Benefits of UTDserv

Nonprofit and public organizations have specific needs related to community service, and JSOM offers several resources. When getting involved with UTDserv, both organizations and students benefit in multiple ways.

  • Work with highly talented and academically diverse student teams
  • Access to innovative and alternative solutions to organizational problems
  • Post volunteer events and recruit student volunteers
  • Increase the organization’s visibility and promote the brand
  • Apply critical thinking and knowledge to address societal issues
  • Work with industry professionals and subject matter experts
  • Learn to build strategies, concepts and suitable solutions
  • Obtain valuable practical experience and transferable/marketable skills

How do organizations get involved with UTDserv?

JSOM offers two options for getting involved with UTDserv. First, by submitting projects and working with student teams under the guidance of our faculty and company advisors. Second, by posting events and recruiting student volunteers.

Submit a Project

Nonprofit and public organizations can submit one or more projects through our web-based platform called EduSourced.

  • Project completed within one semester (16 weeks)
  • Determine scope with the faculty advisor and students before the project starts
  • Faculty assigns one or more student teams to project
  • The organization appoints a primary contact person
Note: by submitting a project proposal, the company agrees to publish the company and project name on the UTDserv webpage.
Submit Non-Profit Projects

Recruit Student Volunteers

Nonprofit and public organizations recruit JSOM student volunteers and post events in Engage UTD (aka GivePulse).


Become a UTDserv community partner

Expectations

Students are expected to engage with the communities while fulfilling their 100 hours of community engagement services. Students who engage with nonprofit organizations throughout their undergraduate degree must meet the following community service guidelines.

  • You MUST report hours as you go within 3 months.
  • 100 hours must span a minimum of 10 weeks.
  • AVOID fundraising, animal training and any religiously affiliated organizations, as these hours may not count. Contact the UTDserv team prior to volunteering to confirm.
  • Complete in-person service hours at any non-profit, public organization or UTD-registered student organization (with advisor approval). Options include food pantries, community gardens or volunteer events.
  • EXCLUDED activities include unpaid work with for-profits, desk work, remote work, religious service hours, political activities, event planning without participation, internship hours for a degree and paid work.
  • Donations of any kind will not be accepted for service hours.

UTDserv works closely with industry partners to find suitable solutions to their community service needs by connecting them with one or more talented student teams or student volunteers. As part of our joint collaboration, industry partners are expected to:

  • Respect UTDserv processes and expectations
  • Maintain the original project scope at all times
  • Maintain a point of contact throughout the project
  • Hold a weekly/bi-weekly meeting with your student team
  • Provide necessary project data to students promptly
  • Respond promptly to student team inquiries
  • Guide students to a successful project delivery
  • Mentor students to be future leaders

How do students get involved with UTDserv?

Students at the JSOM need to fulfill 100 community service hours as part of their undergraduate degree. Students have two options to complete the requirements for their degree program.

Engage with Nonprofit Organizations

  • Serve 100 hours during undergraduate times/years here at JSOM
  • Comply with community service guidelines
  • Serve with any nonprofit, public or campus service organization
  • Search events and report hours in Engage UTD (aka GivePulse)
  • Enrolled in BA 4095 by JSOM Advising AFTER completing 100 hours – no tuition

Complete a Project-Based
Course

  • Self-enroll into BPS 4396, ENTP 4340, IMS 4335 or MKT 4360 before the semester starts
  • Earn 100 volunteer hours by completing the course in the fall or spring semester
  • Project-based courses may be approved as a guided elective
  • Assigned to specific nonprofit partner by faculty
  • Tuition applies for three credit hours

Testimonials

Marcus Baker

Sr. Manager of Donor Strategy, North Texas Food Bank

Working with a ProConnect Reach student team was a great experience for the North Texas Food Bank. Tasked with performing a cost-benefit analysis for investing in new software for our matching gifts program, the student team took great responsibility for their work knowing their recommendations could provide a big boost in new revenue. I was impressed with their commitment to the program and the time they spent learning about our organization. This ultimately helped with their final recommendation as it was based on research of similar organizations, industry trends, and revenue forecasts using existing donor data. It was a win-win experience participating in the UT Dallas ProConnect Reach program.

Courtney Cuthbert

Director of Volunteers and Food Ministry Brother Bill’s Helping Hand

Frederick Buechner once said: ‘The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger coincide.’ Never have I felt God’s calling so clear and the coinciding of my gladness and the world’s hunger more than I do at Brother Bill’s Helping Hand. Working among the poor and the marginalized in our city has truly enhanced my life and the way I see and understand the world. I have never seen greater generosity than I have in my seven years at BBHH. When both the served and the ones serving participate in a mutual exchange because both believe they have something of value to give to the other, barriers are broken, and real relationships are formed.

Allison Byrd Haley

Executive Director/Founder, Heavenly Mimi

Heavenly Mimi is a non-profit organization helping through the cancer journey. UTD students have been such an asset to Heavenly Mimi. The knowledge they bring to help us grow, is amazing. They go the extra mile to help us with any project we give them.

Olivia Rogers

Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer VNA

At VNA, we have a wide variety of opportunities for volunteers, from working directly with patients to sewing and administrative projects. During the COVID-19 crisis, volunteers are a life-line to patients and family care-givers who may feel more isolated.

Candace Day

Volunteer Coordinator, National Breast Cancer Foundation

Volunteering reaches places far beyond where you ever imagined. For the healthcare workers, women in treatment, and under-served communities we serve, it all starts with YOU.”? Some of our greatest volunteers are students. They consistently show up and ask ‘What else can I do?’ Our hope is to continue to partner with UTD to reach more women, not only locally but also across the nation, to deliver comforting and life-saving services when they need it most—now.
See all UTDserv Testimonials

Frequently Asked Questions

Community service is unpaid work contributed to nonprofit or public organizations within the local community or UT Dallas student organizations. This is a voluntary commitment where a student spends unpaid time doing something to benefit others. Political campaigns, legislative lobbying efforts or religious purposes are NOT qualified activities. Planning an event will not count as community engagement hours. You MUST also participate in the service event itself.

Students have two options to complete their community engagement requirement:

  • Register for one of the project-based courses (BPS 4396, ENTP 4340, MKT 4360 and IMS 4335) offered in the fall or spring semester. By completing one of these courses, students automatically fulfill their JSOM community engagement requirement.
  • Serve 100 hours during your undergraduate years:
    • At any non-profit or public organization within your local community at any time, provided that these organizations comply with our community service guidelines.
    • Served as student officers for any JSOM/UTD student organizations. Hours MUST be verified by the JSOM/UTD faculty advisor appointed to each organization. Hours CANNOT be verified by fellow student officers.

Students can volunteer with any nonprofit or public organization at any time during their undergraduate degree, provided service is unpaid and the student complies with the Community Service Guidelines.

No, students can volunteer with as many nonprofit or public organizations throughout their undergraduate degree.

No, pre-approval is not needed. However, when in doubt, always reach out to UTDserv@utdallas.edu.

At the discretion of the faculty/staff advisor of each student organization/club, hours served as an officer can be logged as part of community service hours. JSOM limits each officer to up to 10 hours per semester. These hours may only be verified by a UTD/JSOM faculty/staff advisor. Hours CANNOT be verified by a fellow student officer. UTDserv DOES NOT verify any hours on behalf of any student organization/club.

You may consider visiting the JSOM group page and UTD group pages.

Students can download the GivePulse App to search and register for volunteer opportunities with their mobile devices.

No, effective 2023, virtual/remote volunteering is no longer allowed. Students are not getting the best community experience out of virtual opportunities.

  • On the UTDserv website, go to How To Report Hours and follow the step-by-step procedure.
  • Students MUST report and have volunteer hours verified no later than 3 months after they have been accrued. Hours that have been reported or verified after this timeframe will not be approved.
  • Make sure to report hours by listing the primary group’s name, for example, if you volunteer at an event at a marketing event here at JSOM, you must list the Marketing Group’s name, NOT JSOM. And, be sure to input the verifier’s name and email. The organization’s verifier automatically receives an email to verify hours. Verifiers’ emails must be the particular organization’s domain (e.g. volunteer@ntfb.org), domain such as gmail, hotmail or yahoo (e.g. jane@gmail.com) are not acceptable.
  • Students MUST report volunteer hours by semester. For example, if you are logging 100 hours for the period 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020, you will have to split these 100 hours into 3 different semesters (Spring, Summer and Fall 2020). Please refer to the academic calendar.
  • Once hours are verified, please send an email to utdserv@utdallas.edu.

To edit an impact in GivePulse and/or add a project description to an impact in GivePulse, please follow the steps below:

  • Log in to the JSOM group page
  • Open the Menu “My Activity” at the top right of the page
  • Click on “Impacts”
  • Click on the menu button behind your impact
  • Click on Update
  • Scroll to “About Your Experience”
  • Add a short description of the project(s) under “Review, Reflection and Feedback”
  • Scroll down the page and hit “Update Impact”
  • Done

You may log in to the JSOM group page, go to ‘Hi Name’ and click on ‘Dashboard’. Here, you will find all the volunteer hours you have reported in GivePulse.

No, only VERIFIED hours are counted toward your community engagement requirement at JSOM. Hours that are still ‘pending’ do not count. It is the student’s responsibility to periodically check on verification statuses. Students should reach out to organizations on pending impacts.

If you are graduating, the last day to submit volunteer hours to EngageUTD AND the last day to have them verified is the same day as the ‘last day of classes’ (see UTD academic calendar).

Send an email to utdserv@utdallas.edu once you have completed 100 service hours. UTDserv will send a confirmation email to the student and will work with the JSOM Advising Office to enroll the student in the BA 4095 course (pending no holds).

No. Undergraduate students must complete the community engagement requirement before graduation.