Chapter 2. Human Corps of California Education Code >> Division 14. >> Title 3. >> Part 65. >> Chapter 2.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
  (1) California students have a long and rich tradition of participation in community service which should be recognized, commended, and expanded.
  (2) There is a growing national consensus that student participation in community services enhances the undergraduate experience.
  (3) Student community service is an activity of extreme importance to the mission of the university and deserves to be conducted both for academic credit and otherwise.
  (4) The state's postsecondary educational institutions are charged to maintain a tradition of public service as well as teaching and research.
  (5) Access to the privilege of attending the university is made possible for many by our state's tradition of keeping fees and tuition low.
  (6) Practical learning experiences in the real world are valuable for the development of a student's sense of self, skills, and education.
  (7) Our state faces enormous unmet human needs and social challenges including undereducated children, increasing illiteracy and teenage parenting, environmental contamination, homelessness, school dropouts, and growing needs for elder care.
  (8) The state's ability to face these challenges requires policymakers to find creative and cost-effective solutions including increased efforts for community and student public service.
  (9) The Legislature and the State of California provide substantial incentives and subsidies for its citizens to attend the state's postsecondary education institutions, public and private, which are among the finest in the world.
  (10) Current volunteer efforts conducted by community organizations reach only a fraction of the need. The need for public service is great because private, state, and federal funding are insufficient to pay for all the social services needed.
  (11) Existing community service efforts have successfully demonstrated that participation in public service is of mutual benefit to participating students and the recipients of their services.
  (b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to do all of the following:
  (1) Complete the college experience by providing students an opportunity to develop themselves and their skills in real-world learning experiences.
  (2) To help nurture a sense of human community and social responsibility in our college students.
  (3) Invite the fullest possible cooperation between postsecondary education institutions, schools, public, private, and nonprofit agencies, and philanthropies to plan, fund, and implement expanded opportunities for student participation in community life through public service in organized programs.
  (4) To substantially increase college student participation in community services, with the ultimate goal of 100 percent participation.

There is hereby created a program known as The Human Corps within the University of California and the California State University. The California Community Colleges, proprietary schools, and member institutions of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities are strongly encouraged to implement Human Corps programs. The purpose of the corps is to provide every student an ongoing opportunity throughout his or her college career to participate in a community service activity. Toward this goal, beginning in the fall term in 1988, full-time students, including both undergraduate and graduate students, entering the University of California, the California State University, or an institution that is a member of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities to pursue a degree shall be strongly encouraged and expected, although not required, to participate in the Human Corps by providing an average of 30 hours of community service in each academic year. The segments shall determine how to encourage and monitor student participation. The segments are strongly encouraged to develop flexible programs that permit the widest possible student involvement, including participation by part-time students and others for whom participation may be difficult due to financial, academic, personal, or other considerations.

For the purposes of this article, community service shall be defined as work or service performed by students either voluntarily or for some form of compensation or academic credit through nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations, schools, or college campuses. In general, the work or service should be designed to provide direct experience with people or project planning, and should have the goal of improving the quality of life for the community. Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to, tutoring, literacy training, neighborhood improvement, increasing environmental safety, assisting the elderly or disabled, and providing mental health care, particularly for disadvantaged or low-income residents. In developing community service programs, campuses shall emphasize efforts which can most effectively use the skills of students such as tutoring programs or literacy programs.

There are hereby created Human Corps task forces in each segment, which shall be established on each campus by March 1, 1988. Community colleges and member institutions of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities are strongly encouraged to establish task forces for the purposes set forth in this section. Each task force shall be composed of students, faculty, and campus administration. Each task force also shall include community representatives from groups such as schools, local businesses and government, nonprofit associations, social service agencies, and philanthropies. Each task force shall reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the institution and the surrounding community. The purpose of the task forces is to strengthen and coordinate existing oncampus and external community service opportunities, expand and make new service opportunities available, promote the Human Corps to make students, community groups, faculty, employment recruiters, and administrators aware of the service expectation, and develop rules and guidelines for the program.

It is the intent of the Legislature that segments maximize the use of existing resources to implement the Human Corps. This responsibility includes seeking the resources of the private and independent sectors, philanthropies, and the federal government to supplement state support for Human Corps programs. The Legislature intends that the funds appropriated for purposes of this chapter to the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the California State University be used to offset some of the costs of developing the Human Corps. The segmental and campus Human Corps Task Forces shall jointly determine how those funds are used. It is the further intent of the Legislature that funds be allocated competitively for programs and not on a pro rata basis for each campus. Preference in funding should be given to strengthen and expand exemplary efforts to implement the Human Corps and to stimulate new efforts on campuses where the establishment of student community service programs has been limited. Campuses may develop numerous approaches to implement the Human Corps on each campus. Activities eligible for funding may include a wide variety of incentives for student participation such as:
  (a) Recognition programs.
  (b) Fellowships.
  (c) Awareness programs.
  (d) Periodic conferences for students and community organizations.
  (e) Transportation costs.
  (f) Matching grants.
  (g) Intersegmental programs.

Funding for purposes of this chapter is contingent upon Budget Act appropriations. No provision of this chapter shall apply to the University of California unless the Regents of the University of California, by resolution, make that provision applicable.