Service Hours and Awards
Service Hour Guidelines
Community Engagement is committed to making the Central Six tenet of Service Learning and Civic Engagement accessible to all students at the University of Central Oklahoma. Community Engagement does this in providing on-campus service opportunities and overseeing the recording of service hours for all students. In order to ensure students are completing meaningful and impactful service, we have implemented the following guidelines.
Community Engagement acknowledges there will be many situations where it is difficult to determine whether or not an activity counts as service. Students are encouraged to email volunteer@uco.edu with any questions or concerns.
Recording Your Service Hours
As a student, faculty or staff member at UCO, we encourage you to keep track of your service hours for a number of reasons. You can use them when applying for scholarships, to stand out against competitors in your job search and as a way to keep up with your service on your resume. You can track your service hours via UCORE.
Note: Please select Community Engagement as your volunteer organization if your organization is not listed on UCORE.
Distinguished Service Graduate Award
The Distinguished Service Graduate Award is an honor reserved for graduates from the University of Central Oklahoma who have given a significant portion of their college career to volunteer activities and/or service learning projects. This is an honor meant to acknowledge a high level of achievement in service learning, volunteerism and dedication to the larger UCO and Oklahoma communities.
Distinguished Service Graduate Application
Award Requirements
Community Engagement has determined that any student who has dedicated at least 400 hours of time to unrequired service learning and volunteer activities during a four-year college career will qualify for this distinction.
For transfer and nontraditional students, the number of hours required to receive the Distinguished Service Graduate Award will be prorated based on the number of years a student has been attending UCO. The prorated years and corresponding hours are as follows:
- Three years: 300 hours
- Two years: 200 hours
- One year: 100 hours
Those who achieve this award will be given a medal to wear during their graduation ceremony. If you qualify for this award, or would like to work towards achieving this award, begin the process by logging your service hours with Community Engagement.
Note: Hours of service from student leadership roles in a UCO program or student organization (ex: Executive Director, President, officer positions, etc.) will be accepted as service hours with a limit of 100 hours (in total) counting towards this award.
Hours of service from a required academic activity linked to a course or graduation requirement (example: required internship hours, required student teaching or required observation/rotation hours, etc.) will be accepted as service hours with a limit of 100 hours (in total) counting towards this award.
How To Apply
If you are a graduating senior and would like to be considered for this award, fill out the Distinguished Service Graduate Application by the following deadlines:
Fall 2023 Graduation information coming soon.
Individual and Group Service Hour Requests
As an individual tracking their service hours in UCORE or a leader/advisor of an organization that requires members to record service hours in UCORE, you are able to request a report to see a full record of service hours you or your organization members have completed.
Please allow five (5) business days for your request to be completed and sent back to you.
Individual Service Hour RequestGroup Service Hour Request
For more information about recording service hours, the Distinguished Service Graduate Award or requesting service hour reports, email Community Engagement or call 405-974-3456.