Community Engagement For Community Partners
RWU provides our students with the best educational experiences: acquiring knowledge through classroom learning, and then applying their new skills and learning on and off-campus through research, project-based work, clinical practice, apprenticeships and internships, and creative endeavors that connect with our communities and our environment.
RWU is committed to closing the widening gap between academia and industry through unique collaborations with our expansive network of industry, nonprofit and governmental advisors and partners. Working with external partners provides an excellent opportunity for RWU alumni to become engaged citizens and thrive in their work and life. And in this way, we are building a lasting and engaging relationship between RWU and the world around us.
When we extend our expertise beyond our campus borders, we strengthen the local, national and global communities around us, while that work also serves to enrich the educational experiences we provide our students. We envision a future where RWU is known for creating resilient communities that can bounce back from disruptions, innovate to meet new needs and thrive. Prioritizing active scholarship provides our community and organization partners with rigorous and relevant insights and research, and the tools to ensure long-term sustainable and equitable practices for their systems and the people they serve. Making a meaningful difference in our society and our planet is the essence of our engaged teaching, learning and scholarship.
Students acquire the intellectual habits, practices and passion they will need in order to be lifelong learners, ready and able to pursue any new personal and professional challenge that they will face, embracing the spirit of continually acquiring new skills and expertise.
Who We Serve
Community Engagement provides project-based assistance to nonprofit organizations, municipalities, government agencies and low and moderate income communities in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Our mission is to undertake and complete projects that will benefit the local community, while providing RWU students with experience in real-world projects that deepen their academic experiences.
Participating RWU Programs
RWU offers a variety of valuable academic programs that can enhance projects and have a meaningful impact on the project and the students in those programs. These programs bring a wide range of skilled faculty and students together where they can work collaboratively for the benefit of the community partner and to enhance their own learning and academic goals. These projects draw upon the skills and experience of students, faculty and staff from all RWU programs.
The primary method for meeting the goals of community partners, students and faculty is through the integration into a course(s) at RWU. These projects create a collaborative, interactive working environment where experts, citizens, faculty and students from diverse backgrounds can routinely work together. Many projects are trans-disciplinary and include the involvement of academic programs/courses, paid student workers, interns, volunteer organizations, and any other appropriate groups or individuals that can contribute their expertise and talent to the predetermined scope of work for the community partner.
All Community Engaged projects are defined by a Memorandum of Agreement with the Community Partner. This agreement: defines the project scope and the process to be followed; identifies the participating RWU faculty, staff and students and the community representatives; identifies primary and secondary goals; establishes the project timeline; outlines the final work products that will be delivered and presented. All potential Community Partners should review the sample Memorandum of Agreement for a typical course-engaged project.
Students who receive federal work study funds are encouraged to earn them by serving with non-profits. This must be a long-term experience (at least one semester). Student income is provided by the federal government and there is no cost-share to partners.
Students can help with (almost) everything your organization might need – social media presence, program facilitation, data crunching, grant app reviews, outreach, accounting, ect. When you look around your organization, do you see a place where a free, regularly scheduled set of hands could be of assistance?
Submit proposed community service work study position descriptions to engage@rwu.edu
COMMUNITY SERVICE WORK-STUDY STANDARDS & PROCEDURES
Roger Williams University
All questions about the Community Service Work Study Program should be directed to:
- Payroll - Patria Komiega, Administration Assistant at pkomiega@rwu.edu or 401-254-5628
- General - Community Service Work Study Coordinators at engage@rwu.edu, or 401-254-3787
- General - K.C. Ferrara, Director, Feinstein Center at kferrara@rwu.edu or 401-254-3765
All questions regarding your financial aid award should be directed to the Financial Aid office at 401-254-3100 and located on the first floor of the Administration Building.
APPROVAL
Students may only begin to work at a site after the Feinstein Center has received a signed off-campus work study agreement, Financial Aid has processed the Payroll Authorization packet, and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) has approved the job description.
WORK-STUDY LOCATIONS
Off-campus FWS jobs with federal, state, or local public agencies or private nonprofit organizations must be in the public interest. Off-campus FWS jobs with private, for-profit organizations must be academically relevant to the maximum extent possible.
From the 2021/2022 Federal Work-study Compliance Manual, Chapter 2, page 41.
You may not work at a for-profit business.
You may not earn academic credit and work study funds at the same time.
Working during your scheduled class time is prohibited.
Practicum, student teaching or a credit-bearing internship will not be approved as community service work-study positions.
You cannot be paid by the agency at the same time you are being paid work-study funds.
As an RWU employee, you are not permitted to sign a liability waiver from the host site. If you are asked to do so, please contact the Feinstein Center for assistance.
You may work at a religious institution, but the work you do may not be religious in nature (i.e. you can coach CYO basketball but may not teach Sunday school) or take place in a worship space (i.e. you cannot paint a chapel but you can paint an office).
You may hold two work-study positions only if one of them is a community service work-study position. One may be on-campus, or both may be community service work. In the case of multiple positions, you must list all work-study employers with our office.
It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of monies earned and not exceed their federal work-study award.
ADDITIONAL PAYABLE TIME
Training and meetings are payable time. This includes meetings called by the site supervisor or the CSWS supervisor. This also includes training directly related to the tasks of your job or training needed to satisfy requirements for the job (i.e. CPR/First Aid, OSHA, etc.)
ADP/TIME SHEETS
RWU uses the ADP app to keep track of when you clock in and out of work. Download the ADP mobile app on your mobile device and create an account (at the bottom of your screen it should say “New? Get started”) using your RWU email address. Your employee ID number is your student ID. After setting up your account, under “Clock” you can clock in and out.
In order for RWU to be in compliance with Department of Labor regulations, students must be paid in a timely manner. Therefore, it is imperative that students log hours in ADP as they occur.
Students who hold two paid positions listed in ADP must use the “transfer job” function to ensure the hours are being charged to the correct account. This can only be done on the web platform, NOT the App.
If a student forgets to log their hours as they occur, contact Patria Komiega immediately at pkomiega@rwu.edu.
Submission of false or inaccurate hours will be reported to Financial Aid and may result in loss of a work study award.
OFF-CAMPUS WORK STUDY AGREEMENTS
The federal government requires RWU to hold a signed agreement with all work study sites. The Feinstein Center will contact the supervisor at your site to facilitate this.
TRANSPORTATION
Students are responsible for their own transportation to their work site.
Students are encouraged to utilize RWU shuttle or RIPTA to reach their CSWS sites whenever possible.
Students are not permitted to operate or be a passenger in vehicles owned and operated by the agency for whom they work. For example, a student may not take the food pantry van to pick up a donation.
WORKPLACE SITUATIONS
The Feinstein Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement Coordinator is your official supervisor, but you also have a site supervisor at the agency. Any problems you encounter at the agency should be reported to your site supervisor immediately. These include injury, illness, and theft of personal items.
If you encounter situations on site that make you uncomfortable for any reason at all, and you feel that you cannot speak to your site supervisor, please contact the Director of the Feinstein Center immediately!
WORK STUDY SAFETY GUIDELINES
The Roger Williams University Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) develops and implements programs aimed at protecting the safety and well-being of the campus community. EH&S assists with and monitors compliance with local, state and federal statutes, as well as regulations pertaining to occupational health, safety and environmental protection. As such, EH&S has established this “Safety Conditions Checklist” for off-campus sites who will be hosting Roger Williams University Work Study Students.
Prior to hosting a University work study student, please review the following to identify the working conditions and physical demands which relate to the essential functions of the position. All required training must take place before the work study student begins to perform services.
If the position will be directly exposed to any hazards in the work environment such as chemicals, commercial products (oil, cleaning solvents), blood borne pathogens, or any other materials deemed hazardous by local, state or federal regulations, proper training and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be provided by the host site. PPE includes such items as: protective eyewear, laboratory coats, appropriate gloves, hearing protection, respiratory protection (pursuant to the host site’s Respiratory Protection Plan), safety shoes and hard hats.
If the position involves lifting, the maximum lifting required shall be forty (40) pounds with proper safe lifting training techniques provided.
If the position involves landscaping work, proper training is required for all equipment. Proper PPE is also required.
Students may not work on ladders higher than ten (10) feet or on any roof.
Students may not work in confined spaces.
Students may not use powered industrial vehicles (fork/reach/bucket lifts) or other industrial powered machinery that requires special certifications.
Students may not operate their own motor vehicles or the host site’s motor vehicles as part of their duties.
Students must be informed of emergency evacuation procedures and protocols for the areas that they will be working in.
Students may not be engaged in high risk duties that require specialized training. Questions or concerns about whether the University would consider an activity to be high risk should be directed to the University’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety at (401) 254-3494.
In September 2007, when Roger Williams University and the Town of Bristol reached agreement on the landmark PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) pact, a group comprising key representatives from both the town and the University was established to jointly consider items of mutual interest or concern.
In the years since, the Town of Bristol / Roger Williams University Cooperative Committee has provided an open venue for discussion and decision-making and has assisted in building upon a truly symbiotic relationship between both parties.
Through the Fund for Civic Activities – one of its most visible initiatives - the fund has distributed $350,000 since 2009 to support local services and projects that enhanced the civic experience in Bristol.
The Fund for Civic Activities (FCA) is a grant program created to support and recognize the relationship between RWU and the town of Bristol. Grant requests are accepted twice a year and may be submitted by individuals or non-profit organizations. Individual awards do not exceed $2,500.
In support and recognition of the important relationship that exists between Roger Williams University and the Town of Bristol, the Town of Bristol/Roger Williams University Cooperative Committee created the Fund for Civic Activities (FCA). The FCA accepts grant requests twice a year to fund a broad range of projects and services proposed by individuals or non-profit organizations that work toward enhancing the civic experience in the Town of Bristol. Further detail regarding this fund, the application process and other project related criteria may be found in the FCA Application.
Click here for complete instructions and a printable application.
Click here for online application form.
Click here for the online grant report form.
Committee Members
Town of Bristol Representatives
Michael DeMello
Fire Chief
Sara Hassell
Interim Town Treasurer
Kevin Lynch
Chief of Police
Warren Rensehausen
Director of Parks & Recreation
Dr. Ana C. Riley
Superintendent, Bristol Warren Regional School District
Diane M. Williamson
Director of Community Development
Roger Williams University Representatives
Dr. John J. King
Vice President for Student Affairs, Committee Chair
K.C. Ferrara
Director, Feinstein Center for Service Learning & Community Engagement
Dr. Jeffrey Merriweather
Dean, School of Humanities, Arts and Education
Mackenzie Morgenweck '25
Student Representative
Mark Porter
Director, Public Safety
Jill Pais
Assistant Vice President, Communications and Media Relations
Community Partnerships
Audubon Society of Rhode Island
Barrington Preservation Society
Bristol Warren School District Athletics
International Tennis Hall of Fame
NE Council on Latin American Studies
Providence Cultural Equity Initiative
Town of Bristol Bristol Parks and Recreation
Town of Bristol Police Department
Our new community engagement portal, GivePulse is available to all non-profit and community based organizations that would like to engage with our students, faculty and staff. GivePulse will allow you, our community partners, to list service opportunities and provide direct access to a pool of thousands of potential RWU volunteers.
GivePulse is a platform that provides community partners with the opportunity to list their volunteer needs. YOU post your needs on a searchable database available to our entire undergraduate population. You can also use GivePulse to manage your non-RWU volunteers.
This is a free service provided by RWU.
Beyond RWU, GivePulse is a single platform for organizations to list and manage volunteer events and fundraisers. Communicate with your members, donors and registrants. Collect and analyze data, hours, donations, reviews, ratings and feedback. Also, when you list opportunities, they are viewable by anyone logged into GivePulse, meaning that you can recruit non-RWU community volunteers as well.
We are in the process of sending invitations to our community partners to become part of the GivePulse platform. If you have not received an invitation and would like to utilize GivePulse, please contact engage@rwu.edu.
All Paws In
Brain Club
Colleges Against Cancer
Delta Sigma Pi (for Business Students)
Engineers Without Borders
Food Recovery Network
Foundation for the International
Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC)
Future Teachers of America
Habitat for Humanity
Helping Hawks/Special Olympics of RI
Roger's Miracle Network (Hasbro Children's Hospital)
Rotaract
Send it on (Homelessness)
Society of Women Engineers
Mission
RWU’s mission is to “strengthen society through engaged teaching and learning”. As a private institution, we embrace our very public responsibility to partner with local organizations and municipalities. We value teaching that tackles community-based issues, share the resources and expertise of our community with our neighbors, and facilitate student engagement with the community.
Course-Engaged Projects
Students under the guidance of expert faculty members take on real projects that benefit real communities and partners. Working with Community Engagement is a great place to get your project started. We connect faculty members to the non-profits and municipalities we work with in RI and southeastern MA. Project applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Short-Term Volunteer Opportunities
Need help unloading a delivery of donations? Looking for artistic volunteers to paint faces at a fair? Organizations often request students to volunteer for special events or programs. Many of our residence halls, clubs and athletics teams look for these types of experiences as a way to build their team while making a difference. GivePulse is the place to list these opportunities.
Events
RWU hosts events year-round that are open to our community, such as visiting speakers, public forums, athletic events and theatrical performances.