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UBC’s Commitment to Student Learning and Community Engagement

The Learning Exchange is a vital initiative at UBC’s Okanagan campus that aims to develop responsible, engaged citizens and aims to impact critical social issues through collaborative efforts between UBC and the surrounding community. As outlined in Place and Promise: The UBC Plan, the Learning Exchange serves to carry out UBC’s commitment to enhance transformative student learning and purposeful community engagement.

Community Service Learning

Community Service Learning, a key component of the Learning Exchange program, is a model of experiential learning that combines classroom learning with volunteer work in order to achieve community goals. Through academic content, service that meets the community’s needs and critical reflection, Community Service Learning stands apart from traditional volunteer experiences.

Students at UBC’s Okanagan campus are exploring community issues such as poverty and homelessness; seniors’ isolation; health promotion and active living; sustainability; and educational challenges for aboriginal youth. Partnering with community agencies across the Okanagan Valley, students are providing local businesses with practical changes to become more environmentally sustainable, are redesigning websites for non-for-profit organizations,  are raising awareness and promoting action around poverty and homelessness in our community, and are hosting Aboriginal middle school students on campus for “Experience our University”.

UBC students involved in Learning Exchange initiatives are expanding the University’s impact in the community while deepening their understanding of critical social issues.