Awards
The OUWB Service Cord Program
The Compass Center for Community Engagement at OUWB Service Cord Program is an award given to students who exemplify the spirit of volunteerism. Students who meet the qualifying criteria will be awarded the purple and silver service cord, which is presented at Honors Convocation, to be worn during the commencement ceremony. The Compass Service Honor Cords colors symbolizes the following:
Purple – ambition, creativity and devotion
Silver – elegance, kindness, hope and sensitivity.
Those participating in this program support OUWB’s mission and vision statements through acts of service.
To qualify for the Service Cord Award students must complete all requirements as outlined below (requirements are specific to class years).
Classes of 2025 and 2026 Certificates and Cords
Students can earn a certificate for the community service activities they participate in during the academic year.
Certificates are able to be earned by completing 50 hours of service at each of three different times points: the end of the M1 year, the end of the M2 year, and the end of the M4 year (the third and fourth year requirements are combined).
For our current students, the applicable service hours will fall accordingly:
- Class of 2025 service certificate - service logged between August 1, 2023 and March 15, 2025
- Class of 2026 – service logged between August 1, 2024 and March 15, 2026.
The classes of 2025 and 2026 can earn service cords for graduation if they have received the community service certificate at each time point (M1, M2, and M3/M4).
Students are responsible for logging their own volunteer hours and only those hours that have been logged by the deadline will count towards service certificates/ cords - no exceptions.
Class of 2027 and Beyond - Certificate and Service Cord Tracks
Class of 2027 and Beyond - Service Cord Track
Students must complete a minimum of 300 service hours over the course of their 4-year journey through Medical School.
In addition, for each academic year students must:
- Participate in at least 3 OUWB sponsored events (a minimum of 12 over 4 years)
- Complete 2 service reflections: (a maximum of 8 over the course of 4 years)
- One for an OUWB sponsored event
- One for an organization of your choice
These requirements must be met by May 31 of each academic year. Students are responsible for logging their own volunteer hours and only those hours that have been logged by the deadline will count towards service certificates/ cords - no exceptions.
For all non OUWB sponsored service you must submit a site supervisor form to verify your hours and service rendered
Class of 2027 and Beyond Certificate Track
Service Certificate Award
The Compass Center for Community Engagement at OUWB Service Certificate Program is an award given to students who complete at least 150 hours of service over the course of their 4-year medical school career. Students who follow this path will receive a certificate acknowledging the total number of service hours given over all 4 years.
Students must complete a minimum of 150 service hours over the course of their 4-year journey through Medical School.
In addition to the hours, for each academic year students must:
- Participate in at least 3 OUWB sponsored events (a minimum of 12 over 4 years)
- Complete 2 service reflections: (a maximum of 8 over the course of 4 years)
- One for an OUWB sponsored event
- One for an organization of your choice
These requirements must be met by May 31 of each academic year. Students are responsible for logging their own volunteer hours and only those hours that have been logged by the deadline will count towards service certificates/ cords - no exceptions.
For all non-OUWB sponsored service you must submit a site supervisor form to verify your hours and service rendered
Logging Hours
Students are responsible for logging their own volunteer hours and only those hours that have been logged by the deadline will count towards service certificates/ cords - no exceptions.
Students are able to log any direct service activity, not only those sponsored by OUWB. Fundraising does not count towards the service hours certificate, however if you are responsible for planning the fundraiser the hours completed for those preparations can be counted. For questions on what does or does not count towards the service hours certificate contact [email protected]
NEW AS OF FALL 2024: OUWB has switched to a community engagement system called GivePulse. All service hours (called impacts in GivePulse) will be recorded through the new system. All students will be added into the system at the beginning of August, at which time instructions will be sent out and a link will be provided here.
In the meantime, please keep your own records of your service activities during this timeframe so you are able to log once you are live in the GivePulse system.
You are able to log service hours for an ongoing program with one entry. Please wait until the last date of your program and log the total hours/ list the dates of the program.
FAQs
Can I log the community service (impact) hours I have done on my own?
Yes! The only thing that does not count towards your service hour requirements is time spent fundraising. Otherwise, we want to celebrate all of the great work you have done!
What is an OUWB Sponsored Activity?
OUWB sponsored activities are any activities that are initiated/ implemented by Compass or any other department within the School of Medicine, a Special Interest Group activity, or a community partner activity that Compass / OUWB partners with (examples include the Men's Health Event, Corewell Student Heart Check Program, Art Fish Fun, etc). It will be noted in the call for community partner activity recruitments if it qualifies as an OUWB program!
I missed the logging deadline - can I still submit? I have a lot of hours this year.
Unfortunately, no. We cannot make exceptions to the logging deadline. We highly recommend that you log your service hours (impacts) as you complete the activities so you don't miss out on any qualifying hours.
I am on a leave of absence (LOA) - can I still log volunteer hours I complete during the LOA?
When a student is on an LOA they cannot log service hours (impacts) they completed during the leave. We certainly don't want to discourage anyone from engaging in service activities at any time, those hours just will not contribute to any awards. If you need to access GivePulse to log hours that you completed BEFORE your leave, you are certainly able to do that at any point!
