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Bonner Student Tracking and Accountability

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Bonner Program Rules

We have a set of formal rules or guidelines that further elaborate on the core expectations described above. Because there is a different funding model for Bonner Scholar and Bonner Leader Programs, we have created a separate set of rules to reflect these differences.

Core Expectations for All Students in the Bonner Program

Once a student is selected and enrolls in the Bonner Program, she or he commits to a series of expectations. Each Bonner Scholar or Leader is expected to:

• Arrive before the regular undergraduate orientation of their institution for an orientation designed specifically for new Bonner students, if organized by the Bonner Program at that institution;

• Serve an average of ten hours a week at a community service site during the school year;
• Complete at least one full-time summer service internship if enrolled in the Bonner Scholars Program;
• Develop a Community Learning Agreement with their agency supervisor and Bonner coordinator that both outlines service and learning goals and describes the activities through which to achieve them;
• Attend regular group reflection, enrichment, and skill and leadership development activities;
• Participate in a student developmental model that challenges and supports each Bonner Scholar or Leader to develop her or his skills, knowledge, commitments, and responsibilities;
• Commit to working with a group of diverse but similarly engaged students; and,
• Recommit to the program at the end of each year in the program.

Bonner Constitution/Handbook

Many Bonner campuses have written Bonner Constitutions that define the rights and responsibilities of Bonner Scholars/Leaders, as well as the organizational structure and processes of the Bonner Program. Other campuses have accomplished these goals through their Bonner Handbooks which are handed out to all students each Fall.

 

These printed documents are effective in clarifying procedures and policies, including the following for the Bonner Program: 

• Purpose;
• Standards of conduct;
• Requirements in terms of service and training attendance, and documentation through use of the Community Learning Agreement and Hour Logs in the Bonner Web-Based Reporting System (BWBRS);
• Structures, including student committees for key program areas such as recruitment and selection, regular meetings, advisory committees, placements, budgets, and communication;
• Formal procedure for reviewing and dismissing Bonner Scholars who do not meet the expectations of the program.

Bonner Contract or Agreement

Many schools require students sign a contract or agreement.  This allows for accountability across the board. Students will know what is expected of them and will also be signing a binding agreement which leaves no room for excuses. Items to include in the agreement might be: 

• Deadlines for submitting Hour Logs and Community Learning Agreements;
• Standard definition for the number of hours students should be expected to complete on a weekly and monthly basis;
• Policy for handling students who submit late or missing hours (i.e., if they fail to meet the required number of hours in a month and the required number of hours in a semester).  For instance, Bonner Scholars may forfeit a pro-rated portion of their stipend for any hour logs that are not submitted by the end of each semester.

Tracking Bonner Service and Training Hours

Students should report their service and training & enrichment hours on at least a biweekly basis, logging those hours into the Bonner Web-Based Reporting System (BWBRS). If needed, this web-based system can generate an hour log report with signature lines for site supervisors and students. At the end of each semester, students should summarize the impact of their service activities using the reporting form in BWBRS.

Tracking of service hours is described more fully in the Comprehensive Placement Process section of Chapter 8 of this handbook. In addition, BWBRS provides a web-based means of managing the information flow and capturing important data for analysis. Sample forms used for reporting can be found in the “Forms” section of this manual. To familiarize yourself with these forms, you may find it useful to refer to each one as you read the following: 

Bonner Scholar/Leader Member Files

You should keep a personnel file for each student in the program where you have access to key documents related to their application, enrollment, and other activities in the Bonner Program such as a record of the number of hours of service performed, and any change of status requests.