​Insert a short section about SLS affiliation with:

• The SLS logo
• A short statement about SLS
• Pertinent SLS Student Learning Outcomes (please choose one SLO most applicable to your course)

2. Introduce your course as SLS-affiliated

• Highlight "sustainable communities" as an important theme (see our Sustainable Communities framework slides here)
• Revisit this theme at different points during the semester

3.  Encourage students to attend a "What is SLS" Info Session or Invite SLS to speak

Please strongly encourage your students to attend one of the "What is SLS?" information sessions in Clough Lounge. The Spring 2018 sessions will be held on: Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 11-12, Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 5-6 and Thursday, Feb. 1, from 11-12. Alternately, invite an SLS staff or student speaker to present in your class. To arrange a visit, please contact Ruthie Yow. Please email your requests with as much advance notice as possible

• We can speak from 10 minutes to a full class; we can even plan and teach a unit with you
• SLS student representatives can talk about SLS opportunities and share their experiences
• SLS faculty and staff can present on topics such as, "What is a sustainable community?" and "What does sustainability have to do with equity?"
• Student photographers can document special activities (we need photos and videos and will share them with you!)  PLEASE NOTE:  All students and/or partners that will be photographed need to be provided with notification ahead of time AND MUST sign the Georgia Tech Group Image License and Release Form photo waiver.

4.  Promote SLS Opportunities

Encourage your students to:

• Explore other SLS courses
• Take advantage of exclusive opportunities for students, faculty, and staff who are part of SLS affiliated courses - advertised in our weekly SLS newsletter

5.  Take advantage of SLS Teaching Resources

• SLS Teaching Toolkit
  • Lesson-planning resources to help instructors integrate sustainability, community engagement, and service-learning into their courses
• SLS Events and Workshops (see current schedule)
  • Co-curricular talks and activities every semester, around a yearly theme - and more
  • Think of SLS as your interdisciplinary teaching partner and use our events to enhance your courses.  They provide a great opportunity for students to think more broadly about how classroom lessons connect to broader sustainable communities issues
  • Encourage students to attend by offering extra credit or tying events to course assignments
• SLS also offers an annual Course Design Workshop as well as fellows programs and grants to assist with course development
  • Read our newsletter for details
• Partner connections:
  • We can help you find partners!
  • From community, non-profit, industry, government, and education sectors
  • For guest lectures, site visits, assignments, projects, research partners, etc.
  • Contact Ruthie Yow for assistance

6.  Assist with Assessment

Read about Assessment commitment, benefits, and opportunities on our Assessment Page

7.  Fund Use and Transfer

SLS funds awarded to faculty and staff are transferred from SLS to the Financial Analyst in their unit in the monthly Budget Adjustment (BA) that occurs at the end of each month.  Once funds are transferred,  those funds live with your unit, and it is up to you to track and spend them. They are generally state funds and MUST be spent prior to the end of the fiscal year.  Faculty and staff should consult with their analyst to confirm receipt of funds and to receive additional unit specific guidelines on how the funds can be used and by what date.  Please note: each unit has a specific financial analyst who handles funding transfers.  This may NOT be the person that you go to individually for budget spending and reimbursement processing.  SLS can provide you with the information about who receives the funding transfers in your unit.

State funds from SLS can be used in many ways.  Examples include: discretionary funding related to course development, contribution to summer salary, compensation for a GRA, and payment to a community partner collaborating on your course.  As state funds, they CANNOT be used for food. Consult with your unit's Financial Analyst to determine additional guidelines or restrictions, as well as the process for accessing your funds once they are transferred to your unit.

If you choose to have a guest speaker from a community organization, and would like to pay that person a stipend to speak to your class, you start the payment process by asking her/him to register as a vendor. Those instructions are below. (If s/he has already been paid, at some point, by Georgia Tech, s/he is already in the vendor system, and doesn't need to register again.) Once your guest registers as a vendor, you will let your financial analyst know, and you will request that your guest submit an invoice to your unit/your financial analyst.  The check will come from your unit to the guest speaker, and though you won't see the money, that process can't start without your taking the actions described above. Please strive to keep track of what you've spent so that you use the money awarded you by SLS before the end of the budget year (fiscal years run July to June). 

Questions?  Contact Kristina Chatfield, Program & Operations Manager

Partner Payment Guidelines

Please click HERE for Honorarium and Compensation Guidelines, as well as detailed instructions on the process for paying your partner(s).

8. Questions?  Want Assistance?