Asset Based
Rather than viewing neighborhoods and communities from a deficit point-of-view, we seek to identify and build upon the strengths and assets of each partner and community. Students and others are trained in this orientation.
Place Based
We also believe in the importance of place – including listening to residents and leaders – and understanding the learning and meaning that is derived from engaging in a community.
Mutually Beneficial and Reciprocal
Staff and students who build and manage Bonner Programs and Centers invest in building relationships that are intentional, aim to add value for each party, and demonstrate reciprocity.
Developmental
Just as our work with students is developmental, so too is our work on partnerships. Programs and institutions acknowledge that it takes experience to build and sustain partnerships that can include students working at different levels, connections with faculty members and academic courses, and even long-range community impact goals.
Deep
An aim is to have partners connected with multiple resources on campus, such as the involvement of long-term student volunteers, research projects, and even resource development.
Sustained
Because of the multi-year involvement of Bonner students and the establishment of campus infrastructure (such as staffing and centers) to manage partnerships and projects, partners can look for longer-term engagement by their partnering college or university. This supports long-range visioning, planning, and even impact assessment.
Focus on Capacity Building
We have adopted goals for building the capacity of organizations and communities, including strategies for direct service, volunteer management, program development, communications, organizational development, research, and assessment.
Partners as Co-Educators
We believe and intentionally engage partner staff as well as clients in co-educator roles, valuing their knowledge about their communities, issues, and approaches for change.
Democratic
We seek to foster “democratic engagement,” meaning that all contributors are valued in helping to address issues (like education and hunger), create knowledge (through scholarship and action), and be a part of a larger eco-system of individuals and organizations working for a healthy and just society.
Bonner Scholars create community learning agreements (CLAs) and track their service hours through a database called the Bonner Web-based Reporting System (BWBRS). As part of our process, the Bonner Program asks that site supervisors review and sign the CLA and these hours to confirm the student’s completion of their service.
Bonners are asked to complete their CLAs once per semester and to sign their hours once a month. Once these items are ready for your review and electronic signature, you should receive an email from the Bonner(s) working at your site to prompt you to log in and sign electronically.
Step 1: Log in to BWBRS
To access BWBRS, please go to www.bwbrs.org and use your email address as your user name. Your password will be emailed to you separately. (You can change your password under “Settings” later if you like.)
Step 2: Go to CLA or Hour Logs Report Page
From your BWBRS home page, click on Community Learning Agreements or Hours Logs under the Student Menu.
Step 3: Select appropriate Semester and Month View in the Hour Log Report
(1) Select the appropriate student.
(2) select the appropriate semester using the semester drop-down menu at the top of the page.
(3) Select the appropriate “Show Hours for ….” drop-down menu (if reviewing hour log) or the appropriate CLA for the current semester under “Title”
(4) click the Update button.
Step 4: Sign and Save
After reviewing the CLA or the hours the student logged for service at your organization, scroll to the bottom of the page, enter your name in the electronic signature box (please note this field is case sensitive), and click “Save” to record your changes.
Always feel free to email gvalenti@oberlin.edu & elundy@oberlin.edu with questions about BWBRS!
Can't Log In:
Make sure that the email you use is the same email used to communicate with Bonner students and staff
Have you worked with Bonners from a different school?
You will need to send us a different email address to associate with Oberlin in BWBRS.
Using your name and it's not working?
We may have misspelled it! Please reach out to gvalenti@oberlin.edu or elundy@oberlin.edu.