Volunteer Hours
Volunteering is one of the top values of humanity, where a person donates his\her time and effort to serve others pro bono for a better world. Time and money are among the most precious possessions of individuals, but there a psychological factor which entices volunteers not to be selfish in the best stages of their lives. Volunteering teaches us not to seek personal interests only but the collective interest of our community and humanity at large. Volunteering is at the core of advanced societies and is an integral part of creativity, renaissance and development of countries.
Volunteering in general and group volunteering in particular, are among most important factors in society and individual development. Volunteering can assume various forms such as helping in development projects, supporting charity activities, and social centers as well as international organizations such as the Red Crescent and the Red Cross. Volunteering is beneficiary to governments and societies as well. Therefore, developed countries enjoy high levels of volunteer work. It is important not to separate volunteering from development, as volunteerism is an essential and authentic part of community development.
In this context, UoF sought to establish volunteer work as a basic graduation requirement in its programs. UoF obtained approval of the Ministry of Education to include volunteering hours for students starting from the academic year 2021-2022, where each student contributes one hundred hours of voluntary work throughout his\her years of study. Accordingly, UoF provided regulations and bylaws to manage the volunteering process.
Volunteerism Guidelines
1 – Students are required to contribute 100 hours of voluntary work distributed evenly over their study period; i.e., 25 hours annually spread across the first and second semesters.
2 – Volunteer hours are performed within the voluntary institutions and bodies approved by the university.
3- The university approves these institutions based on the nature of their work.
4 – The university sends official letters to these bodies, if requested, to engage university students in volunteer work.
5 – The student fills out the volunteer hours form with all the required information and gets it signed by the volunteer activities supervisor, and then obtain the seal of his institution.
6- The Department of Student Affairs and Shared Services is provided with the volunteer hours’ form after completing the required semester hours.
7 – voluntary work hours completed by students before joining UoF will not be considered.
