- What happens if I don’t complete my engagement and service requirements?
While enrolled, your priority registration will be delayed. If you graduate without fulfilling the requirements, you will not receive an Honors College transcript notation.
- How can I track my engagement activities and service hours?
You can view your engagement progress by clicking on HC Engagement Pathway on Panther Connect’s Paths menu and monitoring the green progress bars. Make sure you are selecting the correct academic year. Clicking on Print View will also give you a more detailed view of what activities you have completed under each category.
In GivePulse, you can view your impacts and whether they have been verified by clicking on Dashboard. Make sure each impact is shared with FIU by editing the impact, going to the Sharing and Privacy Settings, and adding Florida International University to the groups.
In addition to monitoring your own progress, we send progress report emails to let you know what you are missing every semester. Please make sure you check your student emails!
- Can I donate items in exchange for volunteer hours?
No. Volunteer hours should be unpaid and reflect actual time spent providing help or support to a specific cause.
- What counts as engagement?
Generally, most FIU events, activities and resources count as engagement. The Engagement & Service page and Engagement Pathway on Panther Connect provide examples for both event and non-event activities.
Though we try to account for as much as possible in the pathway, you may find out about other FIU opportunities or activities through College emails, professors or the FIU calendar. If you complete an unlisted activity, please submit information about the FIU activity along with proof of attendance to hcengage@fiu.edu so we can evaluate your request and assign credit accordingly.
- What counts as volunteering?
Any unpaid activity where you are providing support or time can count as volunteering. Volunteering can include helping at a conference, spending time planning a fundraiser, or mentoring other students.
Volunteer hours do not need to be related to FIU and can be completed anywhere, even virtually or abroad. This means that if you are an online student, studying abroad, or not a Miami local, you can still submit volunteer hours you complete in your community or other spaces.
GivePulse provides volunteer activity suggestions, but you are not limited to GivePulse to find volunteer opportunities.
- Can I use activities or volunteer hours from previous years?
No. Engagement activities and volunteer hours must be completed between Summer B and Spring of the corresponding academic year.
- I attended something but I didn’t receive credit. What do I do?
You may need to submit the activity using the Engagement Pathway form.
- I am attending an event, but there are no check-in instructions. What do I do?
If the event organizer does not provide you with check-in instructions, please collect evidence of attendance (e.g. a picture or screenshot showing timestamps, ticket stub, etc.) and email it to hcengage@fiu.edu. We will process your credit manually from there.
- The Engagement Pathway does not include options that fit my schedule. What do I do?
We recommend attempting to complete non-event activities first (e.g., Meeting with a professor, meeting with a financial wellness coach, visiting the Frost Art Museum, completing a micro-credential, etc.).
If you are still in need of more options, please email hcengage@fiu.edu with the categories you are struggling to complete so we can help you.
- How do I find out what category an engagement event counts toward?
Try to search for the event/activity in our pathway. Our newsletter also delineates which categories engagement opportunities exist in.
If you cannot find your event in our newsletter or the pathway, please email hcengage@fiu.edu more information about the activity so that we can determine the best category to give you credit for.
- Do I still need to complete engagement and service requirements if I have finished my Honors courses?
Yes. Engagement and service requirements should be completed every academic year to maintain Gold Priority registration and/or receive your Honors transcript notation upon graduation.
- Can I request engagement or service exemptions?
As a general rule, there are no exemptions for engagement and service. However, you are not required to complete a particular year's engagement and service if you meet any of the following:
- You are in an accelerated Master's program and are taking only graduate-level courses for the entire academic year. Please note that taking even one undergraduate-level course during the academic year will negate this. To receive your transcript notation, you must complete engagement and service requirements during your final year of undergraduate-level courses. Failure to have done so means you must make up requirements during your final year at FIU (even if you are enrolled in only graduate courses).
- If you are not enrolled in any courses during an academic year, you are not required to complete engagement and service requirements for that year. Please note that taking even one undergraduate-level course during the academic year will negate this.
Though we do not offer exemptions to students enrolled in undergraduate-level courses, we are happy to work with you individually to ensure that your requirements are complete. Please email hcengage@fiu.edu for additional support.