The member certifies that he/she is a United States citizen, a United States national, or legal permenant resident of the United States and at least 17 years of age. The member agrees to provide proper identification by the assigned due date. The Corporation for National and Community Service requires a copy of one of the following pieces of identification:

A birth certificate showing that you were born in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa or the Northern Marina Islands
A current US passport
A report of birth abroad of a US citizen (FS 240) issued by the State Department
A certificate of birth-foreign service (DS-1350) issued by the State Department
A certificate of naturalization (Form 550 or N-5700) issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service

Primary documentation of status as a lawful permenant resident alien of the United States. The following are acceptable forms of certifying status as a lawful permanent resident of the United States:

Permenant Resident Card (INS Form I-551)
A passport containing as INS stamp certifying approval of lawful admission for permenant residence
An arrival record (INS Form I-94) indicating that the INS has approved it as temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence
Official Tribal ID Card or an "Indian Blood ID", with the possible exception of ID cards issued by some tribal entities that are on both sides of US/foreign borders (i.e., Blackfeet, Fort Belknap along the Canadian border, and Papago, Gila on the Arizona/Mexico border)

What qualifies a student for the SIS program?

A student must be a part-time or full-time student at a participating SIS campus to be eligible to enroll in the SIS program. Once a student enrolls they have 1 or 2 years to complete their program (depending what program they sign up for) from their official enrollment date. Whether a member graduates, takes a quarter off, summer off, etc they still have 1 or 2 years from their official enrollment date to complete their program and must pass in all their time logs and exit paperwork in a satisfactory manner to the SIS Campus Coordinator's office they initially enrolled in.

Can I volunteer at more than one site?

Yes you can. For each site you need a new site agreement and for each new site agreement there would be a corresponding monthly time log from that site signed by the site supervisor(s).

Can my direct service position be paid?

The ONLY paid positions for which you can count SIS hours are positions that are Federal/State-funded Community Service Work Study positions. All other service must be non-paid (including internships, academic course-related service, and general volunteer service).

Is serving in a soup kitchen located in a church considered a “prohibited activity”?

You should first consider the type of the activity, and secondly the location. If you are serving food in a soup kitchen that happens to be in a church, that activity in and of itself is absolutely appropriate. The Students in Service program encourages partnering with faith-based organizations. However, if you are also expected, as part of the soup kitchen experience, to discuss or promote the particular ideology or mission of the hosting religious organization, that would be an example of an unacceptable direct service activity since you would be engaging in religious instruction or proselytizing. This may be a helpful example in determining prohibited activities.

What can I do if I lose track of how many hours I have served?

Not a problem. Just email or call the SIS Coordinator on your campus; all your information is in a database we can easily access.

What if I can’t complete my hours by the end of my Term of Service? Can I get an extension?

The SIS program does not give extensions to a member who cannot complete their service hours on time. Also, the SIS program cannot change a member's term of service once the member begins their term of service.

If I get sick and have to drop out of my service position can I still receive part of my Education Award?

If you have a "compelling personal circumstance" like an illness, family illness, or military duty, and you have completed at least 15% of your service hours, you may be able to recieve a partial education award. The Students in Service program Director or designee decides if a situation is a compelling personal circumstance (examples: a serious illness/injury to the member or a death in the member’s immediate family). You must provide your SIS campus coordinator with an email or letter detailing your "compelling personal circumstance" before a decision can be made.

Another option may be to have your service term temporarily suspended while your health returns to the point you can continue to serve. To be eligible for this option you would need to send your SIS Campus Coordinator an email or letter detailing your compelling personal circumstance. Eligibility is decided on a case-by-case basis by the Director of designee. If you do get your term of service supended you will not be able to serve and thus pass in time logs while you are in suspended status. Once you are healthy enough to begin serving your community again, you will need to contact your SIS campus coordinator to have your term reinstated. If your suspended for 3 months, then your completion date will be extended by those 3 months. A student approval for a suspension cannot be back dated, suspension must be approved within 30 days of the date of suspension.

If I do volunteer projects on top of my AmeriCorps service, can these hours count?

If the projects are in one of the areas of education, public safety, environmental initiative, community development, or human needs, and your supervisor can verify the hours, AND the hours are appropriate either for Direct Service hours (non-Prohibited Activities) or Member Development hours, then those hours can be counted. It is common for members to have more than one service site. Remember, you are required to submit a Site Agreement form for each service site. Each Site Agreement requires a separate Time Log each month. For example, if you serve at three sites in a month, you’ll need to submit three Time Logs for that month.

What do I do when I finish all my hours?

You are required to exit the program upon completion of the hours for your term of service. SIS expects members to complete and pass in their exit paperwork with final time log. The sooner a member is officially exited, the sooner the member will be able to use their voucher.

How many AmeriCorps terms can I serve?

A person can be awarded up to 4 AmeriCorps educatio awards in a lifetime but not to exceed the equivalent of 2 full year terms of service or 2.0 MSY (member service years). It is possible for a student to serve 3 SIS terms of service (300 or 450 hr program) and still be eligible to serve a full year term of service with AmeriCorps and receive a full award. For further questions about terms of service, please contact your SIS campus coordinator.

Why should I put my loans on forbearance?

If you have qualified loans that are currently accumulating interest, the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) will pay part of the interest accrued during your term of service. Putting your loans on forbearance notifies CNCS of your current loans. If you don’t put your loans on forbearance CNCS will not partially pay your accrued interest at the end of your term. For a complete explanation, go to What is Loan Forebearance?

For each new site agreement, do I need to fill out the membership development plan?

We highly recommend that you fill out the membership development plan for each site agreement for three reasons:

To let your site supervisor at all your sites know of your member development goals.
To have the flexibility to have any site supervisor sign off on your member development hours.
To reinforce your membership goals as you serve your community.

However, if one site supervisor agrees to sign off on all your membership development hours throughout your term of service then you do not need to fill out the membership development plan on subsequent site agreements.

Where do I send my paperwork?

Send all paperwork to the SIS Coordinator on your campus.

Can documents be faxed?

Please do not fax paperwork to the SIS Coordinator on your campus. If your paperwork will be late, you may notify SIS Coordinator on your campus to which you submit paperwork, but you will need to send the original document with original signatures as soon as possible.

Should I make copies of my paperwork?

Yes! Yes! Copy ALL the paperwork you complete before passing it into the SIS Coordinator on your campus. Sometimes, things really do get “lost in the mail”, so your ability to supply a copy of your documents may be critical. Not only will you have a record of the paperwork you have completed for record keeping, but you can continuously reference that information throughout your Term of Service. Time Logs are especially important to copy as those copies may be the only proof or record of your activities.

How can I check if my file up to date or if I’m missing any paperwork?

The best way to check is to call the SIS Coordinator on your campus. It is your responsibility to make sure your paperwork is completed in a timely manner. Remember to keep copies of your documents and notify us if you have new contact information, etc.

I don’t have a copy of my birth certificate! How do I get one?

You can call your state’s Health Department, the office for birth/death certificates or vital records.

Alaska: www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/bvs/birth
California: www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OVR/ordercert.htm
Hawaii: www.hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/index.html
Idaho: www2.state.id.us/dhw/vital_stats/appmenu.html
Oregon: www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/chs/certif/certfaqs.cfm
Washington: www.doh.wa.gov

Another option is to call the company VITALCHECK at 1-800-255-2414. This is a faster but more expensive method.

Why am I strongly encouraged to write a Great Story and am expected to complete an evaluation?

The Great Stories you write provide written document of the impact you had on your community. We may use excerpts of your great story in a progress report, grant proposal or for marketing purposes. The evaluations provide a reflection tool for you and for us. Hopefully the questions on the evaluations will help you think about your Term of Service and what you gained while providing important program improvement suggestions to the Students in Service program.

What is a Criminal Record Check? What if I’ve already had one?

Most service sites serving children or other vulnerable populations require a record check. Ask your Site Supervisor if you are required to submit a record check to serve at that site. If you have already been fingerprinted you will need to provide proof to your Site Supervisor. The form required by the Students in Service program is verification from your Site Supervisor that you have provided proof of a record check.

Also, as of October 1, 2009 all new AmeriCorps members will be subject to a criminal record check either through their site, academic department, or your SIS coordinator. Any member convicted of a felony or is a registered sex offender will not be allowed to particpate in the Students in Service program.

On the time log there is a section for “number of volunteers recruited”, what does this mean?

A major goal of the SIS grant that is funded by CNCS is to not only enroll 2,100 SIS members per year but also to encourage our members to recruit another 10,000 college students to volunteer in their community and join the growing national student network of volunteers. We encourage members to keep track of the number of members they recruit on their time logs so then they can add up the number recruited and report tht number on their member evaluation to be passed in with their exit paperwork.

What if my supervisor is gone for two weeks and I can’t get my time log signed! What do I do?

Don’t send it in to us without a supervisor’s signature! We’ll just send it right back to you! Get backup supervisor to sign your time log.

What is a site supervisor?

A site supervisor is someone at your service site who can verify your hours and support you through your direct service. Your site supervisor is the person who signed your Site Agreement. The site supervisor is the ONLY person who can sign your Time Logs.

What do I do if my supervisor has changed?

You must fill out a new Site Agreement. Your service site may not have changed, but we must have your new supervisor’s contact information and signature.

What are qualified institutions of higher education (Title IV schools)?

You can use your education award to pay for current educational expenses at qualified institutions of higher education. For purposes of the education award, a “qualified” institution is one that participates in the U.S. Department of Education’s student assistance program – i.e., it has an agreement with the Department of Education whereby students at that school are eligible to receive at least some type of federal financial assistance to attend the school. These are sometimes called Title IV schools. You do not have to apply for financial aid to use your education award, but the school must be one that participates in the federal student aid program.

A school may be accredited and even offer graduate degrees. However, unless it is a Title IV school the education award cannot be used there. Most postsecondary educational institutions in the U.S. are Title IV. Thousands of technical and trade schools are Title IV as well. Art schools, beauty schools, and truck driving schools may be Title IV.

How can I find out if a school is qualified as a Title IV school?

You can ask your financial aid office if the school is a Title IV institution. If it is Title IV, you can use the education award there. Another way to find out is to call the toll-free number at the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Information Center between 9am-8pm (EST), Monday through Friday. The number is 1-800-433-3243. You can also search the Department’s website at:
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/FSLookupServlet

If a foreign school participates in the Department of Education’s Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the AmeriCorps education award can be used there. You can use the number above to find out if a particular international school participates in the FFEL program. Another way to approach attending schools overseas is to obtain a qualified student loan to attend the foreign school and use the education award to repay the loan.

Can a student participate in SIS and also be eligible to earn an education award and/or be eligible to participate in Teach for America (TFA) after they graduate?

TFA is an AmeriCorps program with a 2 year commitment. A student who hopes to participate in TFA after graduation would be eligible to earn 2 full educational awards during their 2 year commitment. So if a student definitely knows they will participate in TFA after graduation and wants to be eligible to earn both educational awards, they should not sign up for a term of SIS because a person can only earn 2 educational awards from AmeriCorps in a lifetime.

However, a student can complete one or two terms of Students in Service and still be eligible to participate in TFA but would not be eligible to earn both educational awards during their term of service because they earned their one or two education awards with SIS.

Recognize that TFA participants earn a regular salary ($27,000 - $47,000/year) plus are eligible to earn a full educational award from AmeriCorps ($4,725/term). Some students may not feel it is that important to earn the ed award with TFA because of the salary. Also, even though a student’s goal may be to participate in TFA, their acceptance to teach is not guaranteed because it is a competitive process to be a part of TFA.

To learn more about the financial benefits of TFA, please go to: http://www.teachforamerica.org/corps/financial_arrangements.htm

Does SIS AmeriCorps participation affect disability benefits?

Participation in AmeriCorps can affect disability benefits for some Members. However, because SIS Members do not receive a living stipend, they are less likely to have their disability benefits negatively impacted by participation in AmeriCorps. The following guidelines will help participants navigate through the process, recognizing that disability benefit decisions are made ultimately on a case-by-case basis.

The education award is considered taxable income for Members in the year in which the award is used, not earned. There is no effect on disability benefits during the service year because the participant has not yet received the education award.

Members will not lose disability benefits as a result of participating in AmeriCorps. However, it is possible that the education award could trigger a decrease in monthly SSI benefits after the education award is used. There are several strategies for preventing any decrease or negative
effect on disability benefits:

1. Members take advantage of work incentive options and income exclusions. Work incentives are special rules that allow persons with disabilities receiving SSDI or SSI to work and still receive monthly payments and Medicare or Medicaid. Participants can find out more about these incentives and options by calling 1-800-772-1213 or visiting the website at www.ssa.gov.

2. SSI recipients serving in AmeriCorps automatically qualify for the Student Child Earned income Exclusion if they are under the age of 22 and are neither married nor the head of household. This income exclusion can be up to $5,200.00 per year, far exceeding the education award amount.

3. If SSI recipients use their education award voucher to pay for tuition fees and other necessary education expenses then the award does NOT count as taxable income and will not affect disability benefits. This exclusion does not cover amounts used or set aside for room and board or to repay qualified student loans.

If students use their education award to pay for current tuition costs at the institution at which they are currently enrolled, then it will not affect their disability benefits at all because it will not count as taxable income.

Once Members receive their education award voucher, they direct their voucher on their My AmeriCorps online account to the financial aid office at their education institution. Members then check with financial aid officers to make sure the award is applied to tuition costs and not to room and board so that it will not be taxable.

Other resources for Members with disabilities that further explain the above strategies can be found at www.ssa.gov/notices/supplemental-security-income/ and at www.ssa.gov/odhome. Information specific to AmeriCorps and disability is located at www.nationalservice.org/about/ogc/ac_disability.html.

Page Updated 08.23.2010

Student AmeriCorps Member FAQ

General Member Questions

SIS Paperwork Questions

Site Supervisor Questions

Qualified Title IV Institutions

SIS and Teach for America (TFA)

SIS affects on Disability Benefits

What qualifies a student for the SIS program?

What are qualified institutions of higher education (Title IV schools)?

How can I find out if a school is qualified as a Title IV school?

Can a student participate in SIS and also be eligible to earn an education award and/or be eligible to participate in Teach for America (TFA) after they graduate?

Does SIS AmeriCorps participation affect disability benefits?

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