The National Educational Exchange Program (application)
The National Educational Exchange Program (NEEP), a part of the Community Service/Service-Learning Center (CSSLC), is designed to enhance the cultural, intellectual, and racial diversity of participating Jackson State students while strengthening the total learning experience. Students are welcome to spend up to two semesters at any of the 180 partnering colleges and universities in 49 states, the District of Columbia, 3 U.S. territories, and 4 Canadian provinces. Instead of crossing oceans, NEEP participants will cross state, regional, provincial, and cultural borders to take courses to expand their academic program options, experience personal growth and intellectual discovery; reside in a different region, be exposed to diverse cultural settings, seek out graduate and professional schools, and explore career options.

The program is open to all Jackson State students with at least a sophomore standing and minimum of a 2.5 GPA. NEEP participants register for the coursework taken at the partnered college/university through Jackson State, so the hours and grades completed apply fully to their Jackson State degree requirements. Housing and meal plans are usually available. For more information, contact Ms. Tracy Thomas at 601-979-6938 or [email protected].

Alternative Break Program (application)
The Alternative Break Program, a part of the Community Service/Service-Learning Center (CSSLC), offers Jackson State students the opportunity to travel to distant communities to engage in community service and experiential learning during Spring Break. Students perform short term projects for community agencies and learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and the environment. The objective of the Alternative Break Program is to involve Jackson State students in community-based service projects and to give students opportunities to learn about the problems faced by members of communities with whom they otherwise may have had little or no direct contact. Being completely immersed into diverse environments enables students to experience, discuss, and understand social issues in a significant way. The intensity of the experience increases the likelihood that students will transfer the lessons learned on-site back to their own communities even after the alternative break ends. Jackson State University seeks to use the Alternative Break Program as a springboard into lifelong active citizenship...where the community becomes a priority in an individual’s life decisions.

Examples of trips students at other institutions have organized are: tutoring migrant farm workers in Florida, building homes in Appalachia, registering voters in rural Mississippi, working with the homeless in Washington, DC, constructing a library in Mexico, and teaching the importance of dental hygiene in Southern Africa. In the spring of 2003, almost 30,000 students across the nation participated in some type of alternative break experience. In the spring of 2004, Jackson State will institute its first annual alternative break experience. Interested students should contact Dr. Valerie J. Shelby at [email protected]. Students may also contact the CSSLC for more information at 601-979-1294.

Student Educational Exchange Organization (SEEO)
The purpose of the Student Educational Exchange Organization is to acquaint students with educational exchange and study abroad opportunities and to assist them with preparing for participation in such activities. SEEO seeks to give students opportunities for cultural immersion, to learn new languages, and to take part in service-learning activities both nationally and internationally. It is also the goal of SEEO to expose Jackson State students to others with similar interests, understanding cultural characteristics/differences, and learning about cultural exchange programs. Interested students should contact Tracy A. Thomas at 601-979-6938 or [email protected].