What is Service-Learning?

Service-Learning is a course-based experiential learning strategy. It engages students in meaningful and relevant service with a community partner while employing ongoing reflection to draw connections between the service and course content, thus enhancing academic learning, promoting civic responsiveness, and strengthening communities.

Service-Learning aims to enhance academic learning by challenging students to apply classroom knowledge to real life situations. Because Service-Learning addresses actual community needs, it has the added potential to engage students in ways that other experiential methods may not.

What Does Service Learning Do?

The Service Learning Program provides consultation and support to help faculty, staff, students, and community partners plan and execute effective service-learning projects. In addition it:

• Identifies community needs that can be addressed through service-learning.
• Supports the integration of service-learning across the curriculum.
• Builds long-term relationships between the university and community.
• Offers faculty development opportunities related to service-learning.
• Recognizes and rewards significant service-learning work.
• Identifies, helps develop, and promotes service-learning courses.
• Encourages student participation and coordinates the assessment of student learning.