Service Learning

Service learning combines community service with classroom instruction, focusing on critical, reflective thinking as well as personal and civic responsibility. Service learning programs involve students in activities that address local needs while developing their academic skills and commitment to their community.

Service learning has a positive impact on student learning outcomes, civic engagement, and retention rates. Since 1994 the American Association of Community Colleges has promoted the value of service learning to the 1,200 associate degree-granting institutions in the U.S. According to three AACC national surveys, nearly 60 percent of all community colleges offer service learning in their curricular programs. Another 30 percent of colleges are interested in starting service learning initiatives.

The goals of AACC's national project, Community Colleges Broadening Horizons through Service Learning, are to build on established foundations to integrate service learning into the institutional climate of community colleges, and to increase the number, quality, and sustainability of service learning programs through an information clearinghouse, data collection and analysis, model programs, training and technical assistance, publications, and referrals. The Horizons project is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service and its Learn and Serve America program.

What's New?

The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2009, announced February 25, 2010, includes top honors for Raritan Valley Community College, N.J. RVCC was the only community college to receive the Honor Roll's Presidential Award, which is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement. The Honor Roll recognizes institutions nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service learning programs. See the complete list of all Honor Roll awardees, including 104 community colleges from around the country.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching invites colleges to apply for its elective classification on community engagement, which provides a means for institutions to describe their identity and commitments to community with a public and nationally recognized classification. Only 14 community colleges were among the 196 institutions recognized in 2006 and 2008. Colleges intending to apply for the classification must register in advance to receive the online application. The registration deadline is March 31, 2010; applications are due September 1, 2010. For complete information, visit the Carnegie Foundation Web site. Several informational sessions are scheduled to assist colleges in the application process, including a March 5 webinar sponsored by the New England Campus Compacts, an April 18 forum at the AACC annual convention, and a May 26 preconference workshop at the Community College National Center for Community Engagement conference. The next opportunity to apply for the community engagement classification will be in 2015.

The Community College National Center for Community Engagement (CCNCCE) is accepting proposals to present at its 19th annual conference, "Formulas 4 Success in Service Learning and Civic Engagement," to be held May 26-28, 2010, in Scottsdale, AZ. The deadline for submitting proposals is March 8, 2010. For complete information and to submit a proposal, click here or contact Gloria Schoonover at CCNCCE, 480-461-6280 or gloria.schoonover@mesacc.edu.

Community colleges around the country honored the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by participating in the MLK Day of Service on Jan. 18, 2010. Read about some of their projects, view a video from Learn and Serve grantee Northern Virginia Community College, and find more videos and information at www.mlkday.gov.

Upcoming Events

March 3-5, 2010: "People, Place, and Partners: Building and Sustaining Engagement in Critical Times," Gulf South Summit on Service Learning and Community Engagement through Higher Education, Athens, GA. Contact: University of Georgia, www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/
conferences/gulf_south

March 24-27, 2010: 20th Annual National Service Learning Conference, San Jose, CA. Contact: National Youth Leadership Council, 651/631-3672, www.nylc.org

See More Events

Recent Publications

Improving Student Learning Outcomes with Service Learning (PDF)
A 16-page research brief summarizing the findings and implications of a three-year study of service learning's impact on student learning outcomes at 10 community colleges.

Linking Service Learning and Civic Engagement in Community College Students (PDF)
A 12-page research brief summarizing the findings and implications of a three-year study of service learners and non-service learners at 12 community colleges.

See More Publications

Contact Information

For more information, please contact:

Gail Robinson
Program Director for Service Learning
Ph: 202.728.0200 x254
grobinson@aacc.nche.edu

New AACC Grant!

AACC is pleased to announce a national grant competition for its Community Colleges Broadening Horizons through Service Learning project. AACC will award eight one-year grants of $3,000 each to community colleges for service learning projects in new media/Web 2.0 strategies or environmental education.
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