- A. Purpose and Methodology
- B. Institutional Information
- C. Community Service/Service-learning/Civic Engagement on Campus
- D. Faculty Roles and Rewards
- E. Infrastructure
C. Community Service/Service-Learning/Civic Engagement on Campus
Respondents were asked a series of questions to determine the institution’s commitment to community service/service-learning and civic engagement on campus. Respondents assessed the number of service-learning courses offered, how many students were involved and how many hours per week each student participated. They also responded to questions about the institution’s strategic plan and the issue areas most often addressed by community service/service learning projects.
Service-learning courses
Of the 506 respondents who provided information, 91% reported that their campus offered courses that incorporated service-learning. This is lower than the previous two years in which campuses reported that 98% offered service-learning courses, but more similar to the 88% reported in 2002-03 and the 91% reported in 2001-02.
Over 45% of respondents stated that their institution offered between 11 and 50 service-learning courses per year, while 28% offered between 1 and 10 courses per year. Twelve percent offered between 51 and 99 courses while 7% offered 100 or more service-learning courses per year.
Figure 6: Service-learning courses offered
Across all member institutions, a total of 17,747 service-learning courses were offered during the 2005-06 academic year with an average of 35 courses per campus. This matches the average number of courses offered per campus during the 04-05 academic year and surpasses the 31 courses per campus offered during the 03-04 year.
Student Involvement in Service
Members were asked how many students were involoved in community service, service-learning, and civic engagement activities. When an average was computed for the respondents who answered both their FTE undergraduate enrollment and the total number of students involved in service, the computed percentage of students involved in service was 32%.
In addition to the percent of students who participated in any service-related activities, institutions were also asked to estimate the hours per week that each student participated in service-related activities during 2005-06. Results indicate that an average of 5.6 hours per week for each student was spent participating in service-related activities, with the number of hours ranging from .20 hours to 40 hours per week. Results also indicate that the majority of students (54%) participate in 2.5 hours or less per week.
