About the Campus Compact Syllabus Project

Campus Compact recently examined over 900 service-learning syllabi. This review confirmed that although there are vast numbers of service-learning syllabi available, there are few standards to help distinguish those worth recommending from those which are less exemplary, and few resources to assist faculty in constructing a service-learning syllabus. In an effort to improve the quality of service-learning syllabi, Campus Compact has revised its web-based syllabus collection and created a new publication, The Fundamentals of Service-Learning Course Construction.

The Fundamentals of Service-Learning Course Construction is the third in a Campus Compact series on integrating service with academic study. The first volume, Rethinking Tradition: Integrating Service with Academic Study on College Campuses (1993) was a collection of essays and best practices that served as an overview of the service-learning field prior to 1993. In 1994, Campus Compact published a companion volume, Redesigning Curricula: Models of Service Learning Syllabi, a collection of syllabi and discussions by select faculty on teaching, learning, and course development.

Based on the recent syllabi project, this new volume, The Fundamentals of Service-Learning Course Construction, is designed to assist faculty in constructing a good service-learning syllabus. The volume offers six models for service-learning courses, a cataloged sample of service-learning assignments, sample service-learning syllabi, and sample syllabi from service-learning courses that serve as civic bridges.