Geographic Disparities in Access to Service-Learning

This project is part of a broader project to understand how service learning impacts community. The research project identified a number of concerns about service learning. Community organization staff expressed a need to improve communication between organizations hosting service learners and higher education faculty. Developing positive relationships was a second important theme for the agencies, who offered numerous suggestions for involved faculty. A third focus was on providing an institutional infrastructure for service learning. A fourth set of concerns addressed the problem of short-term service learning. And a fifth topic focused on managing service learners, identifying the responsibilities of students, faculty and non-profit staff. The final theme highlighted challenges presented by varying economic, racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds between students and service populations. Many of the challenges described by nonprofit staff are rooted in the unequal standing between higher education and community organizations and the prioritization of the student experience over community impact.