What Influences the Long-Term Sustainability of Service-Learning? Lessons from Early Adopters

 As service-learning is adopted by growing numbers of higher education institutions, there is increasing interest in understanding the factors necessary to sustain service-learning for the long-term. Institutions that were early adopters of service-learning may offer important insights into what factors influence long-term sustainability. With this aim in mind, the authors conducted a retrospective, qualitative study of the ten-year sustainability of service-learning among a cohort of sixteen colleges and universities that participated in a national demonstration of service-learning from 1995 to 1998. The authors assessed the extent to which service-learning was sustained at each institution, and explored the factors that influenced sustainability, including facilitators, challenges, and strategies for success.