Service-Learning in the Engineering Sciences

With all of the benefits and the profound impact the service-learning experience can have on students and faculty participants, the author is left with the question of why service-learning has not been adopted on a larger scale. Although the author will not attempt to answer this fully, he provides examples of a successful model with the hope that more faculty will adopt the pedagogy using the example of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program at Purdue University. EPICS is a series of design courses that have been linked together to create long-term partnerships with local community organizations, schools, and governmental agencies. In particular, in this chapter, the focus is on some of the governmental partners we have worked with in EPICS over the years. [authors]