UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES - GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND INFORMATION STUDIES

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Understanding the Effects of Service Learning:
A Study of Students and Faculty

Alexander W. Astin and Lori J. Vogelgesang

Funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies (USA) Inc., this three-year study continues the work of HERI to understand how service learning is affecting students and faculty in higher education. The student study examines the post-college impact of participating in service learning during the undergraduate years. Life After College: The Survey of Former Undergraduates is designed to explore how the college experience impacts life after college, including participants' values, opinions, and current activities.  In particular, the data from this study will help us understand adults' involvement and non-involvement in their communities.  This longitudinal survey will mark the second follow- up the 1994 freshman cohort, and explores how service learning and other college experiences are shaping their lives as adults. This cohort was initially followed up in 1998 for the HERI study: How Service Learning Affects Students.

The faculty study will survey faculty across the nation, in order to understand their beliefs, work, and participation in service learning pedagogies. The 2004-2005 Faculty Survey will place a special emphasis on community engagement, examining faculty teaching practices, attitudes and perceptions of institutional climate. This study represents the second HERI study of faculty community service work. The results of the first study (conducted in 1995) are reported in: Community Service in Higher Education: A Look at the Nation's Faculty.

		The Lasting Impact of College on Young Adults’ Civic and Political Engagement, ASHE Conference Paper: November, 2005.
		Using National Data to Inform Teaching and Academic Initiatives: Understanding and Strengthening Faculty and Student Engagement. Presentation at the AAC&U Conference, Providence, November 2005. (Power Point Slides).
		Research Report Number 2, April 2005.
		Press Release: Volunteering and Community Involvement Declines After Students Leave College
		Can Service Learning and a College Climate of Service Lead to Increased Political Engagement After College?, AERA Conference Paper: April 2005.
		Conceptualizing, Measuring and Understanding Students’ Post-College Civic Engagement: What we know about the impaction of service-learning. Presentation at the Continuums of Service Conference, Portland, April 2005. (Power Point Slides)
		2004 Post-college Follow up Survey (PDF)
		The 2003 Press Release announcing this study can be found here.

Related HERI Publications:

Astin, A.W., Vogelgesang, L.J., Ikeda, E.K., and Yee, J.A. (2000). How Service Learning Affects Students.  Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.  (Executive Summary | Full Report)

Vogelgesang, L.J. & Astin, A.W. (2000) Comparing the Effects of Community Service and Service-Learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning; v7 p25-34.

Astin, A. W., Sax, L. J., & Avalos, J. (1999). The Long-Term Effects of Volunteerism During the Undergraduate Years. THE REVIEW OF HIGHER EDUCATION, 21 (2): 187-202.

Astin, A. W. & Sax, L. J. (1998). How Undergraduates are Affected by Service Participation. THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT, 39 (3): 251-263.

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