Every year, cities and towns throughout the United States receive billions of dollars worth of volunteer service from students who attend local colleges. According to one annual study, the 950 colleges and universities that are members of the Campus Compact – roughly one-third of the nation’s higher education campuses – accounted for more than $4 billion alone.

According to the 2004 Campus Compact Annual Member Survey, more than 30 percent of students participate in community service, averaging four hours of service a week. Using the latest Independent Sector figures (based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)¹ for the value of volunteer work, these students contribute $2,246.40 each in service during the school year.

With 44 percent of member campuses responding, this figure can reasonably be extrapolated to a total of $4.45 billion in volunteer service contributed to local communities.

Other highlights from the survey include:

• A majority of campuses report that service and/or civic engagement is part of their mission statement (89%) or strategic plan (84%);
• Ninety-eight percent of campuses offered service-learning courses, which combine academic with community work, during the 2003-2004 academic year;
• Campus-community partnerships have become ubiquitous; 98 percent of reporting campuses have one or more such partnerships, with collaborations most commonly involving nonprofit organizations (95%), K-12 schools (90%), and faith-based organizations (62%);
• In addition to partnerships, virtually all other types of campus programs are on the rise, including alternative breaks (offered by 77% of campuses), residence hall programs (63%), and freshman orientation projects (59%).

Overall, the survey results show that service, service-learning, and civic engagement have not only become a standard facet of the higher education experience but are continuing to advance. The number of service programs is on the increase, as are support mechanisms for student, faculty, and staff participation in service and civic engagement. Support for such efforts include on-site service opportunities (offered by 92 percent of responding schools), review processes that reward faculty for community work (83%), and student service awards (62%).

In addition to annual data, this year’s survey includes five-year trend data showing consistent and impressive increases in engagement on campuses over time. For example, among campuses responding each year, the proportion of students involved in service increased from 33 percent in 2001 to 40 percent in 2004. Similarly, the proportion of campuses with a service or service-learning office increased from 75 percent to 92 percent between 2000 and 2004. During the same time period, the average number of faculty who teach service-learning courses nearly tripled, from 14 per campus to 40.

Support for civic and community-based programs on the part of college and university presidents also continues to climb. Over the last five years, presidents have increasingly written and spoken publicly about the importance of service and civic engagement, allocated funds for community-based programs, and hosted civic engagement conferences on their campuses. Last year, 86 percent of campuses reported that their president publicly promoted service and civic engagement, showing widespread commitment on the part of Campus Compact member presidents.

In addition to stepping up overall participation in service, students are also increasingly involved in decision-making and administrative processes that maintain service and civic engagement programs. Among other work, students serve on relevant committees (80%), work in community service/service-learning offices (73%), and act as liaisons to community agencies (67%). These results speak to how campuses are involving students in taking responsibility for their civic engagement activity, preparing them to be active members of our democracy.

Editors: An executive summary and full results of the 2004 Annual Campus Compact Member Survey, as well as results from previous years, are available at www.compact.org/survey/.

¹ See http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html.

Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 950 college and university presidents - representing some 5 million students - dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education. To support this mission, Campus Compact promotes service initiatives that develop students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and practical guidance for faculty seeking to integrate civic engagement into their teaching and research. For more information on Campus Compact, visit http://www.compact.org.