Credit for Serving: A New Vision for National Service in Higher Education

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    Credit for Serving

    A New Vision for National Service in Higher Education

    By Carmel Martin, Ben Miller, Shiv Rawal, and Phoebe Sweet September 2015

      WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.O

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    Credit for ServingA New Vision for National Service in Higher Education

    By Carmel Martin, Ben Miller, Shiv Rawal, and Phoebe Sweet September 2015

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      1 Introduction and summary

      4 The case for service

      6 Service-learning proposal

      9 Service and federal student aid

     13 Ways to fund increased national service

      18 Conclusion

      20 Endnotes

    Contents

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    Introduction and summary

    Tis pas spring, A’licia Williams, 20, a suden a Miami Dade College, spen a

     week working wih Breaking Freean organizaion ha serves survivors o sex

    rafficking in S. Paul, Minnesoaas par o her college’s alernaive spring break

    service program. Even as Williams and her peers were making a difference in he

    lives o hose who survived horrible circumsances, he one-week service experi-

    ence alered he course o Williams’ lie as well. Afer speaking o a rafficking

    survivor and learning abou he woman’s effors o reconnec wih her daugher

    despie he rauma she had endured, Williams made a decision abou he uure.Reflecing on her service, as well as on her own difficul upbringingbeing raised

     by a moher who dropped ou o high school and growing up wihou a aher’s

    presenceWilliams, a pre-med suden, realized her rue passion was o pursue a

    career as an adolescen psychologis.1 

     Williams’ experience working wih he S. Paul service organizaion inspired her

    o become more involved in her communiy a home in Miami, Florida. Since her

    spring break experience, Williams has voluneered in he maerniy ward a a local

    hospial and has become an advocae or suden service hrough her work-sudy

     job a her college’s Insiue or Civic Engagemen and Democracy, where she

     works 17 hours a week. Moreover, Williams says ha her service experiences are

    helping prepare her or a career o assising children and eens overcome chal-

    lenges similar o he ones she aced as a child.

    oday, Williams juggles a par-ime job, which conribues o her amily’s bo-

    om line, wih her school and service schedules. She is deermined o make he

     balancing ac work. Williams is on rack o graduae wih an associae’s degree in

    psychology in 2016 and plans o go on o a our-year college afer graduaion. And

    she says ha service has become boh a valuable par o her educaion and a wayo prepare or a career in he social service field.

    Learning hrough service has been shown o have many imporan and angible

     benefis or sudens, including enhanced leadership skills, increased sel-con-

    fidence, and improved academic oucomes.2 I can also provide sudens wih

    relevan workorce experience ha builds he ypes o skills employers seek.

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    2 Center for American Progress |  Credit for Serving

    Unorunaely, lower-income sudens, such as Williams, are less likely o parici-

    pae in service while in college compared o heir higher-income peers,3 which

    means hey have limied access o he benefis ha accrue rom paricipaing in

    service. More affluen sudens, meanwhile, may no be atending colleges ha

    have esablished robus service opporuniies, and all sudens need access o

    service programs ha do no delay heir progress oward compleing a degree. Williams and oher sudens who paricipae in service despie hese challenges

    demonsrae a clear appeie or inensive service-learning opporuniies on col-

    lege campuses. Bu more mus be done o help hem pursue hese opporuniies.

    Given he imporance o service learning, colleges canno keep reaing service

    as merely an exracurricular add-on. Insead, he Cener or American Progress

    proposes a new vision or service learning in higher educaion. Under he CAP

    proposal, colleges and universiies would esablish service programs ha award col-

    lege credi or service opporuniies ha direcly relae o a suden’s area o sudy.

     A suden would spend up o one-quarer o heir degree program paricipaing ininensive service opporuniies. When paired wih some addiional academic work,

    hese service experiences would yield sufficien academic credi so ha sudens

    say on rack o graduae. Imporanly, hese service programs would be eligible or

    ederal suden aid unds, which would make hem more affordable or sudens.

     Williams’ difficuly finding he ime and resources o serve highlighs he need

    or new ways o srucuring hese programs. She does no receive college credi

    or her service work a he hospialnor did she earn credi or he service

    rip o Minnesoa because here was no ormal academic componen o he

    program. aking a week off rom work o go o Minnesoa mean working exra

    hours a her par-ime job or he nex week in order o cach up financially.

    Since Williams helps suppor her siblings, moher, and grandmoher, she

    needed o make up he income los during her service. Furhermore, he rip o

    S. Paul isel cos several hundred dollars, a sum ha Williams sruggled o pay

    despie undraising o cover a porion o he expense.

     Awarding credi or inensive service learning would go a long way oward

    overcoming he barriers ha sudens such as Williams ace. For he low-income

    and older sudens who make up an increasing share o oday’s college atendees,adding sufficien academic rigor in order o make service programs eligible or

    ederal suden aid would help hem pursue service while worrying less abou how

    o cover increasingly high uiion bills. And sudens rom all income backgrounds

     would benefi rom receiving college credi, so hey do no have o choose

     beween service and aking longer o graduae.

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    Tis credi-or-service proposal is also a way o bridge he disconnec ha exiss

    oday beween sudens and heir preparaion or he workorce. While mos

    sudens see geting a good job as a key reason or atending college,4 he major-

    iy o sudens do no believe college adequaely prepares hem or employmen.5 

     A he same ime, employers say ha college graduaes lack he skills hey need

    or he real world.6

     Naional servicecommuniy work ha addresses he majorchallenges acing he Unied Saescan miigae his disconnec by allowing

    sudens o gain pracical, real-world skills. Supplemenary coursework can help

    sudens grow academically a he same ime. Schools can spread he benefis o

    service in a smar, accessible, and effecive way by implemening programs ha

    pair naional service wih learning, and he ederal governmen can aciliae his

    process or communiy colleges and universiies.

    Tis repor lays ou wha i would ake or colleges and universiies o esablish he

    ypes o programs discussed above. In paricular, i considers how hese programs

    could overcome barriers o service, as well as wha hey would need o do o become eligible or ederal suden aid. Te repor also includes real-lie examples

    o colleges and sudens paricipaing in he exac ype o opporuniies his pro-

    posal would like o see flourish.

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     The case for service

    Te never-ending rise in he price o college has oday’s sudens increasingly

     worried abou wheher heir academic programs will pay off in he long run. More

    han 85 percen o incoming reshmen indicae ha geting a good job is a very

    imporan reason or atending college.7 While he benefis o college clearly go

     beyond jus financial reurns, he economics o atending college is a very under-

    sandable ear, paricularly given ha 70 percen o sudens who earn a bachelor’s

    degree have o borrow or college, and hose who borrow walk away wih an aver-

    age deb balance o nearly $30,000.8

    Making sure ha sudens graduae rom college wih he necessary skills or success

    in he workorce is crucial o ensuring ha a college degree is worh he expense.

     Wha are hose skills? According o employers, hey wan graduaes who have par-

    icipaed in an experience where hey can apply heir learning; work wih ohers in a

    eam seting; and can engage in ehical judgmen and decision-making.9

     Ye neiher employers nor sudens believe ha college graduaes are acquiring

    he skills ha hey need. One poll ound ha only 35 percen o surveyed sudens

     believe college prepared hem or a job.10 And jus 23 percen o surveyed employ-

    ers said sudens know how o apply knowledge and skills o he real world.11 

    Encouraging more sudens o pursue naional service is one way o help college

    graduaes secure he skills necessary or success in oday’s workorce. By placing

    sudens ino real-world siuaions in heir communiies, hey can learn how o

     work collaboraively, manage projecs, and apply heir academic learning. Such

    opporuniies are also likely o help wih so-called sof skillssuch as eamwork,

    communicaion, and neworkingha also mater or workorce success.12 Service

    learninghe pracice o inegraing service ino he academic insrucion o acoursehas been shown o promoe leadership skills, a commimen o diversiy,

    sel-confidence, a sronger sense o sel, and a sronger commimen o social issues

    in paricipaing sudens.13 One sudy ound ha service learning had posiive effecs

    on academic oucomes, sel-efficacy, leadership, and plans o paricipae in urher

    service afer college.14 Tese are he skills and values ha employers demand.

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    However, he benefis o service remain ou o reach or many lower-income col-

    lege sudens. According o U.S. Deparmen o Educaion survey daa ha looked

    a dependen sudens a public or privae nonprofi our-year colleges, hose in

    he botom income quarile were 25 percen more likely o no voluneer each

    monh han hose in he highes income quarile.15 

    Lower service raes among less-affluen sudens reflecs he realiy ha many o

    hese individuals, raher han paricipaing in service, have o spend heir ime

    ouside he classroom working in order o make ends mee, no only or hemselves,

     bu ofenimes or heir amilies as well.16 Research urher suggess ha socioeco-

    nomic saus migh influence sudens’ likelihood o paricipaing in service boh in

    high school and in college. One sudy ound ha sudens who did no paricipae

    in service in boh high school and college came rom he lowes socioeconomic

     backgrounds.17 Meanwhile, hose who paricipaed in service in boh high school

    and college came rom he mos affluen amilies. Te auhors addiionally ound

    ha he sudens who paricipaed in service in high school bu no college had hehighes suden loan deb.18 Bu among sudens who do paricipae in service, here

    is litle difference in he amoun o ime spen serving. Disadvanaged youh who do

    engage in service do so a he same inensiy as hose rom more privileged back-

    grounds.19 Tese sudens are also more likely han heir more affluen peers o wan

    o engage in service in order “o gain experience or school or work.”20 

     Admitedly, concerns abou deb and cos burdens may no be he only barriers ha

    explain why service is no ofen atainable or lower-income sudens. Lower-income

    sudens enroll in college a lower raes han heir wealhier peers and are less likely

    o complee heir degrees.21 Tough i is oo much o expec service programs alone

    o solve hese major higher educaion issues, ensuring ha hese service opporuni-

    ies conain academic credi and provide relevan workorce experiences may a leas

    help sudens say in college and be beter prepared o succeed in heir careers.

     While closing service gaps by socioeconomic saus should be o paramoun

    concern, more mus be done in order o raise he percenage o sudens engaging

    in service learning among sudens rom all backgrounds. According o he same

    Deparmen o Educaion daa on dependen sudens reerenced earlier, only

    abou hal o he mos affluen sudens repored doing any voluneering eachmonh.22 In addiion, jus 14 percen o hose same sudens voluneered more

    han 10 hours a monh.23 Tis suggess ha ar oo many sudens are neiher

    presened wih nor aking advanage o imporan opporuniies o serve heir

    communiies while simulaneously developing skills ha will serve hem well in

    he workorce in he uure.

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    In 2008, just two years into his education at The Pennsylvania State

    University, Phillip Ellison dropped out of college—a victim of the Great

    Recession. Seven years later, Ellison is back in school, is an honors

    student at Tufts University, and is a co-founder of a tech startup. Ellison,

    who always wanted to finish college, credits a year of serving with an

    AmeriCorps program for setting him back on track to a degree.

    Ellison participated in AmeriCorps’ City Year program, which places

    young adults in high-poverty public schools.24 In exchange for

    service, the program offers a monthly stipend along with monetary

    awards that can be spent repaying student loan debt or pursuing

    further education. Ellison said these incentives, as well as an interest

    in working in the education field, inspired him to apply for City Year

    in 2009. Although his service year was one of the most challenging

    experiences of his life, it sparked his passion for service and gave him

    skills that have put him on a path to graduate from college in 2016.

    City Year was just the start of Ellison’s service work. After City Year,

    Ellison went on to work with NYC Service, where he joined an effort

    to cool rooftops in the city.25 He also enrolled in City University of

    New York, or CUNY, Hostos Community College, where he was both

    a tutor and mentor.

    Ellison’s next idea for helping students came during his own m

    from CUNY Hostos to Tufts. During that process, he was struck b

    lack of advising resources available to students interested in tra

    ring to four-year colleges and universities. So he started workin

    nearby Roxbury Community College to explore a solution to wh

    he termed the “advising gap” that he experienced at his commu

    college.26 This work turned into the idea for ULink,27 a tech star

    Ellison is working on that aims to leverage technology to conne

    college students with the resources they need in order to plan

    futures. He is currently working on ULink at Smarter in the City

    high-tech business accelerator in Boston.28

    Ellison credits City Year for changing his trajectory and putting

    track to graduate and start his own business. Because of his exp

    ence, Ellison wants to see colleges do more to connect student

    service opportunities. He points to Tufts’ 1+4 Bridge-Year Servi

    Learning Program29 —which is placing 15 incoming students in

    domestic and international organizations for a year of service b

    they begin their four-year degrees at Tufts30—as an example o

    schools can secure partnerships and funding to make long, inte

    service accessible for students like Ellison, who stand to both g

    and contribute through national service.

    Phillip Ellison and his City Year experience

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    Service-learning proposal

    Opening he benefis o service o all sudens, regardless o socioeconomic

     background, requires rehinking is place in possecondary educaion programs.

    Tis means sudens ruly dedicaed o service should no longer have o rea

    i as eiher an exracurricular aciviy done in one’s spare ime or an inensive

    experience ha requires emporarily pausing sudies and exending he ime o

    graduaion. Insead, colleges and universiies should sar creaing dedicaed

    service opporuniies ha are inegraed componens o degree programs. Tis

     would be done hrough esablishing programs in which sudens would spendone year wihin a our-year programor one semeser in a wo-year offer-

    ingpursuing service aciviies. Tese aciviies would carry college credi; be

    supplemened by addiional academic courses as needed; and have o provide

    experiences direcly relaed o a suden’s major.

    Under his proposal, sudens would engage in 20 hours o 30 hours o service

    per week wih an organizaion ha has parnered wih heir universiy. Alongside

    heir service, sudens would simulaneously enroll in academic or-credi courses.

    Tese courses would serve as a companion o heir service and would align real-

     world experience and academic learning wih he goal o building career readiness.

    In addiion o approximaely five hours o academic coursework per week, he

    programs would provide suppor services, such as advising, in order o ensure ha

    paricipans are ully engaged in heir service aciviy, as well as keeping pace wih

    he atainmen o academic and career skills. Colleges and universiies would be

    required o develop appropriae academic coursework ha ensures sudens receive

    credi or heir service and keeps hem on rack o complee heir degrees on ime.

    How migh his look in pracice? Imagine a suden who is majoring in com-

    puer science. Insead o spending a ull year exclusively learning coding in aclassroom, hey would spend a year as a web developer or a nonprofi organi-

    zaion serving high-povery communiies while simulaneously aking supple-

    menal courses. Te hands-on experience helps he suden sharpen his or her

    skills while serving communiies in need; he supplemenal coursework helps

    he suden say on rack or graduaion. Oher pairings could include a suden

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    sudying environmenal sciences working wih a local ciy agency ha measures

    he healh o nearby oress and bodies o waer, or a business major who spends

    a year assising a nonprofi’s managemen eam.

    Service-learning opporuniies, however, can only work i hey carry legiimae

    academic rigor and are relevan o a suden’s academic and career readiness. Foreffecive service experiences, colleges and universiies would need o culivae

    srong parnerships wih well-managed local service organizaions ha have

    he abiliy o ensure sudens are geting he mos ou o heir service. Colleges

     would also need o ully ve opporuniies and make sure ha srong accoun-

    abiliy srucures are in place.

    Supplemening service wih academics is a key par o CAP’s proposal. Research

    shows ha benefis rom service learning are mos srongly associaed wih

    academic oucomes and ha a suden’s degree o ineres in he subjec ma-

    er is he mos influenial acor o a posiive service-learning experience.31 Successul programs would also provide a orum or sudens o criically reflec

    and discuss heir experiences. Research shows ha reflecing on he experience

    o service hough processing and digesing he experienceespecially hrough

    discussions wih oher sudensconribues o he posiive benefis associaed

     wih service.32 One sudy even suggess ha he core experience o service is

    he exchange o ideas across “boundaries o perceived difference,” boh during

    he service and hrough reflecion.33 Tese sudies underscore he imporance

    o srucured reflecion hrough suden discussions, journals, and relaionships

     wih proessors. As orums or reflecion, supplemenary academic courses can

    serve as a criical par o sudens’ service experiences, helping hem o maxi-

    mize heir learning rom communiy work.

    Te awarding o college credi is also imporan in order o ensure ha paricipa-

    ing in service does no impede progress o graduaion. I sudens were o only

    earn a racion o he credis hey would normally receive in a semeser, hey

     would be unable o complee college on ime, which raises heir overall price o

    atending college and ataining a degree. Given he role amily income plays in

    sudens’ likelihood o paricipaing in service, a proposal ha would delay gradu-

    aion and increase he cos o college would no be easible or many low- andmiddle-income sudens.

    In order o measure he efficacy o programs and conribue o research on service

    learning in college, schools would be required o rack suden oucomes boh during

    and beyond he service erm. By measuring and publishing hese oucomes, schools

     would generae he daa needed o gauge heir respecive programs’ perormance,

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    as well as ideniy areas in need o improvemen. Te daa would also conribue o

    research in his field, allowing or he measuremen o he effecs o service experi-

    ences on academics, college compleion, and career placemen.

    Because CAP’s proposal would inegrae service ino exising degree plans and

    keep sudens on rack or graduaion, sudens would be able o apply heirederal loans and grans oward heir service experiences. Te abiliy o use ederal

    suden aid oward a year-long service experience would be an imporan college

    financing mechanism or sudens.

    Even hough ederal suden aid unds would help pay or hese service programs,

    some sudens may sill be discouraged rom paricipaing because engaging in

    service could mean losing criical supplemenary income rom par-ime work.

     A minimum, he service sudens complee under programs suppored by his

    proposal should qualiy as a work-sudy eligible aciviy. Colleges are already

    required o spend a leas 7 percen o heir work-sudy unds on sudens engag-ing in communiy service, and sudens who paricipae in service programs

    should be eligible or hese unds. Addiionally, any ederal gran unds ha help

    colleges finance service programs could prioriize schools ha ensure heir service

    programs are accessible and affordable or all sudens.

    Drake University, a private university in Des Moines, Iowa,34 offers one

    example of how a college can provide a credit-bearing academic com-

    ponent that supplements long service experiences for their students.

    Drake plans to offer a new service program, the Engaged Citizen Corps,

    in the fall of 2016.35 Participating students will spend their first under-

    graduate year completing service with agencies or organizations that

    work on issues regarding housing, transportation, health and safety,

    business cultivation, and arts and culture in the city of Des Moines.

    While serving, students in the Engaged Citizen Corps will also com-

    plete a course load that includes four to five classes related to theirservice. These classes will be worth enough credits during the year

    so that students will receive all the federal student aid for which they

    qualify.36 Moreover, many of the service-related classes fulfill general

    education requirements, while the rest are general elective credits.

    These electives will allow students to choose courses that fit within

    their specific degrees of study. Reflection and group discussion

    students’ service experiences are built into classroom instructio

    Students in the program will also receive an $8,500 living stipe

    and they will all live on the same floor in a Drake University res

    hall.37 The program aims to recruit 15 to 20 students for the ina

    Engaged Citizen Corps in the 2016-17 school year.38 

    Before creating the Engaged Citizen Corps, Drake University un

    derwent a detailed community assessment process for identify

    nonprofits, community organizations, and local public agencie

    could host students.39

     This included interviews and survey resewith the university’s existing partner organizations to identify s

    community needs and the capacity of organizations to take on

    dents interested in serving. This process will hopefully result in

    partnerships with well-managed local service organizations, w

    will allow students to get the most out of their service.

    Drake University’s Engaged Citizen Corps

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    Service and federal student aid

    Te naional service opporuniies described in his repor mus be eligible

    or ederal suden aid. Tis is crucial o guaraneeing he programs are avail-

    able o everyone regardless o heir economic background. Allowing sudens

    o coninue o access ederal grans and loans will make i possible or hem o

    cover living and uiion expenses ha hey oherwise may no be able o afford

     wihou working insead o serving.

    Tere are several ways a college could poenially make he embedded naional ser- vice componen o a degree program eligible or ederal suden aid. Tese depend

    upon hings such as wheher sudens complee heir service near heir college; i

    heir insiuion is able o offer disance or correspondence educaion; as well as

    several oher acors. Bu he overall heme is he same: Colleges need some way o

    combine service wih rigorous educaional experiences ha are sufficien o jusiy

    he awarding o college credis ha conribue o a degree program.40 

    Faculy buy-in will be crucial or deermining he rigor o he educaional compo-

    nen o service experiences. In mos public and privae nonprofi insiuions, he

    choice o award credi and veriy academic rigor is ulimaely made by he aculy.

    Tey are also responsible or designing programs and hus will need o configure

    degree opions ha incorporae service.

    Federal rules also play a role in governing wha couns as a college credi or he

    purposes o financial aid programs. Tese rules define a credi hour as an amoun

    o work ha reasonably approximaes “one hour o classroom or direc aculy

    insrucion and a minimum o wo hours o ou o class suden work each week or

    approximaely fifeen weeks or one semeser.”41 Equivalen work done or inern-

    ships or oher similar learning experiences can also be couned or credi.42

     

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    Insiuions have significan flexibiliy wihin his ederal definiion. Tese ime-

     based requiremens do no have o be me each and every week bu insead are

    he average over he course o he semeser. So a college could sill offer ederal

    aid or a program where sudens spend some weeks doing only service work wih

    an expecaion ha sudens record and reflec on heir experiences, while oher

     weeks sudens undergo a more inensive academic experience. A college also hashe discreion o deermine wha reasonably approximaes hese requiremens.43 

     Jus making hese service-learning opporuniies eligible or some college credi is

    no enough: Te combinaion o service and oher educaional work should ideally

    equal a leas 15 credi hours per semeser or he equivalen or oher academic

    erms. Tis is because he amoun o financial aid a suden receives is direcly ied

    o he number o credis hey atemp. Sudens who atemp ewer han 12 credi

    hours in a given semeser canno receive he ull amoun o gran unds available o

    hem, while sudens who complee less han 15 credi hours per semeser migh

    no be able o complee a bachelor’s degree in our years or an associae’s degree inwo years.44 Under his repor’s model, a college needs o combine he credi-or-

    service experience wih whaever supplemenary coursework is necessary o ge a

    suden o ull-ime saus. Anyhing less would likely resul in sudens ailing o

    graduae on ime or qualiying or ewer ederal suden aid dollars.

    Given hese requiremens, colleges have various opions o combine ull-ime or

    close o ull-ime service wih sufficien academic credi or a suden. Tese pos-

    sibiliies also vary a bi depending on wheher a suden will be doing he service

    close o heir college. Below are a ew differen ways his could work in pracice,

    alhough his by no means precludes oher ways o address he problem.

    Service near a student’s college

    I a suden is doing heir service near he college ha hey atend, he academic

    credi requiremens could likely be ulfilled hrough a combinaion o indepen-

    den sudies or coursework back on campus. For example, a suden could spend

    our days a week a heir service projec and one day on campus in order o check

    in wih proessors and atend classes. Some coursework could also be offered anigh, allowing sudens o serve during he day. Proximiy o campus could also

    allow insrucors o visi service sies in order o ensure ha he hands-on learning

    is properly ailored o he academic program.

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    Service away from a student’s college

    Tese service opions could sill be eligible or academic credi wihou grea

    difficuly i sudens are no close o heir home colleges. One opion would be

    hrough online learning or some oher kind o disance educaion. In his model,

    he suden would complee heir service work and hen also paricipae in onlineclasses ha build on wha hey are learning during he day and are ied o heir

    academic program. Alernaively, a consorium o colleges could orm a writen

    arrangemen whereby hey would each agree o accep service-learning cred-

    is rom each oher.45 Such agreemens would allow sudens o ake courses a

    insiuions close o heir service sie wih he knowledge ha hose credis would

     be acceped oward heir degree when hey reurned o heir home campus. Tese

    ypes o arrangemens are similar o how colleges handle he ranser o credi or

    sudens sudying abroad.

    Finally, a college could consruc a model where a suden’s semeser is comprisedo 10 weeks o 12 weeks o service ollowed by hree inensive academic weeks

     where hey have in-person ime wih an insrucor back on heir home campus in

    order o supplemen he learning ha occurred while in service. Te resul would

    sill be an average o roughly 12 hours a week o classroom ime bu compressed

    ino he end o he semeser.

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    Ways to fund increased

    national service

    Designing and implemening a successul service-learning program could require

    some upron coss in erms o boh dollars and saff ime or paricipaing

    schools. However, given he benefis o service o sudens, schools, and com-

    muniies, he ederal governmen should play a role in paving he way or insiu-

    ions o develop and launch service-learning programs. Tere are several ways he

    ederal governmen could financially suppor more naional service models such

    as he ones described in his repor. Tis involves finding ways o assis colleges in

    esablishing new embedded naional service programs, as well as direcing moreresources o sudens so ha hey can ake advanage o hese opporuniies. Each

    ype o unding is described in greaer deail below.

    Institutional support

     While he cos o operaing an ongoing embedded naional service program may

    no be paricularly expensive, colleges are likely o ace implemenaion expenses.

    Tis includes direc financial coss, such as building online-learning opporuniies,

     which would allow sudens who are no doing heir service work locally o sill

    ake courses. Bu here are also expenses associaed wih reeing up aculy and

    adminisraion saff o weak or creae programs o sudy ha include naional ser-

     vice; esablish parnerships wih service providers; and make sure he deails align

     wih accrediors and he Deparmen o Educaion in order o ensure financial aid

    eligibiliy or paricipaing sudens.

    o assis in he speedy creaion o hese credi-bearing service programs,

    Congress should esablish a new und specifically designed or his purpose.

    Tis program could provide one-ime gran unding o colleges on he ordero $100,000 o $250,000 o cover curricular design, parnership building, and

    oher relaed coss ha mus be addressed o ge service opporuniies creaed.

    Tese dollars would be separae rom suden suppor unds. One posiive

    aspec o such a suppor model is ha i easily scales up. Te more Congress

    spends, he more programs i can help esablishbu even smaller annual

    invesmens could sill suppor dozens o colleges.

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    Te srucure o his new naional service capaciy-building program could ake

    several orms. A is mos basic, he program could award dollars based solely

    on he qualiy o applicaions, much in he same way as many oher compeiive

    programs. A more ineresing model would be o effecively provide a sarup

    loan o a college hoping o consruc a service program. However, insead o

    repaying he loan wih dollars, he college’s obligaion could be slowly decreasedor each suden ha i successully places in a credi-bearing service opporu-

    niy. Tis would encourage colleges o grow programs quickly and reward hose

    ha are able o do so on a large scale.

    Congress could also suppor he creaion o he programs described in his repor

     by reviving suppor or he Learn and Serve America Program. Housed wihin he

    Corporaion or Naional and Communiy Service, or CNCS, his program pro-

     vided direc unding o higher educaion insiuions, saes, school disrics, and

    nonprofis in order o engage in service-learning aciviies.46 Ta program used o

    receive approximaely $80 million a year bu has no been unded since 2011.47

    Tere may also be exising opions wihin he Deparmen o Educaion’s budge

    o help suppor similar aciviies. One opion would be o use exising insiu-

    ional suppor resources. For example, he deparmen receives $80 million each

     year or he Srenghening Insiuions Program, which suppors he “develop-

    men and improvemen o academic programs,” among oher purposes.48 Since

    unds in hese programs are compeiively awarded, he secreary o educaion

    could give applicans seeking unds rom his program addiional poinsand

    a greaer chance o winningi hey promise o use he dollars hey receive or

    naional service programs. Tis would provide a way o und a leas $10 million

    o $20 million or naional service.49 

    Student support

    Te srucure o exising ederal educaion benefis means ha i should no be di-

    ficul o suppor sudens who paricipae in hese embedded service programs. (See

    secion on service and ederal suden aid or more deail) I insiuions properly

    consruc service experiences so ha hey award college credi, hen i should also bepossible o coun hese credis or he purpose o ederal suden aid eligibiliy. Tis

     would mean ha a suden who is paricipaing in a service-learning opporuniy and

    aking college courses could sill receive he ederal Pell Grans and suden loans

    hey are eniled o by law. In ha regard, ensuring here is a credi-bearing elemen o

    hese service programs is he mos imporan par or addressing suden affordabiliy.

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    Bu in some cases, ederal financial aid unding may be insufficien o ully sup-

    por sudens. o urher close he cos gap, Congress should creae new special

    service grans. Tese unds would be paid ou o sudens as hey progress hrough

    heir service opporuniies, similar o how employees receive regular paychecks.

    Insiuing a maching requiremen or eiher schools or service providers could

    also help increase he number o sudens served by ederal dollars. In addiion onew service grans, he ederal work-sudy program could also be beter direced

    oward embedded naional service programs. Te work-sudy program disburses

    unds on a ormula basis o colleges, which can hen award hem o sudens in

    he orm o wages or eiher an on- or off-campus job.50 Unlike he major ederal

    gran and loan programs, work-sudy unding is no guaraneed or any eligible

    sudencolleges choose which sudens can earn work-sudy wages, and no one

    is guaraneed o receive suppor. Te work-sudy program is also quie smallhe

    ederal governmen spends only $990 million on he program each year compared

    o more han $32 billion i spends annually on Pell Grans.51 

     While increasing unding or he work-sudy program could help i reach more

    sudens ineresed in naional service, oher changes ha do no require addi-

    ional spending could also help accomplish his goal. Firs, Congress could change

    he required percenage o work-sudy dollars ha each college mus conribue o

    communiy service. Colleges currenly mus spend a leas 7 percen o heir work-

    sudy dollars on sudens perorming communiy service.52 In pracice, abou 17

    percen o ederal work-sudy dollarsand he same share o recipiensend up

     being communiy service relaed.53 Raising he required percenage o work-sudy

    dollars argeed oward communiy service o 20 percen would resul in an addi-

    ional invesmen o nearly $30 million in hese ypes o posiions.

    Second, Congress could aler he ederal work-sudy ormula o beter reward col-

    leges commited o naional service. Te curren ederal work-sudy allocaion or-

    mula inequiably disribues dollars oward expensive colleges.54 Ta is because

    he ormula includes wha is known as a “base guaranee,” a promise ha colleges

     will no lose dollars compared o wha hey received in he pas. Te problem is

    ha hese guaranees are ied o how he ormula allocaed dollars as ar back as

    he 1970s, meaning hey have no been updaed o reflec subsequen increases in

    higher educaion enrollmen in he naion’s Wes and Souhwes regions, as well asaway rom he Norheas.55 A change o he ormula ha modernizes is disribu-

    ion could also include a componen ha rewards colleges or using more o heir

    ederal dollars or naional service posiions.

     AmeriCorps awards are he oher logical source o suden suppor ouside o ederal

    suden aid programs. Individuals paricipaing in AmeriCorps awards are eligible o

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    receive Segal AmeriCorps Educaion Awards. Tese awards are equal o he maxi-

    mum Pell Gran award and are proraed based upon he number o hours worked

    in a year.56 A suden who works a leas 1,700 hours in a year can receive he ull

    award o $5,730 as o he 2014-15 academic year, wih he smalles award being jus

    more han $1,212 or 300 hours o service in he summer.57 Sudens who receive an

    educaion award can use i o cover uure educaion coss or repay loans.

    Making he embedded naional service programs described in his paper eligible

    or AmeriCorps educaion awards should be done as par o a broader naional

    push o increase he number o available AmeriCorps spos rom 75,000 o

    250,000. Tis is a goal ha was signed ino law in he 2009 Edward M. Kennedy

    Serve America Ac and would more han riple he number o available awards each

     year by 2017.58 Being able o offer AmeriCorps educaion awards or he credi-

     bearing service programs described in his repor would provide several benefis.

    For sudens, i would mean several housand addiional dollars in suppor, which

    could also reduce financial aid spending or colleges. Addiionally, i has benefisrom an accounabiliy perspecive since AmeriCorps would approve he programs.

    Te one downside worh noing is ha AmeriCorps educaion awards can only be

    spen on uure uiion coss or pas loan dollars borrowed. As a resul, sudens

     would no be able o use heir awards o cover expenses immediaely.

    For students already serving in AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to

    America, or VISTA, or National Civilian Community Corps, or NCCC,

    there may be ways for them to receive college credit for their training.

    During the past several years, the Corporation for National and Com-

    munity Service, or CNCS, has worked with the American Council on

    Education, or ACE, to have training courses recommended for college

    credit. This effort is being advanced through ACE’s College Credit

    Recommendation Service, or CREDIT, in which faculty with expertise

    in the relevant field review the content, scope, rigor, and assessments

    of training opportunities that do not occur in a formal higher educa-

    tion environment. If the faculty determine that the training repre-sents college-level work, they issue a recommendation for how many

    credits the training should be worth at a given college; whether it

    should be upper- or lower-division credits; and what majors it should

    count toward. Such a recommendation makes it easier for a college

    to award credits for CNCS training without having to verify eac

    every piece of the course. At the same time, colleges preserve t

    flexibility to award more or fewer credits as they see fit.59 

    ACE currently recommends seven different courses offered by CN

    for credit.60 These include “Introduction to Service Learning,” whi

    is recommended for three lower-division credits in human relatio

    interpersonal communication, or service learning, as well as “Res

    Development and Grant Writing,” which is recommended for thre

    upper-division credits in communications, marketing, or fundrais

    and grant writing.61

     Students wishing to receive credit for these cmay purchase a transcript through ACE to send to their college. A

    check with CNCS to verify that the student completed the work t

    seeking credit for and then send the transcript. To date, 429 stud

    334 colleges have requested credit for the CNCS courses.62 

    Other ways to earn credit for service

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    Conclusion

    Increasing service-learning opporuniies a American colleges and universiies

    presens many muually beneficial opporuniies. Communiies would benefi

    rom he good work o college sudens paricipaing in service, and apping

     youh as a source o human capial can be a poen sraegy or posiive social

    change.63 Meanwhile, research shows ha sudens who paricipae in service also

     benefi in he orm o higher academic achievemen, greaer career readiness, and

    enhanced leadership skills and sel-confidence.64 By giving sudens access o real-

     world experiences, naional service may also help graduaes build up he ypes o workorce-relevan skills ha are so necessary o finding, securing, and hriving in

     jobs and careers afer college.

    Esablishing he ypes o programs ha successully blend service learning wih

    rigorous academic experiences and college credi will ake work. Te ederal

    governmen can and should do more o aciliae he creaion o hese ypes o

    programs. Bu he insiuional examples noed in his repor demonsrae ha

    he implemenaion challenges are manageable and can be overcome wih srong

    commimens o service. Te experiences o hese colleges should serve as a road-

    map or oher insiuions o ollow.

    Likewise, he suden sories in his paper srongly sugges ha here is significan

    demand or more service opporuniies. For every A’licia Williams or Phillip

    Ellison, here are counless oher sudens who would benefi rom playing a

    greaer role in heir communiy while simulaneously urhering heir sudies. I is

    ime o make sure hey ge ull credi or doing so.

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    About the authors

    Carmel Martin is he Execuive Vice Presiden or Policy a he Cener or

     American Progress. She manages policy across issue areas and is a key member

    o CAP’s execuive eam. Beore joining CAP, Marin was he assisan secreary

    or planning, evaluaion, and policy developmen a he U.S. Deparmen oEducaion. In his posiion, she led he deparmen’s policy and budge develop-

    men aciviies and served as a senior advisor o Secreary o Educaion Arne

    Duncan. Prior o coming o he Deparmen o Educaion, Marin served as gen-

    eral counsel and depuy saff direcor or he lae Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA)

    as chairman o he Healh, Educaion, Labor and Pensions Commitee. Marin

    has appeared on PBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox. She has been cied in publicaions,

    including Te New York imes and Te Washington Post . She was also named one

    o he five women who shape educaion policy by he National Journal in 2014 and

    has esified as an exper winess in ron o legislaive commitees.

    Ben Miller is he Senior Direcor or Possecondary Educaion a he Cener. He

     was previously he research direcor or higher educaion a New America, as

     well as a senior policy advisor in he Office o Planning, Evaluaion and Policy

    Developmen a he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion. Miller’s work has appeared

    in Te New York imes , he Los Angeles imes , Te Chronicle of Higher Education ,

    and Inside Higher Ed , among oher oules. He holds a bachelor’s degree in hisory

    and economics rom Brown Universiy.

    Shiv Rawal is a Special Assisan or he Economic Policy eam a he Cener. Prior

    o joining CAP, Rawal inerned or he Whie House Domesic Policy Council’s

    rural affairs eam. Rawal is a graduae o he Universiy o exas a Ausin and holds

    wo bachelor’s degrees in Plan II Honors and governmen wih a minor in sociology.

    Phoebe Sweet is Direcor o Speechwriing a he Cener. Prior o joining CAP,

    she worked on he Hill as communicaions advisor and speechwrier or Senae

    Majoriy Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). She also worked on Sen. Reid’s 2010

    re-elecion campaign, serving as communicaions direcor or he Nevada Sae

    Democraic Pary. Prior o ha, Swee also spen eigh years as a newspaper

    reporer and columnis. Swee was raised in Maine and sudied journalism aBoson Universiy.

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    Endnotes

      1 A’licia Williams, phone interview with authors, August18, 2015.

      2 Alexander W. Astin and others, “How Service LearningAffects Students” (Los Angeles, CA: Higher EducationResearch Institute at UCLA, 2000), available at http://

    heri.ucla.edu/pdfs/hslas/hslas.pdf .

    3 CAP analysis of data from the Beginning PostsecondaryStudents Study 2004:09 using PowersStats. See Nation-al Center for Education Statistics, Table ID: bekbfd4c,available at https://nces.ed.gov/datalab/powerstats/.

      4 Kevin Eagan and others, “The American Freshman: Na-tional Norms Fall 2014” (Los Angeles, CA: CooperativeInstitutional Research Program at the Higher EducationResearch Institute at UCLA, 2014), p. 38, available athttp://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmerican-Freshman2014.pdf .

    5 Caralee Adams, “Students Say College Is Not Preparing Them for Job Market,” Education Week , June 3, 2015,available at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_prepar-ing_them_for_job_market.html.

      6 Hart Research Associates, “Falling Short? CollegeLearning and Career Success” (2015), p. 12, avail-able at https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results.

    7 Eagan and others, “The American Freshman.”

      8 Ben Miller, “The Student Debt Review” (Washington:New America Education Policy Program, 2014), avail-able at https://www.newamerica.org/downloads/

     TheStudentDebtReview_2_18_14.pdf .

      9 Hart Research Associates, “Falling Short?” See p. 4, 7.

      10 Adams, “Students Say College is Not Preparing Them forJob Market.”

    11 Hart Research Associates, “Falling Short? College Learn-

    ing and Career Success.”

    12 Office of Disability Employment Policy, “Youth in Transition: Soft Skills to Pay the Bills — Mastering SoftSkills for Workplace Success,” available at http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/ (last accessedSeptember 2015).

     13 Ty M. Cruce and John V. Moore, “First-Year Students’Plans to Volunteer: An Examination of the Predictorsof Community Service Participation,” Journal of CollegeStudent Development  48 (6) (2007): 653–673.

      14 Astin and others, “How Service Learning Affects Stu-dents.”

      15 CAP analysis of data from the Beginning PostsecondaryStudents Study 2004:09.

    16 Joshua Young, phone interview with the authors,August 8, 2015; A’licia Williams, phone interview withthe authors.

      17 Helen M. Marks and Susan Robb Jones, “CommunityService in the Transition: Shifts and Continuities inParticipation from High School to College,” The Journalof Higher Education 75 (3) (2004): 307–339.

      18 Ibid.

    19 Kimberly Spring, Nathan Dietz, and Robert Grimm, Jr.,“Youth Helping America, Leveling the Path to Participa-tion: Volunteering and Civic Engagement Among Youthfrom Disadvantaged Circumstances” (Washington:

    Corporation for National and Community Service,2007), available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0406_disad_youth.pdf.

      20 Ibid.

    21 Drew DeSilver, “College Enrollment Among Low-Income Students Still Trails Richer Groups,” PewResearch Center, January 15, 2014, available athttp://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/; National Center for EducationStatistics, “Postsecondary Attainment: Differences bySocioeconomic Status,” available at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asp (last accessed Septem-ber 2015); Susan D ynarski, “For the Poor, the Gradua-tion Gap is Even Wider Than the Enrollment Gap,”TheNew York Times, June 2, 2015, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-

    graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1.

    22 CAP analysis of data from the Beginning PostsecondaryStudents Study 2004:09.

    23 Ibid.

    24 City Year, “Our Approach,” available at http://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approach(last accessedSeptember 2015).

    25 Phillip Ellison, phone interview with the authors,August 28, 2 015; NYC Service, “Be Cool—Coat NYC’sRooftops,” available at http://www.nycservice.org/op-portunities/4384 (last accessed September 2015).

    26 Phillip Ellison, phone interview with authors.

      27 ULink, “ULink: Integrated End-to-End Transfer As-sistance,” available at http://www.myulink.co/ (lastaccessed September 2015).

    28 Smarter in the City, “Mission,” available at http://www.smarterinthecity.com/ (last accessed September 2015).

    29 Tufts University Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizen-ship and Public Service, “Tufts 1+4 Bridge-Year ServiceLearning Program,” available at http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/tufts1plus4/ (last accessed September 2015).

    30 Tufts University Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizen-ship and Public Service, “2015-2016 1+ 4 Fellows,” avail-able at http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/tufts1plus4/2015-2016-tufts-14-fellows/ (last accessed September 2015).

    31 Astin and others, “How Service Learning AffectsStudents”; Cheryl Keen and Kelly Hall, “Engaging with

    Difference Matters: Longitudinal Student Outcomes ofCo-Curricular Service-Learning Programs,” The Journalof Higher Education 80 (1) (2009): 59–79.

      32 Ibid.

      33 Keen and Hall, “Engaging with Difference Matters:Longitudinal Student Outcomes of Co-CurricularService-Learning Programs.”

    http://heri.ucla.edu/pdfs/hslas/hslas.pdfhttp://heri.ucla.edu/pdfs/hslas/hslas.pdfhttps://nces.ed.gov/datalab/powerstats/http://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2014.pdfhttp://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2014.pdfhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_preparing_them_for_job_market.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_preparing_them_for_job_market.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_preparing_them_for_job_market.htmlhttps://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results%20page%2012https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results%20page%2012https://www.newamerica.org/downloads/TheStudentDebtReview_2_18_14.pdfhttps://www.newamerica.org/downloads/TheStudentDebtReview_2_18_14.pdfhttp://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0406_disad_youth.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0406_disad_youth.pdfhttp://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asphttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approachhttp://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approachhttp://www.myulink.co/http://www.smarterinthecity.com/http://www.smarterinthecity.com/http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/tufts1plus4/2015-2016-tufts-14-fellows/http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/tufts1plus4/2015-2016-tufts-14-fellows/http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/tufts1plus4/2015-2016-tufts-14-fellows/http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/tufts1plus4/2015-2016-tufts-14-fellows/http://www.smarterinthecity.com/http://www.smarterinthecity.com/http://www.myulink.co/http://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approachhttp://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approachhttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asphttp://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trails-richer-groups/http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0406_disad_youth.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0406_disad_youth.pdfhttp://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/https://www.newamerica.org/downloads/TheStudentDebtReview_2_18_14.pdfhttps://www.newamerica.org/downloads/TheStudentDebtReview_2_18_14.pdfhttps://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results%20page%2012https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results%20page%2012http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_preparing_them_for_job_market.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_preparing_them_for_job_market.htmlhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2015/06/students_say_college_is_not_preparing_them_for_job_market.htmlhttp://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2014.pdfhttp://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/TheAmericanFreshman2014.pdfhttps://nces.ed.gov/datalab/powerstats/http://heri.ucla.edu/pdfs/hslas/hslas.pdfhttp://heri.ucla.edu/pdfs/hslas/hslas.pdf

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    20 Center for American Progress |  Credit for Serving

     34 Drake Universit y, “About Drake,” available at http://www.drake.edu/about/(last accessed September2015).

      35 Mandi McReynolds, phone interview with the authors,August 18, 2015.

    36 Ibid.

      37 Ibid.

      38 Service Year + Higher Ed Innovation Challenge, “Service

    Year + Higher Ed Innovation Challenge (Part 1)” You- Tube, April 15, 2105, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eeNjfAwOs; Mandi McReynolds,phone interview with the authors.

      39 Mandi McReynolds, phone interview with the authors;Drake University, “Higher Ed Challenge 2015 FinalistApplications, Service Year + Higher Ed Innovation Chal-lenge” (2015).

    40 Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, sec. 668.8, subtitle(k), available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.8.

      41 Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, sec. 600.2, availableat https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/600.2.

    42 Ibid.

    43 Federal Student Aid, Federal Student Aid Handbook2014-2015 (U.S. Department of Education, 2014), p. 427,available at https://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1415FSAHandbookCompleteActiveIndex.pdf .

     44 Ibid., p. 195.

    45 Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, sec. 668.5, availableat https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.5.

    46 Corporation for National and Community Service,“Learn and Serve America Fact Sheet” (2011), availableat http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_lsa.pdf.

      47 Joe Goldman, “Details of Budget CompromiseReleased,” Campaign for Stronger Democracy , April12, 2011, available at http://strongerdemocracy.org/2011/04/12/details-of-budget-compromise-

    released/.

      48 U.S. Department of Education, Department of EducationFiscal Year 2016 President’s Budget  (2015), p. 15, avail-able at http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/16pbapt.pdf. 

    49 U.S. Department of Education, “Title III Part A Programs– Strengthening Institutions: Funding Status,” availableat http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/funding.html (last accessed September 2015). This estimate isbased upon the fiscal year 2013 and FY 2014 Strength-ening Institutions competitions, which awarded nearly$15 million to programs based upon a priority forevidence. A similar structure could be used to supportnational service.

    50 U.S. Department of Education, “Programs: FederalWork-Study (FWS) Program,” available at http://www2.

    ed.gov/programs/fws/index.html (last accessed Sep-tember 2015).

    51 U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial As-sistance: Fiscal year 2016 Budget Request  (2015), p. 13,32, available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/justifications/p-sfa.pdf.

      52 U.S. Department of Education, “Programs: Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program.”

    53 CAP analysis of financial aid data from U.S. Depart-ment of Education, “Federal Campus-Based ProgramsData Book 2014,” tables 6, 23, and 45, available athttp://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/databook2014/databook2014.html (last accessedSeptember 2015).

    54 Robert Kelchen, “Exploring Trends and AlternativeAllocation Strategies for Campus-Based Financial Aid

    Programs” (South Orange, NJ: Seton Hall Un iversity,2014), p. 5, available at http://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdf .

    55 Ibid.

    56 Corporation for National and Community Service,“Amount, Eligibility, and Limitations of EducationAwards,” available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-education (last accessed September 2015).

    57 Ibid.

    58 Corporation for National and Community Service,“Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act One Year Later”(2011), available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/

    sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implemen-tation.pdf .

      59 Kara Gwaltney and Deborah Seymour, phone interviewwith the authors, August 19, 2015.

    60 American Council on Education College Credit Recom-mendation Service, “The National Guide to CollegeCredit for Workforce Training,” available at http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187 (last accessed September 2015).

    61 Ibid.

    62 Personal communication from Kara Gwaltney, directorof CREDIT evaluations, American Council on Education,August 24, 2015.

    63 Youth.gov, “Benefits,” available at http://youth.gov/

    youth-topics/service-learning/what-are-benefits-service-learning (last accessed September 2015); IncaA. Mohamed and Wendy Wheeler, “Broadening theBounds of Youth Development: Youth as Eng agedCitizens” (New York, NY and Chevy Chase, MD: The FordFoundation and The Innovation Center for Communityand Youth Development, 2001), available at http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459089.pdf. For specificexamples of how national service programs can helplocal and national organizations with capacity, seeCorporation for National and Community Service,“Serving Communities: How Four Organizations areUsing National Service to Solve Community Problems”(2011), available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/servingcommunities_11_30.pdf.

     64 Cruce and Moore, “First-Year Students’ Plans to Volun-teer”; Astin and others, “How Service Learning AffectsStudents.”

    http://www.drake.edu/about/http://www.drake.edu/about/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eeNjfAwOshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eeNjfAwOshttps://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.8https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.8https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/600.2https://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1415FSAHandbookCompleteActiveIndex.pdfhttps://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1415FSAHandbookCompleteActiveIndex.pdfhttps://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.5http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_lsa.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_lsa.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/16pbapt.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/16pbapt.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/funding.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/funding.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/databook2014/databook2014.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/databook2014/databook2014.htmlhttp://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdfhttp://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdfhttp://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-educationhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-educationhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-educationhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implementation.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implementation.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implementation.pdfhttp://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459089.pdfhttp://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459089.pdfhttp://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459089.pdfhttp://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459089.pdfhttp://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300187http://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implementation.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implementation.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/10_0421_saa_implementation.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-educationhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-educationhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award/amount-eligibility-and-limitations-educationhttp://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdfhttp://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdfhttp://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/39th/Kelchen%20Campus-Based%20Aid%20Paper%20for%20AEFP.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/databook2014/databook2014.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/databook2014/databook2014.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/funding.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/funding.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/16pbapt.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/16pbapt.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_lsa.pdfhttp://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_lsa.pdfhttps://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.5https://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1415FSAHandbookCompleteActiveIndex.pdfhttps://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1415FSAHandbookCompleteActiveIndex.pdfhttps://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/600.2https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.8https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/668.8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eeNjfAwOshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eeNjfAwOshttp://www.drake.edu/about/http://www.drake.edu/about/

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