Community Service Learning DTF - History

Evergreen students, staff and faculty have engaged to some degree in service learning from the beginning of the college in 1971. The college's Office of Cooperative Education, and, later APEL, assisted students and faculty in finding, supervising and evaluating internship opportunities.

Many academic programs over the years have incorporated service learning. Some of the public service centers (notably the Labor Center) incorporate service learning into their programs. However, while internships are capable coordinated by student services, service learning in the curriculum has largely been an individual rather than an institutional effort. Except for the work of the Evergreen Center for Community Development (1983-85) and a year-long program funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service in the early 1900's (both of which failed due to lack of long-term funding), Evergreen has made no sustained institutional effort to incorporate service learning.

The Community Service Learning DTF met in the 1997-98 academic year and continues its work in 1998-1999. Last year the DTF survey of faculty indicated that 71% of the respondents saw a need for assistance in making appropriate connections to local community groups and a need for a "center" to help prepare and support their students for community-based work. 61% of faculty saw a need to establish on-going collaborative partnerships with selected community organizations.