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Case Study #2: Service-Learning Programs in Higher Education

Tempris Daniels
Loyola University Chicago

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Experiential learning is the process in which students develop knowledge, skills, and
values from direct experiences outside a traditional academic setting including internships,
service learning, undergraduate research and study abroad. The purpose of this case study is to
analyze and reflect upon five experiential learning centers at different institutions. Using the
web-based knowledge gained, the goal is to generate themes around the experiential learning
centers as well as contrasting views while integrating readings from the class.
Part I. Describe
Columbia College Chicago
The first aspirational institution is Columbia College Chicago where they offer
experiential learning courses through their Center for Community Arts Partnerships (CCAP)
urban mission program and CITE. In addition, CCAP works with Columbia Colleges academic
departments to place courses in community settings while allowing students to receive credit
(Columbia College Chicago). This institution offers five Fall 2014, one JTERM 2015, and
fourteen Spring 2015 with various types of interactions with the community. Some of these
interactions include: oral expressions, radio workshops, teaching practicums, documenting social
justice, writing for managers, and information management (Columbia College Chicago).
Additionally, Chicago community experiences include internships and the CCAP BIG Art
JTERM. Solidifying an internship requires students to engage with the department to earn credits
for the practicum experience at a place of the students interest. The CCAP BIGArt JTERM
provides courses specifically for first year students. This allows first year students to gain a
better understanding of what experiential learning courses are while gaining experiences related
to their major and minor (Columbia College Chicago).

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Chicago Booth
The next aspirational institution is Booth Chicago where they find an important part of
student, and preparation for their future careers, is to work on real-world business problems and
apply what they learn in the classroom (Chicago Booth). Companies associated with the
experiential learning process have the opportunity to design projects in lab courses and receive
cost-effective, top-tier consulting from a team of MBA students. Booth offers multiple
experiential learning projects involving the companies associated with the institution along with
different levels of project scopes, faculty involvement and student hours (Chicago Booth).
Chicago Booth is broken into two different sections: marketing lab course projects and
management lab. First, marketing lab course projects allows the opportunity for multiple student
projects to surround around the Booth Marketing curriculum including new product development
and research. Allowing students to work on company projects provides real life examples,
complementing their coursework. The second opportunity involves the management lab, which is
dedicated to cross-disciplinary students led by faculty and advisers working together with highlevel executives on a companys business issue as the content of the quarters coursework. A
range of student led projects relate to private equity, venture capital and new venture formations
offered through the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship Experiential Courses and Labs (Chicago
Booth).
Roosevelt University
The third aspirational institution is Roosevelt University where a transformational service
learning technique is used in the following ways for students to:
1. serve in their communities in ways that closely relate to course material and learn how it
applies to work in these settings,
2. volunteer work in meaningful ways and meet the needs of the community partner and the
student,

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3. reflect on and apply what they have learned in the community through course
assignments to further their personal and professional development, and
4. have the opportunity to interact with people who have been underprivileged and learn
how to make a difference individually or on a broader level through social or civic action
(Roosevelt University).
These service models have helped develop Roosevelt University students in becoming engaged
citizens who work towards change in their communities. Additionally, Roosevelt University
implemented the Mansfield Institute, where there is a strong commitment to helping faculty
incorporate transformational learning into their teaching styles. Assistance included the design or
re-designs of curriculum, and provided resources through the grant program.
Furthermore, the Mansfield Institute identifies sites within the community that are an
appropriate fit to partner with the different courses at the University. With this knowledge,
Roosevelt continues to build their programs on social justice, allowing students to interact with
different settings (Roosevelt University).
Concordia University Chicago
The next aspirational institution, Concordia University Chicago, introduces service
learning and leadership as an integral part of a students college experience (Concordia
University Chicago). For example, classroom discussions often transition to hands-on
opportunities, providing service to national and local populations. The following our ways
students serve their communities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Volunteering at a local women's shelter

Leading youth retreats
Teaching Sunday school
Rebuilding homes in storm-stricken areas
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity
Working with youth through an after school program with the River Forest and River
Grove Public Libraries
7. Serving meals at St. Malachy Churchs soup kitchen
8. Assisting with the Boys and Girls Club of West Cook County
9. Participating in the Read to Me literacy enhancement program at St. Eulalia Parish
(Concordia University Chicago).

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Furthermore, campus growth and spiritual activities tie into the service learning on campus
through a students participation in Christian theatre, lock-ins, retreats, and concerts for high
school students, and lastly national and international services. Unique to Concordias description,
they desire to have experiential learning opportunities on and off campus.
DePaul University
The last institution, The Irwin W. Steans Center, is the community-based service learning
and community service studies center. DePaul University worked to develop a beneficial
relationship with the community organizations to engage students in educational opportunities
grounded in Vincentian values and social justice (DePaul University). This stand-alone website
offers the mission statement, the development of the program, support, and implementation of
the program along with resources for students, faculty, community partners, community service
students and publications. It is important to note that students have the opportunity to receive
employment opportunities through the Steans Center as well as scholarships, attend multiple
events and workshops, and go on service learning student abroad trips. Lastly, the Steans Center
recognizes that the backbone (DePaul University) of the development is faculty members and
resources are provided for instructors as well as scholarship of engagement opportunities.
Part II. Compare
Each of the experiential learning centers I chose to research, are all institutions that
highly impact their population of students in a different manner. Specifically, DePaul University,
Concordia University Chicago, and Roosevelt University all speak to the idea of social justice
and equity provided within their communities. Jacoby (1996) addresses this topic by explaining,
learning includes a deeper understanding of the historical, sociological, cultural, economic, and
political contexts of the needs or issues being address (p.7) within a community. Through

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reflection, all involved in service learning can identify the way social justice affects our
community and fosters our learning and development. As social justice relates to experiential
learning, I wonder how significant the topic is to the institutions through their mission
statements. This information can better help one understand a professionals and students focus
on creating a better community.
The second comparison between institutions is DEAL, describe, examine, and articulate
learning (Clayton, 2009, p. 1) where it is shown that institutions are looking to support their
students in both familiar and unfamiliar activity. Additionally, goals are set for the institutions as
they work with students to develop personally, academically, and through civic learning. Unlike
these institutions described above, there are Universities that do not have a dedicated experiential
learning office. The fact that these institutions show the capacity to critical reflect and critique
their programs to different extents shows the importance the office has on the entire community.
The last similarity found among the institutions is the idea of purposeful civic learning.
Chicago Booth, Columbia College Chicago, and DePaul University all provide the designing of
classrooms norms and learning strategies that not only enhance academic learning but also
encourage civic learning as essential to purposeful civic learning (Howard, 1993, p. 4). These
institutions offer courses on their website to help students pick the best class for them as it relates
to their interest and/or majors. In addition through classroom design, the curriculum is set up to
best complement the learning styles and provide group assignments and discussions.
Part III. Contrast
Contrary to the comparisons listed above; there are three major differences between the
experiential learning offices. The first difference is the idea of reflection. While it is implied that
all offices provide a reflection opportunity, only two institutions take the viewpoint to note that

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reflection happens among students. These institutions are DePaul University and Roosevelt.
Even further, the Booth Chicago experiential learning center speaks more to the lab courses and
ways for students to learn about what is takes to be a high-level executive, where there is a
smaller focus on social justice. Honnet and Poulsen (1998) states that service towards common
good combined with reflective learning in order to provide high quality learning will sustain over
a long period of time and help individuals appreciate the significance of service. Booth Chicago
does not seem to value this perspective yet focuses on only business development and marketing
for students. Although I recognize Booth is a business school, reflection is present in any career
and should be shown in this case where students work with companies around the world.
The second difference is among DePaul University and their extensive stand-alone
website on experiential learning. This website provides all the resources for every party
associated with the center. Through viewing the website it is evident that funds are dedicated to
the center each fiscal year. Furthermore both the providers and recipients of service benefit
from the activities (Furco, 1996) yet it is unknown through the website whether organized
service experiences meet actual community needs (Furco, 1996). Even with such an extensive
site, I imagine DePaul would benefit from having testimonials from students, faculty, and the
community members.
The last major difference I found was the use of both academic curriculum and cocurriculum involvement as it relates to experiential learning. Academic curriculum was included
throughout all five websites while co-curriculum involvement was only mentioned through the
lens of study abroad and the spirituality department. Jacoby (1996) speaks briefly to the
development of both programs benefiting students, communities, and institutions. The campus
culture does alter based on the learning that happens outside of the classroom. Although

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experiential learning contains an significant academic component, I question how much richer a
students experience could be if co-curriculum involvement such as leadership opportunities
coincided with in-class opportunities. This type of experience is what makes it challenging to
compare and contrast experiential learning offices at different institutions. When benchmarking
multiple institutions, it is important to recognize the values, missions, and needs at one university
may differ from another school. The assessment of programs is essential but evaluation of
experiential learning from a general sense is difficult because the different programs provide a
range of needs for each student.

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References
Chicago Booth, (n.d.). Experiential learning. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from
http://www.chicagobooth.edu/corp/access-booth/experiental-learning
Columbia College Chicago, (n.d.). Center for community arts partnerships. Retrieved February
22, 2015, from http://www.colum.edu/ccap/for-columbia-students/earn-course-credit.html
Concordia University Chicago, (n.d.). Service learning and leadership. Retrieved February 22,
2015, from https://www.cuchicago.edu/experience/service-learning/
DePaul University, (n.d.). Steans center for community-based service learning. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 22, 2015, from http://steans.depaul.edu
Furco, Andrew. "Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education." Expanding
Boundaries: Service and Learning. Washington DC: Corporation for National Service,
1996. 2-6.
Howard, J. (1993).Community service learning in the curriculum. In J. Howard (Ed.), Praxis I: A
faculty casebook on community service learning. (pp. 3-12). Ann Arbor: OCSL Press.
Honnet, E.P. & Poulsen, S.J. (1998) Principles of Good Practice for Combining Service and
Learning, The Johnson Foundation
Jacoby, B. & Associates. (1996). Service-learning in higher education: Concepts and Practices.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Roosevelt University, (n.d.). Transformational learning. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from
http://www.roosevelt.edu/MISJT/TransformationalLearning.aspx