Author: Mark Gstohl

One of the most talked about issues on college campuses these days seems to be retention. How do we help our students graduate and how do we help them graduate on time? Several studies have concluded that Service-Learning contributes to student retention. In a recent study of Tulane students, Gallini and Moely concluded that students engaged in service-learning not only felt more connected to the university and the community, but also spent more time studying for their service-learning classes and felt they learned more in these classes.

For more studies about how Service-Learning can impact student retention see Campus Compact's article "How Can Engaged Campuses Improve Student Success in College." Several studies are cited in the article which concludes: "These findings complement other researchers' conclusions that high-quality service-learning is effective pedagogy, contributing to the intellectual, social, and civic development of students that, along with persistence to graduation, is a key measure of student success."