Academic Civic Engagement--is the relationship between an academic institution and its community, both on-campus and off-campus. To quote from "Service Matters," National Campus Compact, 1996, "higher education has a responsibility to develop the next generation of active citizens, and campuses must be good citizens in their own communities. When a campus achieves both these aims they are what we call a truly 'engaged campus.'"

Community-Based Learning--Academic work that includes a community as a site for observation (and reflection) and community members as subjects for such observation. Examples: students in an educational studies course may be asked to observe a public school classroom; students in an environmental studies class may visit a local dairy farm and explore question of farm production; alternate terms include "field education."

Community-Based Research--Academic work that uses a community as a site for study and community members as subjects for such study. Examples: students in an anthropology class may be asked to observe interactions among members of a Carleton sports team; students in a literature class may be asked to interview a local senior citizen to construct a memoir.

Service-Learning--Is both a teaching method and a learning process that combines community service and academic learning. It is rooted in academic courses which are based on curricular concepts, theories, and methods. Service-learning focuses on critical thinking, reflective thinking, civic responsibility, commitment to the community, personal and career growth, and an understanding of larger social thinking. It meets a community-identified need that contributes to a positive change.

What these things are not:

• Service: As in committee service or service to professional organizations
• Volunteers: As in helping at the Humane Society or covering the cash register at the Historical Society
• Internship: As in placement in an agency or business related to an academic program (although this distinction is more gray than the others)
• Charity

Potential Drawback and Solutions:

• Mixed Motives: try to make the exchanges as reciprocal as possible
• Trivialization of Service: choose a project of reasonable size, given the term and the class
• Deficiency and Pity: this vice can be counteracted by taking an asset-based approach to the agency and its partners
• "McService": be careful about transitions in and out of academic service, especially where children are involved