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THE INVOLVEMEN'.r OF HIGHER ~DUCATf.UN IN SERVICE-LEA..'lliING PROGRAMS: A PRELHH NARY REPORT Determining the degree to which area colleges and universities are involved in service-lear n.ing programs and ascertaining the attitud1:s of higher educatj on studef!.ts s faculty 9 and administrators toward community involvement constitute two of the principal concerns of the Atlan!:a Service Lean1ing Conference. To provide insight into these two areas of special interest, a nur!lber _ of college students are currently in the process of completing a survey of ten area colleges and universities. include~ The ten institutions Agnes Scott College , Atlanta University, Clark College, Emory Dniversity, Georgia Sta te College, Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, Oglethorpe College, and Spelman College. As part of a broader study of student manpower resources, this survey will seek ansuers to the followi ng kinds of questions: 1. To what extent does the involvement of higher education institutions va~y from campus to campus? What factors account for the variations? 2. To what extent does the degree of servi.ce-learning activities vary between different schools and departments within particular institut:f.ons? What accounts for the varia tions? 3. \Jhat areas of community life most readily lend themselves to student involvement? 4. What are the relative roles of students, faculty, and administrative personnel i n community development activities? 5. To what extent does existing curriculum encourage stude~t involvement in the community? Oo s tudents require academic credit for participa~ion in community activities? 6. How important are community involvement programs to students, faculty 9 and administrators? What do the terms "community involve!!l.ent 11 and "service- learning" suggest to these three important clientele groups? �7. What areas of community concern presently receive the greatest attention from higher education? ·The least concern? 8. Do e}dsting patterns of service-learning practices suggest that some institutions can best serve by specializing i n particular programs? It is expected that answers to the above questions will be of value to ASLC for the following reasons: 1. The research will identify both the forces facilita· ting and the forces inhibiting development of the service-learning concept. 2. Cataloguing existi ng pr ograms of communit y activities can assist ASLC 9 S role in coordinating service-learning progr ams and directing students i nt o progr ams mos t suitable to their individual preferences , 3. The r es ear ch wi l l mi rror the present s cope of s ervicel earning pr ograms and i ~ent ify areas of neglec t. 4. I n the l ong r un 9 cer t ain pr i orities may be set and t hereby assist ASLC in gaining the essential finan cial resources for funding service-l earning programs i n the areas demanding the .greatest concentration of community efforts. �