Service learning is having a major impact at UWM and is improving retention rates.

Students from the fall 2014 freshman class who took a course with a service-learning component had a retention rate of 76.3 percent compared to those not enrolled in a course with a service-learning component, whose retention rate was 70.6 percent.

More striking, first-generation students from the fall 2014 freshman class who took a service-learning course had a retention rate of 78.1 percent compared to 63.5 percent for those that did not have a service-learning course. And, students from underrepresented populations from the fall 2014 freshman class who had a course with a service-learning component had a retention rate of 72.14 percent compared to their non-service learning counterparts whose retention rate was 61.5 percent.

As a faculty member, if you would like to consider incorporating service-learning into a course you teach, please contact Laurie Marks, lmarks@uwm.edu, at the Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research www.community.uwm.edu.