American University
EN-12: Community Service

Part 1

Institution engages its student body in community service, as measured by the percentage of students who participate in community service.  

Part 2

Institution engages students in community service, as measured by the average hours contributed per full-time student per year. 

Institutions may exclude non-credit, continuing education, and/or part-time students from this credit.

This credit applies to all institutions.

Each part is scored independently.

Part 1

Institutions earn the maximum of 3 points available for Part 1 of this credit by engaging their entire student body in community service. Incremental points are awarded based on the percentage of students that contribute community service.   For example, an institution where 50 percent of students contributed some community service would earn 1.5 points (half of the points available for Part 1 of this credit).  

Part 2

Institutions earn the maximum of 2 points available for Part 2 of this credit by engaging their students in an average of 20 hours of community service per year.  Incremental points are awarded based on the average number of hours contributed. For example, an institution where students contributed an average of 10 hours per year would earn 1 point (half of the points available for Part 2).

See scoring tables and examples in the STARS Technical Manual. 

Timeframe

Report the most recent annual data available during the three years prior to the anticipated date of submission.   

Sampling and Data Standards

Include undergraduate and graduate students. Institutions may use a representative sample or survey to determine student participation in community service. Institutions may also choose to exclude part-time, continuing education and/or non-credit students, as long as they are excluded from both the count of students engaged in community service and the count of total students.