Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.88
Liaison Jim Walker
Submission Date April 30, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Texas at Austin
EN-12: Community Service

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.22 / 5.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students engaged in community service:
29,567

Total number of students :
39,955

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (community service hours)?:
Yes

Total number of student community service hours contributed during a one-year period:
3,821,937

Does the institution include community service achievements on student transcripts?:
No

A brief description of the practice of including community service on transcripts, if applicable:
---

Does the institution provide incentives for employees to participate in community service (on- or off-campus)?:
No

A brief description of the institution’s employee community service initiatives:
---

The website URL where information about the institution’s community service initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service conducted a study on volunteerism for the 2001-2002 school year. They found that about 27,000 University of Texas at Austin undergraduate students performed volunteer service between August 2001 and May 2002. The survey was designed through a collaborative effort of researchers and staff from the RGK Center, Office of Survey Research, Department of Sociology, and University Volunteer Center. The 1,514 respondents were chosen through a random selection of all UT undergraduates enrolled in the spring of 2002. Surveying was done via 20-minute telephone interviews administered by the Office of Survey Research. Upon evaluation, the demographic distribution of those surveyed closely matched the true demographics of the student body, including gender, ethnic background, grade level, and academic pursuits.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of students performed volunteer service: 45% reported serving in the community; 25% served in both University and community functions; and 4% volunteered solely for University functions.

Volunteers spent a mean of 111 hours volunteering.

February 2014: While the Longhorn Center for Civic Engagement is still seeking funds (and staff resources) to conduct another survey, methods and opportunities to connect students with volunteering have only improved with more sophisticated technology. Austin is a larger city every year with thousands of opportunities to volunteer on and off campus. There is every reason to believe, and no evidence to the contrary, that the trends outlined in the RGK report have continued.

There has been no study conducted on graduate student volunteerism, so this report is on undergraduate students only.


The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service conducted a study on volunteerism for the 2001-2002 school year. They found that about 27,000 University of Texas at Austin undergraduate students performed volunteer service between August 2001 and May 2002. The survey was designed through a collaborative effort of researchers and staff from the RGK Center, Office of Survey Research, Department of Sociology, and University Volunteer Center. The 1,514 respondents were chosen through a random selection of all UT undergraduates enrolled in the spring of 2002. Surveying was done via 20-minute telephone interviews administered by the Office of Survey Research. Upon evaluation, the demographic distribution of those surveyed closely matched the true demographics of the student body, including gender, ethnic background, grade level, and academic pursuits.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of students performed volunteer service: 45% reported serving in the community; 25% served in both University and community functions; and 4% volunteered solely for University functions.

Volunteers spent a mean of 111 hours volunteering.

February 2014: While the Longhorn Center for Civic Engagement is still seeking funds (and staff resources) to conduct another survey, methods and opportunities to connect students with volunteering have only improved with more sophisticated technology. Austin is a larger city every year with thousands of opportunities to volunteer on and off campus. There is every reason to believe, and no evidence to the contrary, that the trends outlined in the RGK report have continued.

There has been no study conducted on graduate student volunteerism, so this report is on undergraduate students only.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.