Working toward an equity-based model for volunteering and service-learning projects in higher education

Volunteering and service-learning projects (VSLPs) in higher education have gained much praise for the educational benefits they provide students. Less attention has focused on the challenges that may accompany these types of projects, particularly for students and faculty from underrepresented communities. Analyzing previous scholarship and current case studies from both a student and professor who have first-hand experience with VSLPs at a minority-serving institution, this chapter critically examines the educational and professional challenges VSLPs may present for both students and faculty in higher education. Evidence from the case studies suggest that VSLPs may demand unrealistic, unattainable, or problematic expectations from students and faculty. The case studies also suggest that students and faculty from marginalized communities and/or precarious positions are most negatively impacted. Developing a better understanding of how and why these challenges exist may help shift our practices toward an equity-based model of VSLPs in higher education.