Report Finds Sharp Increase in College Student Volunteering

Evidence Points to Rising Civic Engagement Since 9/11

College Students Helping America report cover Volunteering among college students has risen sharply in the years since the 9/11 attacks, suggesting the possible emergence of a new civic generation, according to the most comprehensive federal study ever conducted of college student volunteering in the United States.

The “College Students Helping America” report released by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service found that college student volunteering increased by 20 percent between 2002 and 2005, more than doubling the growth in the adult volunteering rate. It found that 3.3 million college students volunteered in 2005 – nearly 600,000 more students than three years ago – building strong momentum toward a national goal of five million college student volunteers by 2010. Read the report.

“One bright spot coming out of the 9/11 tragedy is a surge of interest by college students in serving their community," said Steve Goldsmith, the Chairman of the Board of the Corporation. “This rise in college student volunteering and the growing campus support for service are hopeful signs for the future of civic involvement in America. Higher education is a powerful engine of civic engagement and we are committed to working with university and student organizations and the larger nonprofit sector to nurture this growing civic generation."

Noticeably, the growth in volunteering over the four-year period was generated primarily by youths who attended high school or were first-year college students during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The vast majority, or 84 percent, of current college student volunteers in the study were of high-school age during the attacks of 2001. They witnessed the heroic response of police officers, firefighters, and other public servants who made tremendous personal sacrifices to guide victims and the nation through the traumatic event.

"The volunteer enthusiasm expressed by today's college students could have long-lasting societal benefits," said Robert Grimm, Jr., Director of Research and Policy Development. “Just as the Greatest Generation was shaped by WWII and the Great Depression, the tragic events of the last few years coupled with growing university and K-12 support for volunteering and service-learning have translated into more college students mentoring, tutoring, and engaging in their community in ways that could produce a lifetime habit."

The report comes a day before the announcement of the first-ever President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, a federal effort to recognize colleges that have provided the most outstanding service to their neighborhoods and to Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. More than 500 colleges submitted applications to the Honor Roll. These universities reported that than 219,000 students provided 2.2 million hours of hurricane relief support in the past year. The Honor Roll winners will be announced at the Campus Compact 20th Anniversary conference in Chicago.

The Corporation conducted the study of college volunteers analyzing data collected from 2002 to 2005 as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a comprehensive and scientifically rigorous survey of 60,000 American households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the largest national study showing trends in college student volunteering and the most comprehensive analysis of volunteering by college students.

The report contains a previously released list of state volunteer rankings for college students that finds that college volunteer rates in the states range from 21.4% to 62.9%. Six of the 10 states that rank in the top ten based on overall volunteering rates also rank in the top ten for college student volunteering rates. The top states for college student volunteering were Utah, Idaho, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Nebraska. Among other findings in the report:

Since September 2001, the overall percent of college students who volunteer has increased from 27.1 percent to 30.2 percent, exceeding the volunteer rate for the general adult population of 28.8 percent.
Tutoring and mentoring youth (26.6 and 23.8 percent, respectively) are the most common volunteer activities among college student volunteers.
39.2 percent of black college students mentor when they volunteer, compared to 22.3 percent of white college students.
Between 2003 and 2005, college students followed the national trend in volunteering, with females (33 percent) volunteering at a higher rate than males (26.8 percent), and whites (32 percent) volunteering at a higher rate than students of other races and ethnicities (23.6 percent).
College students were twice as likely to volunteer as individuals of the same age who are not enrolled in an institution of higher education (30.2 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively).
While 23.4 percent of college student volunteers serve with religious organizations, 34.8 percent of the general adult volunteer population serves through such organizations.
Students who work 1 to 10 hours per week part-time (46.4 percent) are more likely to volunteer than those who do not work at all (29.8 percent).
Volunteering rates decline substantially as college students work more hours. Students who work 31 to 35 hours and 36 to 40 hours volunteer at rates of 22.8 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively.
College student volunteers (27%) are more likely to be episodic volunteers (volunteering fewer than two weeks per year with their main organization) than the general adult volunteer population (23.4%). Nevertheless, 44.1 percent of college student volunteers also engage in regular volunteering (volunteering 12 or more weeks per year with their main organization).

The report brings a wealth of welcome news to those working to expand college service. College student community service and civic engagement are key elements of the new five-year strategic plan of the Corporation for National and Community Service. The Corporation is working with other federal agencies, colleges and universities, higher education and student associations, and nonprofit organizations to increase the number of college students volunteering each year to 5 million by 2010.

Each year, the Corporation makes a significant investment in building a culture of service on college campuses through Learn and Serve America and AmeriCorps grants to institutions of higher education to support service-learning and community service. In addition to direct grants, the Corporation has also supported higher education through the more than $1.2 billion in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards to AmeriCorps members who complete their service and use their awards to pay for college tuition or to pay back student loans.

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation provides opportunities for more than 2 million Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America. For more information, go to www.nationalservice.gov.