When planning a service-learning course, faculty can take into consideration these important characteristics of community-based courses.
Community-based learning is most effective when students have at least 15-20 hours of community experience, have frequent contact with community members, engage in weekly in-class reflection, write ongoing and summative reflections and engage in discussions about their experiences with both instructors and site supervisors.

Some important factors for the success of a service-learning opportunity are:

1. Placement Quality
   The community provides a context where students can exercise initiative, take responsibility, and work as peers with practitioners and community members.
2. Application
   There is a strong and obvious connection between what students are doing in class and what they are experiencing in the community, and vice versa. Application is the strongest predictor of increases in students’ problem solving abilities, critical thinking, and changes in their perspectives on social issues.
3. Reflection
   Students are given regular opportunities to step back and reflect on the community experience, to monitor their reactions and thinking processes, and to connect their experiences with academic learning. Reflection occurs in both class discussions and writing assignments.
4. Diversity
   Students have an opportunity to work with people from diverse backgrounds in terms of age, ethnicity, income levels, religious beliefs, etc. Diversity predicts increased levels of tolerance and transformation in students’ perspectives on social issues.
5. Community Voice
   Community members have identified the needs that students are helping to address throughout the semester.
6. Feedback
   Receiving quality feedback on their community work from professors and/or community members has a significant impact on their self-reported learning, future use of skills taught in the course, and commitment to service.

This information was compiled from:
Janet Eyler and Dwight E. Giles, Where’s the Learning in Service- Learning? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999 and Janet Eyler, Dwight E. Giles, Christine M. Stenson, and Charlene J. Gray, “At a Glance: What we Know about the Effects of Service-Learning on College Students, Faculty, Institutions and Communities, 1993-2000.” National Service Learning Clearinghouse, 2001.