Only one in four California adults provided community service within the past year.[1] Given the pressing challenges facing the state, Californians should be called to action to restore the state's strength, vitality, and prosperity-making it the best place in the nation in which to reside. California is positioned to lead the nation in a turnaround in civic participation and volunteerism. In exchange for the significant investment of taxpayer funds in their education and their future, students attending the state's public colleges and universities should be required to perform a minimum amount of community service. This service requirement will benefit the students, their community, and the overall well-being of California and its people.

In 2002, the Public Policy Institute of California conducted a survey on the amount, types and participants in volunteer activities in California. It found the same volunteerism trends that have raised red flags in national studies: too few people giving too little of their time to a narrow range of community activities. California, like the rest of the nation, suffers from the "bowling alone" syndrome first brought to light in a 2000 best-selling book of the same name written by political scientist Robert Putnam of Harvard University. For a variety of reasons, Americans have drifted away from civic activities like voting and belonging to clubs and organizations, and increased their hours in solo activities like television watching, video games and Internet surfing. Requiring young adults to perform community service early in their lives may instill in them a responsibility to remain active and engage in civic and community activities throughout their entire life.[2]

The literature has identified numerous reasons why students should be required to engage in community service. Some of the reasons cited include:[3]

• Community service provides an excellent way to train young people for citizenship by engaging students in active civic participation;
• Service is a way for students to explore careers and gain practical work skills;
• Students benefit from the lessons learned and experiences gleaned through community service; and
• Community service helps to address or reduce a community's needs.

Research on community service experiences among adults has found that such experiences enhance participants' skills and training. Specifically, the research revealed that:

• Fifty percent or more of volunteers in one project reported improved skills in writing, listening, speaking, creative thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, knowing how to learn, self-esteem and self-management;[4] and
• Volunteer placements tied to individual training needs can enhance almost any skill, but particularly communication, teamwork, and creative thinking.[5]

Community service is typically not mandated or required at public colleges or universities, although many public institutions encourage students to engage in such activities. However, initiatives to require community service of public college and university students are beginning to grow. For example, a Pennsylvania state representative has introduced legislation that would require students at the state's 14 public universities to perform a minimum of 25 hours of community service annually.[6]

In May 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger announced a new agreement between the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). While that agreement covers various issues, it contains the following statement concerning the role and importance of community service within California's public universities:

Increasing public service to help meet community needs and fostering citizenry that is oriented toward performing community services are high priorities for the state. The CSU and UC will strengthen programs to encourage students to participate in community service programs while they are enrolled at their campuses.[7]

The rationale behind mandating community service responsibilities for students attending California's public colleges and universities is two-fold. The first goal is to draw students into a participatory citizenry, to recognize their efforts, and to build their sense of membership within California's global society. The second intent of the proposed community service requirement is to create a societal expectation that each individual has a responsibility to acknowledge the benefits provided them by society as a whole and, with these benefits, to accept responsibility to participate in the betterment of society and not rely exclusively on governmental institutions to fulfill that function.

California taxpayers subsidize the education of students enrolled in the state's public colleges and universities. Since the tuition and fee payments of students enrolled in public colleges and universities do not cover the full cost of their education, students benefit from the state investing significant resources in their higher education. In exchange for the taxpayers' investment in their education and their future, students attending the state's public colleges and universities could be required to provide community service.

Recognizing that California's public colleges and universities enroll a significant number of students who have full-time employment or who have significant family responsibilities, it is not a desire to create an undue hardship on these or any other students. This minimum number of community service hours is recommended as a first step toward public college and university students in providing their communities with a small amount of their time in exchange for the significant public investment in their higher education.

Implementing the community service recommendation incurs minimal costs to the General Fund. The expected costs to the state's public colleges and universities would be limited to informing students of the community service requirement and entering the participation data into student records. However, the public benefit from the community service provided by participating students would more than offset the cost. It is estimated that the cost benefit is worth approximately $192 million. This assumes that about 50 percent of students enrolled in California's public colleges and universities-about 1.2 million students in the fall of 2002- perform 16 hours of community service with each hour of service valued at $10.

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