Tulane's Office of Service Learning's Mission Statement

The mission of Tulane University's Office of Service Learning is to engage faculty members, students, and community partners in an endeavor that combines community service with academic learning. Service learning aims to benefit students' education, further faculty research and teaching, and build community.

To achieve this mission, the office strives to help create a "classroom without walls" that is beneficial to community partners, college students, faculty members, and the university in the following ways:

For Community Partners, service learning:
- gives access to the services of university students
- increases volunteer diversity in sex, age, and race
- allows agencies to identify needs and meet those needs through the development of a service project
- builds on-going relationships between the university and the community partner
- offers support through a mini-grant program

For College Students, service learning allows them to:
- apply concepts from the classroom to their service at participating community agencies
- learn to work with a diverse community
- gain knowledge and expertise from the community
- evaluate, question and reformulate their civic values
- prepare to participate in internships and research
- explore career options
- provide worthwhile assistance to a community agency

For Faculty Members, the service learning office will:
- assist in the development of innovative approaches to instruction
- provide support for service learning courses (orientations for students, site monitoring, and reflection activities)
- sponsor programs, speakers, and symposia on service learning
- support faculty members' efforts to disseminate information through conference presentations or publications
- provide opportunities for collaborative community research and project development

For the University, service learning:
- furthers the goals of Tulane's strategic plan
- drives the university as an active, engaged partner in the community
- facilitates university teaching, research, and program development
- increases student retention

In conclusion, the Office of Service Learning aims to facilitate collaborative learning between the university, community members, faculty, and students by integrating each group's cultures with the New Orleans urban setting to foster mutual understanding and accessibility.