Rosanne Druckman recently interviewed Mary Ann Affleck, Academic Dean at Capital Community College, about the role of service learning at Capital Community College.

How does service learning fit in at Capital Community College?

Our Social Service degree program has successfully incorporated service learning. We have service learning sites all over the city. Our students are mainly from Hartford, so they are already part of the neighborhood. We are teaching them how to build their own community. Josiah Ricardo is the coordinator of our service learning efforts, and he has been creative and effective.

What is the future of service learning at Capital Community College?

We want to expand it. Our strategic plans call for implementing it in our developmental education courses. (courses that prepare students for college work). We are also looking to incorporate service learning into courses related to the criminal justice system and courses for first responders. The research shows clearly that service learning fosters student engagement and retention.

What other developments do you see to support service learning at Capital Community College?

There are 12 community colleges in Connecticut. Recently, all of the chief academic officers committed to sharing resources and to making service learning a system-wide priority in all academic programs.