Such primary research helps students understand what needs to be done and see how they can be part of the solution. Students involved in past semesters are hired for each class as service learning assistants to help coordinate community service placements in the over 100 agencies involved in the project. The results of the service learning project have been extremely positive. The students' writing is much more passionate. Students are connected with the issues they choose and the community they serve.
Faculty members are eager to teach the service classes.
Finding service learning assistants and new service agencies to meet the demand for more service learning sections in ENG 102 has been the only obstacle at this point. The service learning project began in the Fall semester of 1993 with one section of ENG 102. Faculty from other disciplines, hearing of the success of ENG 102, received training in the Summer of 1994 on how to incorporate service in their curriculum. CGCC English instructors seem to agree that they would never choose to go back to the traditional way teaching research and composition. Seeing and solving problems first hand can only complement what students are reading on microfiche in the library.