During the academic year 1999-2000, over 1600 Niagara University students, graduate and undergraduate, were involved in service projects. Most of these students were enrolled in courses which had a service-learning component. Service learning is a method through which citizenship, academic subjects, skills, and values are taught. Service learning as pedagogy helps connect learning and social change. It provides students with experiences to test theories acquired in the classroom and to concretize abstract thought.
Students develop research, critical thinking and interpersonal skills.
They come to appreciate the larger social, ethical and environmental implications of knowledge. Service-learning can enrich content areas by fostering social responsibility, intellectual and ethical reasoning. The service activity in order to be educative must be an integral part of the course, directly and specifically linked to the content area. Courses with service-learning components are offered in every college and in almost every academic department. Students are involved in projects ranging from working with the Niagara County District Attorney's office in the domestic violence program to doing historical research for non-profit agencies to providing assistance to community members in tax preparation.