Service Involvement and Civic Attitudes of University Alumni: Later Correlates of Required Public Service Participation during College

Abstract

How is required public service during college related to later civic behavior? This article reports findings from a survey of 359 alumni, conducted two years after they completed their undergraduate studies at Tulane University. The alumni held positive views of the substantial public service requirement they had completed before graduating and saw it as influencing their later civic attitudes and career development. Public service activities in which they engaged post- graduation involved community service (volunteer-ing, program development) and donations to local and national agencies; they reported little political or formal civic participation. Both co- curricular service and service- learning/public service academic course work during college predicted alumni service activities and civic attitudes. Especially, participation in more advanced and individualized public service academic experiences (public service internships, community- based research, and other advanced service- learning course work) was related to later civic outcomes.