EAST LANSING, MI—For the second straight year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Michigan State University No. 1 in service-learning among public universities and No. 9 overall.

Service-learning, known as community-engaged learning at MSU, integrates community partnerships with classroom instruction to enrich the student learning experience, teach civic and social responsibility, and strengthen communities.

“Community-engaged learning is a teaching and learning strategy that supports students, faculty, staff, and community partners in addressing issues and implementing change,” said Renee Miller Zientek, executive director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), which jointly reports to the Office of University Outreach and Engagement (UOE) and Student Life and Engagement (SLE). “We deeply value our campus-community partnerships and strongly believe it’s our mission to prepare students for lifelong civic and social responsibility.”

Each year, more than 20,000 MSU students register for community-engaged learning opportunities both in and beyond the classroom. To track these activities, CCEL conducts an annual university-wide survey about community-engaged learning courses, programs, and projects. Using this data, CCEL produces the Community-Engaged Learning Index, an annual report that highlights service-learning efforts of MSU faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

The Index received the 2025 Excellence in Civic & Community Engagement Programming Award from Campus Compact, a national organization that empowers universities and colleges to advance academic and civic missions through partnerships with communities. Campus Compact described the Index as “a powerful tool that not only tracks and evaluates CEL (community-engaged learning) activities across campus but also amplifies their positive impact.”

Kwesi Brookins, vice provost for UOE, commended the Center for its efforts in maintaining MSU’s No. 1 ranking for service-learning and using the Index to showcase real-world impacts.

“For more than a decade, the Index has been an essential resource for assessing and tracking community-engaged learning efforts at MSU, celebrating the contributions of the university’s students, faculty, and community partners in alignment with community engagement goals,” Brookins said. 

The Campus Compact award and MSU’s No. 1 rank for service-learning are a testament to the MSU students who devote hundreds of hours each year to community-engaged service, scholarship, and advocacy. “I am so proud of our Spartan community and partners,” Miller Zientek said. “The experiences shared by students and partners are what truly make a difference.”