About

CASL

How we work

Students
1.
We connect students to experiences that enrich their learning.
Student resources
Faculty
2.
We connect faculty to resources that help make coursework more impactful.
Faculty resources
Community
3.
We connect community partners to high-quality personnel.
Community resources

Learn more about us

Service-learning defined

Service-learning is experiential learning

It's considered a high-impact practice – which refers to educational methods that are often associated with recruitment, retention, and engagement from students. The Citizenship & Service-Learning (CASL) office supports all levels of service-learning at Missouri State, connecting students, faculty, and partner organizations together to make a positive difference in the community. 

Learn more about the different types and attributes of service-learning on our page for faculty and advisors.

Students can go to our students page to learn about the benefits of service-learning and how to add a course.

Facing real issues

We strive to address real issues

We base our partnerships, programs and goals on the latest Springfield Community Focus Report. This ensures students are contributing to work that really matters. Visit Springfield Community Focus to learn more.

Community Focus Report logo

Expert guidance

Our work is guided by experts

Members of Missouri State's Faculty Senate serve on our Oversight Committee. And leaders in the local community serves as ambassadors on our Community Partner Ambassador Advisory Board. Learn more by taking a look at the links below.

Our impact

Academic year 2024-2025

Students

Up from 7,891 last academic year, this is the number of Missouri State students and Greenwood Laboratory School* students who participated in service-learning in 2024-2025. 

Greenwood Laboratory School high school students contributed a total of 900 hours of service during the 2024 Walkable Springfield Restoration Project. Their service was valued at $28,989. 

Hours

Service-learning students served over 85,000 hours combined in the 2024-2025 academic year to communities locally, nationally, and globally. 

Value

2,770,157 dollars worth of service was provided by Missouri State service-learning students in the 2024-2025 academic year. This is calculated at IndependentSector.org, using their tool for assessing volunteer and service-learning hours and the value of each hour for a community organizations who would otherwise have to pay for the service.

Community

There were an estimated 300+ community partners available to service-learning students in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

 


Annual reports

Get a CASL-based blast from the past. Check out a series of annual reports we did from 2011-2020, the days before reporting went digital and direct. 

Our team

Service-Learning Staff

Dr. Kathy Nordyke

Director

katherinenordyke@missouristate.edu

417-836-6060


Charles Whitaker

Editor and Communications Manager

cvwhitaker@missouristate.edu

417-836-4382


Hallie JonesHallie Jones

hallie211795@live.missouristate.edu

 417-836-5774

Carnegie Foundation: Classification for Community Engagement

Citizenship and Service-Learning, also known as CASL, supports Missouri State's status as a Carnegie-classified institution through curricular engagement. This is defined as teaching, learning and scholarship that engages faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Interactions address community identified needs, deepen students' civic and academic learning, enhance community well-being and enrich the scholarship of the institution.

To view supporting resources for the 2026 Carnegie application, please see the Carnegie Application Links page, linked below.

https://www.missouristate.edu/CASL/carnegie-application-links.htm

Carnegie classification seal

See what the experts have said about service-learning

A selection of scholarly research on the benefits and best practices of service-learning