Recent publications make a strong case for refocusing undergraduate CS education to emphasize a shift towards competency-based education, increased responsibility on departments to prepare responsible computing practitioners who appreciate how computing is inextricably intertwined with society, and that content coverage is less important than authentic experiences that develop both ethical decision-making and industry-desired technical skills. One time-tested successful strategy that helps meet these goals is community-based service learning (CBSL). However, while CBSL has a strong track record, service learning can be challenging to implement and may not always guarantee successful student experiences.

A key factor associated with CBSL’s success or failure is the management of the community partner relationship. This includes initial project vetting, setting partner expectations, the role of the partner as a participant in the students’ education, and final project hand-off. We introduce Community-Based Service Learning Adoption Model (CSLAM) , a framework based on the software studio model that guides CBSL adopters through all stages of a CBSL experience. The CSLAM framework pays particular attention to what are considered the most vexing aspects of CBSL: project scoping and skill matching, managing project timelines that extend beyond a single term, community partner engagement and relationship management, and project handoff and maintenance.

Preliminary results from the adoption of the CSLAM framework demonstrate that students were able to iteratively improve their competencies throughout the semester as a result of the regular formative feedback enabled by the CSLAM framework