AmeriCorps Alumni Outcomes Study

The AmeriCorps Alumni Outcomes Study builds on CNCS’s previous research by exploring how national service experiences successfully encourage national service alumni to stay civically engaged, develop and utilize skills gained through service, and/or pursue service-oriented careers and post-secondary education and employment. Findings from this study will help CNCS and other interested stakeholders answer the following three core research questions:

1. In what ways does participating in a national service program influence members’ career pathways, civic engagement, development of career-oriented soft and hard skills, and sense of community?
2. What are the post-secondary and employment outcomes of AmeriCorps alumni, and does national service serve as a pathway to post-secondary and/or employment success? 

Through surveying 3772 alumni, and a secure data match with the National Student Clearinghouse, the study found that:

• AmeriCorps service is found to have a significant positive effect on civic engagement; respondents were more likely to engage in all community service activities asked about in the survey post-AmeriCorps compared to pre-AmeriCorps. There was also a positive effect seen on sense of community, cultural competency and measures of self-efficacy.
• AmeriCorps service had significant effects on alumni’s employment and career pathways. For example, AmeriCorps alumni are more likely to attain a bachelor’s degree or higher than the average American adult.

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