Coming along with the didactic shift from lecture-based approaches to more self-directed and open learning formats in higher education (Zeichner 2010), students have gained more potential to be involved in experience-based learning and to articulate their visions, to participate and to shape society. In fact, Community-Based Research and Service-Learning – among other approaches – have become relevant methodologies to support practical and experiential learning of students (Felten & Clayton 2011). How can these participatory and experiential learning-oriented strategies be institutionalized in Higher Education? How can Campus-community partnerships (CCPs) be not only started, but institutionalized, too (Resch & Dima 2021)? The presentation discusses the potentials of CCPs for students’ participation and voicing as well as the potential for institutionalizing it at an organizational level. Focusing on German speaking countries, the paper addresses a mapping the current state of institutionalization of CCPs in German speaking countries HE. CCPs involving students and civil society organizations, social enterprises or public institutions in Service-Learning, community services, community-based research – all serving a ‘real need’ in the community (Resch et al. 2020) offer plenty of potentials for students’ experience-based learning as well as articulation of alternatives and future possibilities. Based on a quantitative, survey-based approach, the different perspectives of stakeholders are involved like teachers’ perspectives on CCPs, their initial motivation, the emergence and implementation of CCPs, the number of CCPs per course/program, as well as other characteristics like duration, frequency and interaction patterns with students. Moreover, data on the course/program itself will be collected (type, credits, form of evaluation etc.) as well as teacher profiles (status, qualification, and experience with Service-Learning etc.). (2) The second survey addresses the management level of HEIs and their awareness of CCPs, their degree of institutionalization, and their relevance within the Third Mission and performance agreements of HEIs. The complete sample will be approx. 500 HEIs (380 German HEIs, 69 Austrian HEIs and 46 Swiss HEIs). Our findings will provide researchers, teachers, managers, and policy makers with a more detailed picture on the diffusion of CCPs as well as Service-Learning in the German speaking countries. Our comparative analysis on the emergence of CCPs in the different types of HEIs and HEI systems will also shed light on how teacher-specific and context-specific factors enable or hinder the institutionalization of CCPs.

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