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For the first time, City Year AmeriCorps members serving as student success coaches in New York State will be eligible to receive up to 10 academic college credits for the learning gained through their service in ������Ƶ, through a new pilot set to launch this fall.

This breakthrough significantly strengthens the value of a year of service for young adults—recognizing their dedication and effort as college-level work and reducing the time and expense of pursuing a higher education degree and embarking on their careers.

The State University of New York (SUNY) will serve as the inaugural partner to grow this opportunity from a statewide pilot to national scale. The , Jr., on May 7 at City Year Buffalo’s annual gala.

“Part of a well-rounded public higher education is participating in service and civic engagement, and providing academic credit for civic service experience recognizes the knowledge and skills students gain from these experiences,” said Chancellor King. “SUNY is proud to work with City Year to support students who have undertaken service-based activities and to establish academic credits for those students as they attend the SUNY campus of their choice.”

The , a national third-party evaluator, assessed City Year’s AmeriCorps learning and development experience throughout their year of service and determined it meets college-level standards.

Building stronger connections between service, education and workforce pathways

The ability to earn college credit for prior learning through service could help hundreds of young people in New York State earn college degrees more quickly and affordably, all while they’re serving local ������Ƶ and communities and gaining critical workforce readiness skills.

“By translating the learning that happens through AmeriCorps service into academic credit, we are reimagining how service, education, and workforce pathways connect,” said City Year CEO Jim Balfanz, himself a 1994 alum of City Year Greater Boston.

“This innovative approach recognizes that the skills developed through service—working on diverse teams, supporting students in classrooms, and tackling complex challenges—are real, rigorous, and worthy of formal recognition. We are grateful to our partners at SUNY for advancing a model that can help shape the future of national service.”

City Year AmeriCorps members currently receive a bi-weekly stipend to cover basic living expenses, a federal Segal Education Award valued at more than $7,000 for higher education expenses, and access to exclusive university partnerships and career pathway programs.

Corps members serve as student success coaches—tutors, mentors and role models who partner with classroom teachers to deliver academic support and interpersonal skills coaching to students throughout the school day and after school.

City Year receives formal recognition of its prior learning through service as eligible for college credit

The NCCRS recommendation affirms the depth and rigor of City Year’s model, including structured coursework in public service, education and youth development, as well as competency-based training and portfolio-based assessments.

City Year AmeriCorps members serving as student success coaches in New York State can gain access to up to 10 academic credits for 1,700-hour service roles and 9 credits for 1,200-hour roles.

The ability to receive college credit for learning through service recognizes not only the quality of the ongoing professional development and training City Year AmeriCorps members receive throughout their service experience. Just as importantly, it honors the rewarding and challenging work student success coaches perform every day, helping students to learn and ������Ƶ to become places where everyone can thrive.

“We are honored to collaborate with City Year in recognizing the depth and rigor of their service programs,” said NCCRS Director Lisa Sax Mahoney.

“This work reflects a shared commitment to ensuring the knowledge and skills gained through service are valued by higher education partners like SUNY and can support participants on their path to college admission and completion.”

Service develops valuable skills most in demand by employers

There’s also growing recognition by employers that a year of service imparts key “durable” skills most in demand today—such as leadership, flexibility, collaborating on diverse teams, empathy, and tackling complex challenges.

These are the same skills that artificial intelligence cannot imitate, according to a new white paper that underscores the value of AmeriCorps service to young adults as they enter the job market.

A year of national service “can be reimagined not just as a vehicle for service, but as one of the nation’s primary workforce development vehicle for the “human-centric” skills that AI cannot replicate and will be vital for the future of work: dialogue and discourse, community building, metacognition, and cross-functional teamwork,” the report finds.

City Year corps and alumni are more powerfully positioned in the job market when they launch their careers because of the experience and skills they’ve gained through service, say City Year leaders.

With the addition of college credit for prior learning through service, student success coaches will have another significant advantage as they earn degrees and enter the workforce.

“National service is evolving, and City Year is excited to be a part of innovation that prepares young people for meaningful post-service career and education opportunities,” Balfanz said.

Learn more about serving with City Year.