The Community Service Center (CSC) of Oregon is an interdisciplinary organization that assists Oregon communities by providing planning and technical assistance to help solve local issues and improve the quality of life for Oregon residents. The CSC is housed at the University of Oregon. The role of the CSC is to link the skills, expertise and innovation of higher education with the economic development and environmental needs of communities and regions in the State of Oregon, thereby providing service to Oregon and learning opportunities to the students involved.

Through the service-learning programs provided by the CSC, student participants gain important service and professional experience by helping to solve community and regional issues. Through its programs, the CSC works to establish relationships and strengthen the partnerships between faculty and students on Oregon University System (OUS) campuses and community representatives, state and local agencies and non-profit organizations. The CSC provides eight interrelated services.

Community Service Center Programs
The CSC is currently administering three programs designed to serve the needs of rural communities in Oregon, and provide OUS students with experiential, issue-focused service learning opportunities.

1. Community Planning Workshop (CPW) is a campus-based, two-term required course in which teams of University of Oregon Community and Regional Planning graduate students work under the direction of CSC staff members performing contract research for client groups in Oregon.
2. Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) trains and places graduate level students in communities where they live and work for a year helping to improve economic and environmental conditions in rural Oregon.
3. Oregon Natural Hazards Workgroup (ONHW) assists communities by addressing natural hazards through the application of land-use and environmental planning techniques, research, public education and community capacity building; and offering educational opportunities in applied natural hazard mitigation activities to students.