More than three quarters of entering college students feel it’s their duty to help others in need, a sentiment that’s grown steadily in recent years. But how much are they willing to commit? On average, just 26% of all university students typically volunteer—lower than the number among high schoolers.

“We’re at an all-time high of entering college students’ desire to do good, but we are far from an all-time high in college students actually doing good,” says Robert Grimm, the director of University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute, which has compiled a report called “Good Intentions, a Gap in Action” about this trend. The number of college students volunteering is the lowest of all age groups, with higher interest at 29% among high schoolers, and then a surge that surpasses that on into young adulthood and middle age.

All that’s troubling for a number of reasons. Theoretically, volunteering should increase among the college set because they’re better educated, more affluent, and have more flexible schedules, all factors associated with people taking time to lend a hand at nonprofit organizations. When that doesn’t happen, students don’t just miss out on chances to grow professionally and emotionally: The Do Good report shows that many aren’t going on to volunteer as adults either, shutting down a key source of manpower for aid groups, and even shutting down a source of funding–many groups use volunteering as a step to court future donors.

Of course, many young people are in precarious financial positions, which makes community service less of a priority. (The Do Good Institute report shows how high school and college volunteering rates differ by state, too, which shows the trend is happening across the country. The place with the worst participation during higher education is Arkansas, followed by New York, New Jersey, and Texas. The best? That’s Utah, followed by Wyoming and Kansas.)

“I think the reason is that interest will not translate to action without the right opportunities,” adds Grimm. “And too many colleges and universities aren’t offering enough opportunities to take advantage of the high interest that students have today around engaging in social impact and social innovation.”

The University of Maryland has tried to address that by encouraging students to act both more entrepreneurially and more philanthropically, as using business as a force for good is often more sustainable than just making ad hoc donations. As undergraduates, students can now take courses that cover things like how to manage a philanthropic investment fund (there’s plenty of basic economics there), as well as how to evaluate and award grants to community nonprofits (they actually do that with some limited funding).

Other curriculum covers how various policy changes might reshape communities, and how to actually launch and scale a successful nonprofit or social impact company. The school also offers study abroad opportunities alongside philanthropies and nonprofits overseas including in Israel, Jordan, and China, and offers paid philanthropy fellowships through the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.