Many times I get asked "is this a project" or it will be assumed to be a project even though we will not be tracking it as a project.
The training company "Global Knowledge" has one of the better write ups I have seen on the comparison.
Difference between a Project and a Service
As the article states, "There is a strong relationship between projects and services. A project might be used as the mechanism by which a service is deployed, retired, modified, or updated. Projects often produce one or more changes and/or releases that, in turn, result in the implementation, modification, or retirement of services and aspects of services."
TeamDynamix who as a lot of experience with best practices in higher education also have some thoughts on this. See Article on Differences Between Tickets and Projects.
TeamDynamix also has some thoughts on Project tiers for right-sized project management.
Please also feel free to contact the ITS Project Management at Clackamas Community College.