NASPA Report Recommends Work-study Improvements to Better Prepare Students for the Workforce

Report: Employing Student Success: A Comprehensive Examination of On-Campus Student Employment

Authors: Omari Burnside, Alexa Wesley, Alexis Wesaw, and Amelia Parnell

Source: NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

A recent report from NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education offers colleges recommendations for redesigning their work-study programs to better prepare students for the workforce.

Employing Student Success draws upon existing research, practitioner interviews, campus visits, and a nationwide survey of campus administrators to take stock of the landscape of on-campus employment opportunities. The authors identify promising practices in areas like leadership engagement, hiring policies, professional development opportunities, student learning outcomes, and program evaluation.

The authors conclude with five key findings to inform improved practice:

1. Senior leadership engagement is critical to developing a broader set of program goals and making investments in innovative ideas to advance them.
2. Multiple communication channels are needed to explain to students the benefits of working on-campus and to inform them about on-campus positions.
3. Institutions should help prepare students’ direct supervisors for their critical roles as facilitators of students’ professional development and learning opportunities.
4. Institutions and their students should have a shared understanding of what student employees should be and are actually learning.
5. Institutions should do more to use and analyze program data to evaluate and better understand student employee success.

Read more about the work-study landscape and NASPA’s recommendations for impactful campus-employment practice here.

—Sam Imlay