A Qualitative Investigation of Student Learning Outcomes for On-Campus Student Employees

With increasing tuition rates and decreasing financial resources, more college students are working on campus to pay for higher education (Watson, 2013). Campus work opportunities provide students with financial support and also assist universities in completing operational functions (Wallace, 2005). Higher education leaders should be aware that "student employment has the potential to be a significant developmental experience for many students" (Lewis, 2008, para 3). Lewis believes these job opportunities allow students to "grow as leaders, develop career paths, and discover how to balance courses, work, and personal lives" (Lewis, 2008, para 4). Unfortunately, there is little research done on the type of student learning that takes place in the campus workplace environment. Most research has centered around academic outcomes of grades, graduation or retention rate and very few researchers have explored student employee learning outcomes as a valuable assessment tool for higher education leaders (Astin, 1991, Lundberg, 2014). At the mid-Atlantic public university in this research study, there are a growing number of student workers (D. Ashley, personal communication, January 1, 2017). Campus jobs may provide students with the opportunity to learn about their own strengths and weaknesses. The potential exists to evaluate whether or not students attain diverse career and professional skills student workers as a result of campus employment; and if so, what are the most commonly acquired skills? Some of the skills cited in the literature review include: leadership teamwork, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, work ethics, analytical/computing/technical skills, initiative, flexibility, detail-orientation, planning, entrepreneurial skills, tactfulness and creativity (NACE, 2015). This type of data may be useful for leadership decisions about improving student learning for future career success. With support from the Student Employment Office, this qualitative research study explored student employee learning outcomes and proposes recommendations that can be employed at this mid-Atlantic public university. Through data collection from supervisor focus groups and student employee surveys, this qualitative study answered the following research questions: (1) What are the core career and professional learning outcomes that most student workers are likely to exhibit as a result of on-campus employment at this mid-Atlantic public institution? (2) How can we assess these core and other unit specific learning outcomes? (3) How can the data collected from this research be used to enrich student employee learning? It is important to answer these questions because competition in higher education is increasing as traditional institutions yield ill-equipped graduates (Eisner, 2010). The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U, 2011) reports "nearly 80% of those surveyed in 2009 thought that colleges and universities should also place more emphasis on helping students develop the ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through internships or other hands-on experiences" (p. 25).Findings indicate that both supervisors and student employees recognize that on campus employment experiences lead to valuable student learning outcomes. Based on literature review (Lewis, 2007; AAC&U, 2008; Conference Board, 2006; NACE, 2015; Lewis & Contreras, 2009; Carr, 2005; Athas, et al., 2013; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), the researcher grouped learning outcomes into four broad themes of (1) thinking skills; (2) working with people; (3) working with tools/resources; (4) personal characteristics/attributes. All four of these themes were confirmed in this qualitative study through supervisor focus group responses and student employee open-ended survey responses. However, "working with people" and "personal characteristics/attributes" were cited most frequently by both participant groups. Additionally, the supervisor's mentoring and influential role was confirmed as an important element for student development and success. Recommendations for future research studies on this topic are made by the researcher of this study. Leaders are also challenged to make the best use of this unique phenomena in an effort to improve the student learning experience by better preparing college graduates to thrive in a constantly changing job market (Peck, 2018). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]