Campus employment as a high-impact practice: relationship to academic success and persistence of first-generation college students

2016 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.The double burden of spiraling costs and limited financial aid has prompted more college students to work more hours than ever. Yet, working more hours can be detrimental to students’ academic success and persistence, and first-generation college students are at even higher risk. While institutions cannot control off campus employment students choose, they do have opportunity to influence the content of jobs on campus. Campus jobs purposefully designed to provide a high-impact experience for students could potentially mitigate risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate how campus employment impacts academic success and persistence of first-generation college students, and compare differences in academic success and persistence of first-generation college students whose campus jobs were configured as high-impact practices with first-generation college students whose campus jobs were not, and make recommendations for practitioners. Archival datasets were collected from two institutions with a selection of campus jobs configured as high impact practices. The final sample included 1413 records of sophomores who had entered college as first-time, full-time freshmen, and worked on campus during their sophomore year. Regression analyses and factorial ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Results supported much of what has been shown in the literature about first-generation college students: they receive Pell, work more hours, earn lower GPAs and persist at lower rates. Results with respect to campus employment were inconclusive: type of campus job was not shown to be a significant individual predictor of either success measure, GPA or persistence. Yet, a statistically significant interaction of first-generation student status and type of campus job was found. While caution is recommended in interpreting such results, this interaction may stimulate different thinking for practitioners and researchers alike. Practitioners might consider the extent to which they could structure their campus jobs to include elements of high-impact practices; researchers may be encouraged to design studies of high-impact campus jobs and the extent to which they provide support for first-generation college students

Building An Ecosystem of Diversity Talent Development Through Experiential Learning

Access to professionals and insider knowledge of industry is often limited to students from privileged families, yet most academic support programs focus solely on persistence to graduation. Career readiness through experiential learning has not yet reached strategic importance for these programs. One public research university in the northeast which enrolls a highly diverse student body has created a portfolio of programs to connect underrepresented students with industry partners for career development, experiential learning, mentoring, and networking

Building an Ecosystem of Diversity Talent Development through Experiential Learning

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Early exposure to STEM research as a foundational experience for STEM careers

The benefits of undergraduate research to student persistence and success has been established in the literature. Less studied, however, is the long term impact of early exposure to research among students from underserved backgrounds.This qualitative study of undergraduates participating in a unique summer research program uncovers the deeper meaning of the overall experience on the students: from the lab itself, to the mentors, peers, professional development, socials, and the impact of the program staff. Three major themes emerged: (1) Early exposure to research as a foundation for career direction; (2) Relationships with peers and mentors as highly valued; and (3) Development of skills leads to personal and professional growth, and confidence. Additionally, underrepresented students described the value of having minority role models and peers, and the excitement of continuing their research throughout their undergraduate careers. A full compensation package of stipend and housing made a practical difference for several of the participants. This qualitative study offers a deeper understanding of these impacts through the voices of the participants.&nbsp