Luận án: Việc làm sinh viên - Chuẩn bị cho thị trường lao động bởi Suzanne Jones

STUDENT WORKER EMPLOYMENT: PREPARATION FOR THE WORKPLACE by Suzanne Jones This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Community College Leadership Ferris State University April 2015 © 2015 Suzanne Jones All Rights Reserved STUDENT WORKER EMPLOYMENT: PREPARATION FOR THE WORKPLACE by Suzanne Jones Has been approved April 2014 APPROVED: Todd Reynolds, PhD, Chair Linda Cowden, PhD, Member Michelle Luraschi, MA, Member Michelle Sanford, MA, Member Dissertation Committee ACCEPTED: Roberta C. Teahen, PhD Director, Community College Leadership Program ABSTRACT Campus employment has traditionally been viewed as a means for students to generate financial resources to help meet college expenses and to allow institutions to supplement their workforce with a relatively inexpensive labor supply. However, over the past fifty years, the student work environment has increasingly been viewed as offering an experience that can have clear educational merit and provide meaningful opportunities for student growth and development. This study examines the theories, policies, and practices that underscore this more recent claim.

Additionally, the research is intended to determine if it has any application to revising the specific campus work program at Southwestern Illinois College. The work done in this study examined an extensive body of theory relating to this topic and it solicited and investigated numerous “best practices” at institutions who have well-established student work programs with student development and personal growth as their program’s objective. The literature and the campus work program models reviewed disclose that campus workplaces, when properly constructed and managed, can contribute to a student’s academic well being. Likewise, they can better prepare participants to enter future work environments and help in the development of their non- cognitive skills.

Recommendations for a revised student work program at Southwestern Illinois College were greatly influenced by the findings of this study. Revisions include new procedures and practices, improved training and orientation materials, and redefined goals and outcomes for both the program and the participants. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES. iv   LIST OF EXHIBITS.

v   CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1   Interest in the Dissertation Project. 3   Clarifying the Focus of the Research. 5   Methodology and Limitations of the Research.

6   CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW   Introduction. 8   Brief Review of Campus Employment. 8   Student Benefits Resulting from a Well-Designed Campus Work Program. 11   Mixed Bag of Benefits.

12   Persistence, Retention, and Degree Completion. 13   Student Work Environments: Career Interests and Psychosocial Skills. 18   Career Interests Examined and/or Developed. 18   Student Development, Student Employment, and Preparation for Entry into the Workforce.

27   CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY   Introduction. 29   Methodology and Information Gathered. 30   Review of Existing Student Work Programs. 31   Gathering Information on Other Programs.

35   Best Practices and Helpful Findings. 38   Cognitive Skill Development and Improved Workplace Environment Awareness. 40   CHAPTER 4: THE PROJECT. 42   Framing the Project.

44   ii Project Terminology. 45   Student Development Theories, Survey Results, and Research Studies that Informed this Project. 47   Ideas, Assumptions, and Theories. 48   Linking Research Findings, Survey Results, and Student Development Theories to Project Components.

52   Recommended Change: Revisions to the Student Employment Handbook. 53   Recommended Change: Student Worker Orientation Program. 54   Recommended Change: New processes and forms. 55   Recommended Change: Revised student worker supervisor duties.

57   CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION   Introduction. 65 APPENDICES A: Code of Responsibility. 69   B: Mandated Reporter Form. 71   C: FERPA Rules Form.

73   D: Work Performance Report. 75 E: Application for Student Work. 79 G: Social Networking Guidelines. 81 H: Student Data Form.

83 I: Student Employment Handbook. 85 J: Employee Warning Notice. 87 K: Request for Termination. 89 L: Student Worker Orientation.

91   iii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Vectors with related goals. 22   iv LIST OF EXHIBITS Page Exhibit 3-a: Topics of Conversation. 32   Exhibit 3-b: Survey Instrument. 35   v           CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION The expected outcomes of a post-secondary educational experience as represented by community college proponents are to provide training for and to develop competence in marketable skills or to allow for exposure to and completion of academic coursework that will support a student’s successful transfer to a baccalaureate institution.

Certainly, academic competence and marketable workplace skills are valued and desired outcomes for the time and expense invested in a college degree. However, other components within the post-secondary experience hold equal importance and, in fact, will greatly contribute to the achievement of these degree completion proficiencies. Abundant research exists to indicate that student learning will be enhanced if the campus climate is perceived by the student to be a supportive environment. If the student is engaged in the life of the college community, if the student has a sense of place, and if their experience is meaningful in helping them clarify and attain their personal goals, they have a much greater likelihood of persisting and being successful.

One of those “other components” will be addressed in this study. Specifically, if organized and administered properly, student employment can be a very powerful retention strategy and a meaningful force in ensuring student success and persistence. Moreover, it has been shown to have a beneficial impact on a student’s academic performance and also serve as an important bridge from college to career. Gardner (1996) indicates that there are two crucial transition periods in higher education.

First is the successful transition into the college environment for beginning students. Secondly is the student’s final year transition into a career. The writer contends that both can be greatly influenced by the student employment experience. “I happen to believe,” he states, “that part-time employment during college, especially employment on campus is a good thing and I would recommend it for virtually all students” (p.

He goes on to assert that the whole subject of student employment during the undergraduate years “is one that needs more attention, concern, and the support of a wide audience of educators” (p. Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) has struggled with the development and implementation of an impactful student work program for several years. This project dissertation is in part a response to that need. To that end, I will be presenting a student work model that is intended to revise and strengthen the existing campus work program at SWIC.

Within this context, propositions would include job descriptions and work expectations, student placement in appropriate worksites, new procedures for student orientation, worker skill development, and employee evaluation. These changes would improve both the quality of work being conducted by the student workforce and the efficiency and productivity of institutional operations that employ student workers. In addition to the provisions directed toward improving the student work experience and the quality of work performed, another outcome of my dissertation will be to demonstrate how campus employment relates to student development theories. This other dimension of inquiry will examine ways those development theories can affect 2 student persistence, levels of personal satisfaction and feelings of self-worth.

This employment connection may also contribute to academic or certification program completion, retention, and improve student awareness of the expectations and challenges in the workplace environment. Likewise, the study will further identify how an effective campus work experience can contribute to the evolution of meaningful psychosocial qualities within the student worker. INTEREST IN THE DISSERTATION PROJECT The dissertation project grew out of a concern that the student work program at SWIC, while providing assistance in meeting institutional labor needs, requires standardization and improvements in many areas of operation and is not consistently preparing student workers with either a meaningful awareness of the circumstances they may face later in the workplace or with the skills necessary to navigate the workplace environment. Campus leadership, including the Vice President for Student Development and the Director of Financial Aid, expressed the need to improve the campus work program.

It was agreed on that a redesigned student work program would provide that opportunity. Several areas of renovation and recommendations for improvements relating to program procedures and practices were presented as part of a practicum project completed earlier in this program. That project will be discussed more completely in Chapter 3. Likewise, the deliverables (the project) will be presented in this dissertation in Chapter 4.

Materials relating to student development theory, selected psychosocial qualities, and non-cognitive dimensions of the student work experience draw heavily on such 3 notable scholars as Arthur Chickering, Vincent Tinto, and John Gardner. Research conducted by these individuals and more recent studies relating to student persistence and completion focuses on the impact of these various theories and skill factors in the student experience. Tinto (1975) affirms that persistence occurs when a student successfully integrates into the institution academically and socially. “Integration is greatly influenced,” he states, “by interaction with peers, faculty, and out of classroom experiences” (p.

And like John Gardner who is cited previously, Tinto re-enforces the notion that “campus employment can provide a laboratory for students to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of community, and a sense of mattering (or sense of importance)” (p. How the campus work program can incorporate student development principles and how those principles can contribute to important psychosocial and non-cognitive skills like personal identity development, a feeling of competence, improved ability in interpersonal communication, a more open attitude toward learning, and a greater capacity for empathy will be examined in Chapter 5. Chapters 4 and 5 will also summarize the expected outcomes that can be achieved through an enhanced campus work program when policies, procedures, and practices are identified by various student developmental principles and when the intent of the student work experience is greater than developing the quality of work completed. Certainly, additional consequences of this student employment model will aspire to improve student persistence toward degree/certification completion, enhance the non-cognitive properties of the participants, and create greater awareness and coping skill development as the students enter the workforce environment.

4 CLARIFYING THE FOCUS OF THE RESEARCH This dissertation identifies the campus work program as one of those activities that can provide a meaningful engagement between a student and the college. If properly constructed and managed, student employment will contribute to individual student persistence, retention, and positive completion rates. This study will demonstrate how the student work program model (the project) designed for Southwestern Illinois College will address important psychosocial factor development in the student employment community. Ultimately, this dissertation will accomplish a dual purpose.

One outcome will be to present a comprehensive student work program for review and consideration by the administration of Southwestern Illinois College. The companion outcome is to demonstrate how student development principles help inform the design of the project being offered. Additionally, the research will identify how the newly created work environment will contribute to student satisfaction and persistence, as well as provide important awareness regarding protocols and skill sets that will be advantageous in the student’s post-graduation workplace. METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH The research design will reflect qualitative research elements more than other methodologies.

Essentially, it will involve a review and analysis of a variety of written materials relating to topics on student development theory and the importance of the non- cognitive domain in student satisfaction and sense of well-being. Additionally, it will explain how those findings were utilized in the campus work program offered to SWIC. In addition to materials already in print, other materials/information will be gathered via 5 surveys and questionnaires from several institutions that have successful student work programs and from small group discussions among various stakeholder groups. The intent of these inquiries is to better understand best practices and to solicit input and advice on how best to incorporate student development theories into a campus work environment.