A lot of students work to pay for college – more than 80% of part-time students and over 40% of full-time students, according to U.S. government data. A popular option is work-study programs, that is, jobs on campus offered as part of a financial aid package. The problem is work-study jobs often involve little professional development to help students prepare for careers. Unpaid internships frequently do, but they don’t pay the bills.
What if work-study wasn’t just about paying for college? What if it was a more intentional part of a student’s education?
Colleges and universities are increasingly asking themselves these questions. And as a result, they have developed some innovative models to make on-campus employment a path to post-graduation jobs.
A number of schools have been engaged in this process for years.
The University of Iowa, for example, started Iowa GROW, or Iowa Guided Reflection on Work, in 2009. The program requires student employees to have guided conversations with their supervisors about how the skills they’re learning at work and in the classroom can inform each other.
Northern Arizona University has partnerships with employers like the U.S. Forest Service, the Museum of Northern Arizona, America Reads and others, which provide jobs for students with federal work-study.
Five years ago, Clemson University started a program called the University Professional Internship/Co-op Program, focused on paid, on-campus internships with professional development and hands-on mentorship from university staff.
