Educational researchers, student affairs professionals, and academic library personnel have all recognized that on-campus employment can be educationally purposeful, providing access to impactful experiential learning opportunities and positively contributing to students' learning and sense of belonging.
As a prominent on-campus employer, University Library is able to have an impact o n the academic and career success of a significant number of students—students who are both our colleagues and part of the community we exist to serve.
Development of the University Library Student Employment Program (STEP) is informed by:
Student Employment as a High-Impact Practice
High-impact practices (HIPs) are evidence-based educational practices that are particularly effective at supporting student learning and persistence.
Researchers have consistently identified student employment's potential as an engaged learning practice given the characteristics it shares with other HIPs, which are defined by active, integrative, and collaborative learning.
Students as Partners
Students as Partners (SaP) is a pedagogical approach which foregrounds students working collaboratively with faculty and staff to improve learning experiences.1
STEP is therefore being developed in partnership with student employees, recognizing the value of students' expertise and experience.
This collaborative work is led by a cohort of Research and Design Partners—student employees who assess their colleagues' needs, design program elements, and engage their peers in creating a student-centered program.
Relationship-Rich Education
A "relationship-rich" approach to higher education, per Peter Felten and Leo Lambert, is one that facilitates the human interactions and meaningful connections that they demonstrate support student belonging, well-being, and learning.
On-campus student employment is one point where relationships between students, staff, and faculty can be intentionally fostered, and creating critical connections with and between student employees is a central concern of STEP.2
Access and Belonging
Research demonstrates that low-income students who work while in college are more likely to have jobs that do not provide the learning, skills, and experience to help them transition from school to a well-paid career.3 Students' access to and participation in HIPs can be limited.4 And data from IU Indianapolis identifies finances and a low sense of belonging as two of the main reasons students leave the university. 5
Partnering with students to develop a student employment program at University Library is an opportunity to increase participation in high-impact learning experiences; to provide students with both a paycheck and the skills and experiences to support their post-graduation careers; and to foster a culture of welcome and care that builds interpersonal connections and a sense of belonging for all student employees.
Citations
1 Cook-Sather, Alison, Cathy Bovill, and Peter Felten. Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014.
2 Felten, Peter., and Leo M. Lambert. 2020. Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
3 Carnevale, Anthony P, and Nicole Smith. 2018. “Balancing Work and Learning: Implications for Low-Income Students.” Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/Low-Income-Working-Learners-FR.pdf
4 Kuh, George, Ken O'Donnell, and Carol Geary Schneider. 2017. "HIPs at Ten." Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 49 (5): 8-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2017.1366805 .
5 Michele J. Hansen. 2021. "Understanding IUPUI Students." IUPUI Institutional Research and Decision Support. https://irds.indianapolis.iu.edu/_documents/students/retention-and-graduation/2021%20Understanding%20IUPUI%20Students%20-%20December%2013.pdf