Fostering Durable Skills Development: Leveraging Student Worker Programs

Abstract

The past half century has witnessed exponential increases in the cost of a college degree paralleled by an increase of undergraduate students who are employed during matriculation. While the impact on learning outcomes due to off-campus employment continues to receive much attention, there has been little attention paid to students employed on-campus through student worker programs and their benefits, especially in developing durable skills and improving retention. Research has demonstrated that engagement in oncampus activities improves retention and persistence in students. Additionally, employers desire power or durable skills (formerly known as “soft skills”), and that student worker programs are suited to meet this demand. This study proposes to investigate the way student worker programs across institutions support the development of durable skills, how these can be leveraged to improve persistence and completion rates in undergraduates, and how those differ by program. Results indicate that library services represent a model for other functional areas to adopt for student workers in order to improve retention and graduation rates, along with employable skills.