How the University at Buffalo invests in the professional development of supervisors and working learners
Jenell V. Spitale, Associate Director, Experiential Learning, Career Design Center
Overview
As campuses work to define experiential learning and which types of opportunities count, a common starting point is the list of 11 High Impact Practices published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Campus-based student employment has emerged as an area for institutions to consider including as a high impact practice. Informed by the works of Kuh, O’Donnell and Reed, high impact practices share eight key elements that may be incorporated into the student employment experience (Kuh 2008; Kuh, O’Donnell, and Reed 2013):
- High expectations for performance.
- Significant investment of time and effort.
- Substantive interactions with faculty and peers.
- Experiences with diversity.
- Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback.
- Structured opportunities for reflection.
- Real-world projects.
- Public demonstration of competence.
Supervisors of student employees play an integral role in incorporating these elements, shaping the student employment experience through guidance and feedback, hands-on skills development, reflection and the meaning-making that students can apply to future opportunities and career decisions. As such, we must consider how to equip supervisors of student employees with the knowledge and skills to provide meaningful mentorship in their roles to increase the value of the working learner experience.
Case Study
The University at Buffalo Career Design Center manages campus-wide student employment programming through the Here to Career+ Student Employment Program. As a member of the Work+ Collective led by Arizona State University, the program seeks to transform the campus employment experience for students and supervisors through funding for increased student employment opportunities and investment in resources to support the professional growth of both groups.
The Career Design Center and select campus partners had the opportunity to participate in a discovery sprint that examined the state of the campus employment experience from the perspective of students and their supervisors, gaining insights on what was going well and obstacles that both groups faced to inform potential solutions. Two of the top barriers identified were a lack of clarity around the role of supervisors and inadequate resources available for supervisors across campus. Supervisors voiced their desire for more guidance on best practices in hiring, training and supervising their working learners, as managing student employees was often identified as an additional part of their roles for which they had received little to no training.
The Career Design Center utilized this feedback to apply for funding and develop the Experiential Learning and Student Employment (ELSE) team, with a dedicated Associate Director, Assistant Director, Student Employment and two ELSE coordinators to expand Here to Career+ Student Employment Program offerings and reach across campus. Sample offerings include a resource library for supervisors and working learners available through the Work+ Collective, professional development sessions hosted by the University, webinars from professional organizations such as National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the National Student Employment Association (NSEA), and opportunities for gathering, recognizing and celebrating both groups throughout the academic year and for National Student Employment Week each April.
The Career Design Center is utilizing feedback from supervisors collected throughout the Fall Semester to inform Spring 2025 program offerings, including a full-day Careers By Design Conference Day in March for supervisors and student employees that will cover topics such as facilitating meaningful conversations with student employees and maximizing the student employment experience to stand out in the job market.
Impact for Students and Campus
The majority of program feedback from supervisors has demonstrated the impact of increased access of employment opportunities for diverse student populations and operational capacity for participating offices.
Supervisor Feedback
“This is the first time my department participated in the Here to Career+ Program and it provided my department with the opportunity to hire students we otherwise wouldn’t be able to hire due to budget constraints. It is helping the department organize projects and work and create standard operating protocols as work is completed. This semester we couldn’t participate in a few of the skills presentations and the Clifton Strengths program, but would like to see that again in the spring if the program is extended.”
“This has been very valuable towards building a strong framework for a successful mentoring and engagement platform. They have helped me and other important constituent alumni areas in alumni engagement to advance at a quicker pace alumni constituent engagement, metrics, reporting and streamline the daily admin work into an intentional operations plan. We will have the ability to contribute to National heritage months, etc., by encouraging joining and engaging meaningfully on the platform with groups and people user most identify.”
“I love the idea of teaching students how to be leaders – even in their day-to-day jobs. I am seeing students have less investment in their student employment recently – having activities like this helps remind/teach them the importance of these experiences!”
“This is a great program! Thank you so much for making funds available. It has allowed our school to develop graduate specific career projects that we would not have the bandwidth to do otherwise.”
Student Employee Feedback
“Last week, I attended the session “Strengths Spotlight: Leveraging Your Strengths to Excel in Your Campus Job”. Prior to the session, I completed the CliftonStrengths assessment, a powerful tool that helped me identify my natural talents and understand how to develop them into strengths. A huge thank you to the Career Design Center team for hosting such an impactful session! I feel fortunate to work at International Student Services (ISS), as a Graduate Assistant and for the opportunities and support my supervisors continue to provide. Feeling grateful and inspired to keep growing!”
Adaptability
The following steps can be taken to provide more robust opportunities for supervisors and their student employees:
- Join Professional Organizations: The Work+ Collective, National Student Employment Association and other professional organizations can provide resources to support the build out or enhancement of student employment programming, from best practices, trainings and funding to design sprints that help to identify your campus’ unique needs and opportunities.
- Leverage Campus Resources: Existing campus resources from Human Resources and Organizational Development and Effectiveness teams may be useful when developing programming for supervisors and student employees. Additionally, there may be funding available to support further investment in programs and opportunities.
- Stay Connected: Having an advisory group of supervisors across campus can provide regular insights and feedback on the specific needs of your campus that inform the direction of your student employment program and offerings. Additionally, providing training and informal opportunities for supervisors to come together can aid in building community and increasing your program’s reach.
References
Kuh, G. D. 2008. High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Kuh, G. D., K. O’Donnell, and S. D. Reed. 2013. Ensuring Quality and Taking High-Impact Practices to Scale. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Additional Resources
Student Employment: The Next High Impact Practice
- This article describes approaches taken by SUNY Stony Brook and Binghampton to transform work-study/student employment into high-impact learning experiences
Arizona State University Work+ Collective Resources
- Work+ offers both student employee and supervisor online hubs with resources and tools specifically tailored to professional development through student employment.