Reimagining On-Campus Student Employment as a Foundation for Career Readiness: Student Employment in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Division of Student Affairs

Many undergraduate students participate in on-campus employment while pursuing their academic programs. Increasingly, institutions of higher education recognize student employment not only as a resource to address institutional workforce needs or students’ pressing financial needs, but also to promote students’ overall learning, development, and success. To better understand on-campus undergraduate student employment in the context of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Division of Student Affairs (DSA), this descriptive study employed a mixed-methods approach using surveys, interviews, focus groups, secondary data analysis, and artifact analysis. These methods were applied to explore the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, including undergraduate student employees, supervisors of student employees, and administrative leaders. Findings underscore that decentralized employment policies and practices present access barriers for student employees and provide inadequate support for supervisors. Crucial next steps will be to develop a shared language and culture that promote on-campus student employment as a High-Impact Practice (HIP) and measure student employees’ learning outcomes in terms of Career-Readiness Competencies. Recommendations are four-fold: provide centralized oversight for on-campus employment; build a more supportive ecosystem for student employees; elevate the role of supervisors of student employees; and assess student employees’ learning outcomes. Implementing these recommendations can foster a more supportive environment for undergraduate student employees and their supervisors, ultimately promoting enhanced learning outcomes, career development, and satisfaction for both of these stakeholders. Insights about effective practices for on-campus student employment may be applicable in other higher education settings, allowing for the dissemination of best practices to a broader range of institutions.