UNDERSTANDING THE WORKING COLLEGE STUDENT

Author(s): Laura W. Perna

Source: Academe, Vol. 96, No. 4 (July-August 2010), pp. 30-32
Published by: American Association of University Professors
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UNDERSTANDING

THE WORKING

COLLEGE

STUDENT
By Laura W. Perna

AHEAD

New research shows that students areworking more and juggling

a multitude of roles,creating anxietyand loweringgraduation rates.
'en to fifteenhours per week, on campus." tional" undergraduates?that is,students between the ages of
This is thetypical response fromfaculty
members sixteen and twenty-four attending college full time?worked
and administratorswho are asked howmuch under while enrolled. About 80 percent of traditional-age undergradu
graduate students should work at paying jobswhile ates attending college part timeworked while enrolled. (See
attending college. Available research supports this recommenda figures 1 and 2.) The share of full-time, traditional-age under
tion.Quantitative studies consistently show that retention rates graduates working fewerthan twentyhours perweek has de
are higher for studentswho work a modest number of hours per clined during thepast decade (to about 15 percent in 2007),
week (ten to fifteen) than theyare forstudentswho do not work while the number working between twentyand thirty-four hours
at all or thosewho work more than fifteenhours per week. Re perweek has increased (to about 21 percent in 2007). Today
search also shows increased academic success forstudentswork nearly one in ten (8 percent) full-time, traditional-age under
ing on rather than offcampus. graduates is employed at least thirty-five hours perweek. Con
Unfortunately,this simple recommendation is no longer feasible trary to the common belief that community college students are
or realistic for the typicalundergraduate.Most college students more likely tobe employed than students at four-year institu
are now not only employed but also working a substantial number tions, thedistribution of undergraduates by the number of hours
of hours, a factnot widely understood or discussed by faculty worked is similar at public two-year,public four-year,and private
members and policymakers. According to theNational Center for four-yearinstitutions,after controlling fordifferences in
Education Statistics, in 2007 nearly half (45 percent) of "tradi attendance status.

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 Working isnow a fundamental respon
1
FIGURE
sibilityformany undergraduates. But
of 16- to24-Year-0ld
Percentage CollegeStudents FullTime
WhoWere Enrolled
understanding how employment affects
students' educational experiences is com and Employed,1970 to2005
plicated bywhy studentswork. Many stu 60
dentsmust work to pay the costs of at
tending college. As College Board policy 50 ^^^-^
analyst Sandy Baum argues in a 2010
collection of essays I edited,Understand
ing theWorking College Student: New
Research and Its Implications for Policy -a- % employed

and Practice, while some of these students Fewer than

20 hours
are awarded "work" as part of theirfinan
cial aid package, other studentseitherdo 20 to34 hours
not receivework-study fundingor find ? 35 or more
hours
such awards insufficientto cover thecosts
^
of attendance. Some traditional-age stu 10
m
dentsmay use employment as a way to <?
m m
explore career options or earn spending
0
money. For other students,particularly 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
adult students,work isa part of their iden
as Carol Kasworm, a professorof adult ofEducation2009.
Source:NationalCenterforEducationStatistics.Condition
tity,
education at North Carolina State Univer
sity,and other contributorstoUnderstand FIGURE2
ing theWorking College Student point of 16- to24-Year-0ld PartTime
WhoWere Enrolled
Percentage CollegeStudents
out. Regardless of the reason forworking,
and Employed,1970 to2005
tryingtomeet themultiple and sometimes
100
conflicting simultaneous demands of the
roles of student,employee, parent, and so 90
on often creates high levelsof stressand
anxiety,making it less likelythat students
will complete theirdegrees.

Reconceptualizing Work
Although students who work have an
obligation to fulfilltheir academic
responsibilities,colleges and universities
also have a responsibilityto ensure that
all students?including thosewho
work?can be successful.
One obvious approach is forcolleges ? 10
and universities to reduce students' fi 0
nancial need towork by reducing the rate 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
of tuition growth and increasing need
ofEducation2009.
Source:NationalCenterforEducationStatistics.Condition
based grants. Colleges and universities
can also reduce the prevalence and intensityof employment Even on campuses where relativelyfewstudentswork and those
through financial aid counseling that informs students of both who do work relativelyfewhours and primarilyon rather than off
the consequences ofworking and alternativemechanisms of pay campus, theapplicable research suggests that reconceptualizing
ing forcollege. Nonetheless, given the recent economic recession "work" and its role in students' learning and engagement could
(and its implications for tuition, financial aid, and students' be beneficial. Often professorsand administrators believe that
financial resources) as well as the centralityof jobs to students' employment pulls students' attention away from theiracademic
many will likelycontinue towork substantial numbers
identities, studies; theydefine any time spent inpaid employment as
of hours. necessarily reducing theamount of time available for learning.

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Qualitative data indicate that this time trade-offis real formany Giving students the opportunityformeaningful one-on-one
working students.But what ifworking were considered not as interactionswith theirprofessors is also critical to fosteringa sup
detracting fromeducation but as promoting student learning? portive campus culture, and such interactionsmay be particularly
From a human-capital perspective,both employment (especially beneficial toworking students.For example, Marvin Titus, assis
when defined as on-the-job training) and formal education build tantprofessorof higher education at theUniversityofMaryland
students' human capital. Given this theoreticalperspective as well College Park, uses quantitative analyses of data from the
as the realityof studentemployment, colleges and universities Beginning Postsecondary Students survey to show that the
should considerways to transformemployment into an experience likelihood of completing a bachelor's degreewithin six years
that can enhance students' intellectual development. increaseswith the frequencyof student-facultydiscussions in the
Understanding theWorking College Student offersseveral firstyear of college, even after taking intoaccount other variables.
strategiesfor transformingthe role of employment in students' Mary Ziskin, Vasti Torres,Don Hossler, and Jacob Gross, researchers
educational experiences. One potential strategyis todevelop with theProject on Academic Success at Indiana University,use
connections between employment and learning by incorporating qualitative analyses to identifyexamples where instructorsdo not
into coursework theknowledge gained throughwork-based offernecessary assistance, eitherbecause theydo not realize the
experiences.Another strategyis to recognize formally the contribu challenges facingworking studentsor because theydo not believe
tionofworkplace experiences to student learning by awarding theyare obligated to offerany additional assistance.
course credit forrelevant employment experiences. Several organi Ziskin and colleagues also conclude that the academic success
mechanisms forassessing and awarding course credit
zations offer ofmany adult studentsmay be jeopardized by theirbelief that
forwork and other prior experiences?for example, theCollege their jobs, familycommitments, and age make them "out of
Board's College-Level Examination Program and theAmerican place" on campus. This problem can be remedied. Through one
Council on Education's College CreditRecommendation Service. on-one interactions,professorsand administrators can promote
adult working students' sense of belonging and validate their
SupportingWorking Students presence on campus, thus encouraging their academic success.

Colleges and universities can also create a supportive campus Colleges and universities should also consider otherways to
culture forworking students.To do so, facultymembers and adapt thedeliveryof instructionas well as academic and social
administratorsmust understand the learning and supportneeds support services to theneeds ofworking students.John Levin,
ofworking students.While thenational data paint a picture of professorof education at theUniversityof California, Riverside,
student employment "on average," individual colleges and uni and his colleagues suggest thatby adapting these structures,
versitiesmust also understand thepatterns of employment?and institutionsnot only allow working students tobecome actively
the implications of these patterns?on theirown campuses. engaged on campus but also promote students' self-confidence
Colleges and universitiesmust educate both professorsand and motivation to succeed in college.
administrators about theprevalence of student employment and
how to connect students'workplace and academic experiences Fostering Student Success
and then change institutionalpolicies, practices, and structures The research collected inUnderstanding theWorking College
to promote such connections. In particular, higher education Student provides numerous suggestions forhow tohelp working
institutions,especially thosewith large proportions of students students succeed in college. These include offeringcourses in
working large numbers of hours, should considerwhether their the evenings, on weekends, and in distance education formats;
structuresare oriented towardmeeting only theneeds of establishing course schedules in advance; offeringstudents access
"traditional" students?that is, students enrolled full time and to academic advising and other support services at night and
working ten to fifteenhours perweek in on-campus positions. on weekends; offeringonline course registrationand academic
Creating an institutionalculture thatpromotes the success of advising; providing child-care options; and providing space
working studentswill require a campuswide effortthat involves forstudents to studybetweenwork and school. Colleges and
the facultyand administration. Colleges and universities should universities can also help working students connect their
encourage, reward,and support facultymembers who adapt their employment and educational experiences through career
instructionalpractices topromote the educational success of counseling and occupational placement.
working students. InUnderstanding theWorking College Many undergraduate students struggle tomeet themultiple
Student, Paul Umbach, associate professorof higher education at demands ofwork, family,and school roles. Colleges and universi
North Carolina State University,and his co-authors demonstrate tieshave an obligation to ensure that all students?including
the educational benefits toworking studentswhen their instructors working students?can succeed on theircampuses. Reframing
encourage cooperative learning, sethigh expectations forstudent work as potentially enhancing student learning and ensuring
achievement, and create assignments that require students to thatprevailing institutionalpolicies, practices, and structures
demonstrate deep learning.A campus teaching centermay also recognize thatmost undergraduates will have jobswhile enrolled
support facultyeffortstohelp working students. are importantsteps in the rightdirection.

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