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TRIO Programs / en Promoting Wolverines at work /news/promoting-wolverines-work Promoting Wolverines at work stuxbury <time datetime="2024-08-02T13:28:50-04:00" title="Friday, August 2, 2024 - 1:28 pm">Fri, 08/02/2024 - 13:28</time> <div> <div> <div class="copy-media paragraph l-constrain l-constrain--large paragraph--type-text-media paragraph--display-mode-default"> <div class="text"> ��-Dearborn’s student workers make up 35% of the campus’ workforce. Many of these student workers are Pell-eligible and the first in their families to attend college. Among the Dearborn Wolverines working on campus, nearly all have a 2.5 GPA or higher. But students often find it hard to communicate how their campus work is connected to their career and professional goals.So what does this data — gathered through a <a href="/academic-success/success-dearborn/wolverineswork">Wolverines@Work</a> pilot program launched by ��-Dearborn’s <a href="/academic-success/success-dearborn/experience-plus">EXP+</a> — tell us?“We need to embark on a major redesign of our campus student employment so students can make these connections to skills they are learning and their future careers,” says Maureen Linker, Associate Provost for undergraduate and experiential learning.She notes the Wolverines@Work initiative — led by Kelsey Parker, Project Manager for Experiential Learning and Laurel Draudt, Director of Career Services —  has the goal of assessing and enhancing the current state of ��-Dearborn student employment from both the student employee and student employee supervisor perspectives. Ultimately, says Linker, campus student employment should be another high impact learning practice like internships, study abroad and capstones.And EXP+ isn't doing this work alone, Linker says. Since 2022, EXP+  has collaborated with the Arizona State University-led <a href="https://theworkpluscollective.asu.edu/">Work+Collective</a> in designing a new model for on-campus employment. Through the collective, ��-Dearborn partners with nearly 20 universities around the nation, including the University of Connecticut and Virginia Commonwealth University, who are all evaluating their student employment practices and processes. </div> </div> </div> <div> <div class="copy-media paragraph l-constrain l-constrain--large paragraph--type-text-media paragraph--display-mode-default"> <figure class="captioned-image inline--left"> <img src="/sites/default/files/2023-04/maureen-linker.jpg" alt="Maureen Linker"> <figcaption class="inline-caption"> Maureen Linker, Associate Provost for undergraduate and experiential learning </figcaption> </figure> <div class="text"> “��-Dearborn stepped forward and became a regional and statewide leader in this national-reaching Work+Collective. Now that the first phase of the work is complete, we are sharing what we’ve learned so far in the hopes that other Michigan universities will join us,” Linker says. She says the ASU team wanted to work with ��-Dearborn because of the university’s <a href="/academic-success/success-dearborn/experience-plus">Experience+</a> structure — which helps connect students’ educational experiences to career goals — along with campus’ project-based learning course focus, the <a href="/summer-undergraduate-research-experience-sure-program">SURE program</a> and the digital storytelling initiative <a href="https://library.umd.umich.edu/storytelling/">��-Dearborn Speaks</a>.Linker says survey data and focus group feedback, which was gathered over the 2023-2024 academic year, showed that campus employment connects students to the university in a way that may help them stay in school and get to graduation. And with more than one-third of the campus workforce likely being new to the work world, university leaders needed to provide more support to student employee’s supervisors. Linker says the feedback also highlighted the importance of helping working Dearborn Wolverines find deeper meaning in these campus roles so they can see how the skills they are learning through university employment directly transfers to post-graduation careers. To support this work, ��-Dearborn’s pilot program included supervisor and student employee surveys, professional development sessions, regularly scheduled employer-employee check-ins, and the opportunity for students to share their employment stories through photojournalism projects and digital storytelling efforts. The pilot program concluded in June 2024. Now the next phase is underway and these efforts are becoming more visible across the university.Outcomes from the pilot include:<ul><li dir="ltr">A better understanding of ��-Dearborn’s student employee landscape and impact through survey data. For example, 660 student workers were employed during the 2023-24 academic year; student respondents shared that if they had a good relationship with their supervisor, they felt more connected to campus</li><li dir="ltr">Development of a new <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FIIgooitIMYaevtHZDAsR0t0LWs4_cit/view">student employment handbook</a></li><li dir="ltr">Tips and templates for creating student-employee job descriptions that attract the best candidates by showcasing how a position can tie into future career goals</li><li dir="ltr">Creation of supervisor training programs like the upcoming <a href="https://umich.zoom.us/j/96329811210#success">Federal Work Study Virtual Panel from 10-11:30 a.m. Aug. 8</a> and the <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSco5karYp8fkeI63bmimlef_62ZIFtj-e1TxF4ZtNgA6yWQlw/viewform">Supervisor Spa from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 14</a>. Questions about these events? Reach out to Wolverinesatwork@umich.edu.</li></ul>To share these and redesign-process lessons learned, ��-Dearborn recently hosted a "Redesigning Campus Student Employment for Student Success and Retention" conference.Attended by representatives from universities across the state — including several community colleges and more than half of Michigan’s 15 public universities, the day-long event showcased ��-Dearborn's role in an ASU partnership project, which is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Strada Educati