Evaluation of the First Year of an On-Campus Internship

Program

Dr. Sharra Hynes, Executive Director, Experiential Learning

Mark Walvoord, Assistant Director, Student Transformative Learning Record

Pair and Share

• What is the state of internships on your campus? • What advantages would

come from increasing internship opportunities on campus?

• How do you differentiate on-campus internships from other on-campus student employment?

Today’s Outline

Context

Funding

Program and Research Goals

Enhancements to Our Program

Participant Implementation Reflection

Context: About UCO

• 17,000 students

• Primarily nontraditional, ~45% work off campus 20+ hrs/week

• Oklahoma’s oldest institution of higher education (126 years)

• 40-50% First Generation college students

Context: About UCO

• Oklahoma City metropolitan area has 1.25 million people

• With 10 Colleges and Universities

• Our graduates need a competitive edge = experiential learning opportunities

Mission: The University of Central Oklahoma exists to help students learn by providing transformative education experiences to students so that they may become productive, creative, ethical, and engaged citizens and leaders serving our global community. UCO contributes to the intellectual, cultural, economic and social advancement of the communities and individuals it serves.

Four Strategic Themes:1) Transformative Learning2) Student Success3) Value4) Place

Context: TL at UCO

UCO’s Center for Transformative Learning (2010)

Transformative Learning:

• Develops beyond disciplinary skills and

• Expands students’ perspectives of their relationship with self, others, community and environment.

Context: TL at UCO

UCO Experiential Learning

Applies classroom knowledge to

practical situations

Provides avenues to transformative

learning

Student Research

In Class Activities

Internships

Clinical Experiences

Volunteer and Service

Learning

GlobalExperiences

through…

Context: Experiential Learning at UCO

StudentLife

Context: History of UCO Internships

• Decentralized (in Departments/Colleges)

• Few with required internships

• Less alignment of Career Services priorities to campus actions

• 2014 move to enhanceexperiential learning opportunities

Today’s Outline

Context

Funding

Program and Research Goals

Enhancements to Our Program

Participant Implementation Reflection

Funding: STLR

Funding

$7.78 million, DOE Title III grant,

Oct 2014 – Sept 2019

Career ServicesA DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

~$110,000 per year

30 positions

Today’s Outline

Context

Funding

Program and Research Goals

Enhancements to Our Program

Participant Implementation Reflection

Program Goals

• Give students work experience in a potential future career field

• Create an internship program that is replicable in other settings

• Enhance students’ employability through increased experientialopportunities

Research Goals

• Analyze students' satisfaction with the University’s attempts to enhance their career prospects

• Determine if program helps students verify career goals

• Quantify increase in students’ employable skills

Data:

Pre- and post-surveys SIS Data

GPA, Major

Block 2

Intern UCO P

articipant Post­Survey

 Thank you fo

r participating in

 the Intern U

CO program this 2015­2016 academic year. In

 order to

assess  how  s

uccessful  th

is  program  is, 

we  are  gathering  so

me  data  about  your  perspective  of

UCO,  career  preparedness, 

and  confidence  i

n  future  c

areer  field.    P

lease  answer  th

e  following

prompts as best y

ou can. 

In addition to

 gathering your responses for internal assessm

ent of Intern UCO, we'll be co

nducting

research based  o

n  your  consent  in

  our  pre­survey  la

st  fall.   

This  information  p

ertains  to  your

involvement and the re

search will allow u

s to present at co

nferences or to publish 

findings. 

Identity (please complete):

Name

UCO ID Questionairre

Rate the fo

llowing statements using th

e scale provided:

 

   

Strongly

DisagreeDisagree

NeutralAgree

Strongly

Agree

Not

Applicable

I believe that UCO is

committed to helping m

e

succeed academically.

   

UCO affords me

opportunities to enhance

my resume.

   

My experiences at and

through UCO will help m

e

get a job in

 my chosen

field upon graduation.

   

One or more full­tim

e

UCO faculty a

nd staff ca

re

Research Goals

• 4 Likert scale prompts for UCO’s contribution to their career readiness

• 10 skills-based Likert scale prompts (3 communication, 3 teamwork, 3 problem solving, 1 leadership)

• Post-graduation plans

Pre- and post-surveys

Research ResultsSignificant skills increases using traditional pre-post

N=24

3.7

3.8

3.9

4

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

Expressingideasand

conceptsorally

Engagingwithpeople

whoseideasandexperiencesaredifferent

thanmyown

Workingwithothersto

completeaproject

Interpretingdataand

informationtoapplytomytask

LikertScale(0StronglyDisagree-5StronglyAgree)

SignificantSelf-ReportedSkillsChangesPre-survey Post-survey

Research ResultsAnd ALL increased using retrospective pre-post data

N=24

Research ResultsNo significant change in students’ beliefs about UCO helping them succeed

N=24

3.8

4

4.2

4.4

4.6

4.8

5

5.2

IbelievethatUCOis

committedtohelpingmesucceedacademically.

UCOaffordsme

opportunitiestoenhancemyresume.

Myexperiencesatand

throughUCOwillhelpmegetajobinmy

chosenfieldupongraduation.

Oneormorefull-time

UCOfacultyandstaffcareaboutmyacademic

andcareersuccess.

LikertScale(0SronglyDisagree-5StronglyAgree)

StudentPerceptionofUniversity'sComittmenttotheirSuccessPre-survey Post-survey

Today’s Outline

Context

Funding

Program and Research Goals

Enhancements to Our Program

Participant Implementation Reflection

• Intern UCO Handbook to help students and supervisors stay on track

• Weekly reflections and increased LMS usage• Compile Year 2 data to combine with Year 1• New funding model• Expansion to 8 Off-Campus positions

Enhancements

Today’s Outline

Context

Funding

Program and Research Goals

Enhancements to Our Program

Participant Implementation Reflection

Choose a topic, then go to your corner:• Assessing your existing internship program• Starting a new internship program• Expanding an existing internship program• Ideas for non-internship,

experiential programs

Implementation Reflection

Evaluation of the First Year of an On-Campus Internship

Program

Dr. Sharra Hynes

Mark Walvoord

shynes1@uco.educareers.uco.edu/InternUCO

stlr@uco.edu

uco.edu/stlr

@ucostlr