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 Primarily nontraditional (10% live on campus) Most international UGs in OK (~10%) 450 FT faculty/~670 FTE faculty Teaching load: 12 hrs/semester (4x4 load) 5 colleges, 1 grad college, 1 institute

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

Context: TL at UCO Four Strategic Themes: Transformative Learning 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: Transformative Learning Student Success Value Place UCO’s Center for Transformative Learning (2010)

Context: TL at UCO Transformative Learning: Develops beyond disciplinary skills and Expands students’ perspectives of their relationship with self, others, community and environment. Expanded explanation. TL: Helps students acquire critical, beyond-discipline skills that prepare them for successful workplace and personal life engagement. Produces graduates who: Better understand themselves; Better relate to co-workers, family, and friends; Better contribute to their communities; Are better stewards of their environment.

Context: Experiential Learning 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 Global Experiences through… Student Life Created by Mark Walvoord, 1/23/15 for website

Context: History of UCO Internships Decentralized (in Departments/Colleges) Few with required internships 2014 move to enhance experiential learning opportunities Less alignment of Career Services priorities to campus actions

Today’s Outline Context Funding Program and Research Goals Enhancements to Our Program Participant Implementation Reflection

Funding: STLR https://youtu.be/PyQPEDaY8eg

Career Services A DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS Funding $7.78 million, DOE Title III grant, Oct 2014 – Sept 2019 Career Services A 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 experiential opportunities Sharra: Quick review of program design (cohort, year-long, monthly development meetings, trained supervisors, mid- and end-semester reviews…)

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

Research Goals Pre- and post-surveys 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

Research Results Significant skills increases using traditional pre-post --Significant increase in self-reported skills in “expressing ideas and concepts orally” (p=.002); “engaging with people whose ideas and experiences are different than my own” (p=.009); “working with others to complete a project” (p=.017); “interpreting data and information to apply to my task” (p=.017) (traditional pre-post on survey, pairwise t-test), all increased. -- All 10 significant increases in self-reported skills using retrospective pre-post on survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals --Significant increase in the 4 skills groups (retrospective pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test) -- No significant change in student perspective about UCO helping them achieve their career goals (3 of 4 questions were already “strongly agree,” and 4th went from ”agree” to “strongly agree” on average in post-test, but not quite significant at p=.059). --No significant change in post-graduation plans (pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals); for ANY change pre- to post-survey, _________. N=24

Research Results And ALL increased using retrospective pre-post data --Significant increase in self-reported skills in “expressing ideas and concepts orally” (p=.002); “engaging with people whose ideas and experiences are different than my own” (p=.009); “working with others to complete a project” (p=.017); “interpreting data and information to apply to my task” (p=.017) (traditional pre-post on survey, pairwise t-test), all increased. -- All 10 significant increases in self-reported skills using retrospective pre-post on survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals (p = .005, .001, .002, .001, .000, .000, .000, .000, .001, .001) --Significant increase in the 4 skills groups (retrospective pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test) -- No significant change in student perspective about UCO helping them achieve their career goals (3 of 4 questions were already “strongly agree,” and 4th went from ”agree” to “strongly agree” on average in post-test, but not quite significant at p=.059). --No significant change in post-graduation plans (pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals); for ANY change pre- to post-survey, _________. N=24

Research Results Changes in self-reported skill groups using retrospective pre-post data --Significant increase in self-reported skills in “expressing ideas and concepts orally” (p=.002); “engaging with people whose ideas and experiences are different than my own” (p=.009); “working with others to complete a project” (p=.017); “interpreting data and information to apply to my task” (p=.017) (traditional pre-post on survey, pairwise t-test), all increased. -- All 10 significant increases in self-reported skills using retrospective pre-post on survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals --Significant increase in the 4 skills groups (retrospective pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test) -- No significant change in student perspective about UCO helping them achieve their career goals (3 of 4 questions were already “strongly agree,” and 4th went from ”agree” to “strongly agree” on average in post-test, but not quite significant at p=.059). --No significant change in post-graduation plans (pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals); for ANY change pre- to post-survey, _________. N=24

Research Results No significant change in students’ beliefs about UCO helping them succeed --Significant increase in self-reported skills in “expressing ideas and concepts orally” (p=.002); “engaging with people whose ideas and experiences are different than my own” (p=.009); “working with others to complete a project” (p=.017); “interpreting data and information to apply to my task” (p=.017) (traditional pre-post on survey, pairwise t-test), all increased. -- All 10 significant increases in self-reported skills using retrospective pre-post on survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals --Significant increase in the 4 skills groups (retrospective pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test) -- No significant change in student perspective about UCO helping them achieve their career goals (3 of 4 questions were already “strongly agree,” and 4th went from ”agree” to “strongly agree” on average in post-test, but not quite significant at p=.059). --No significant change in post-graduation plans (pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals); for ANY change pre- to post-survey, _________. N=24

Research Results Change in post-grad plans pre-post Enroll in graduate school Begin working in a different field from which I currently work Travel Don’t have any idea yet Begin working in a position directly related to my chosen major Other --Significant increase in self-reported skills in “expressing ideas and concepts orally” (p=.002); “engaging with people whose ideas and experiences are different than my own” (p=.009); “working with others to complete a project” (p=.017); “interpreting data and information to apply to my task” (p=.017) (traditional pre-post on survey, pairwise t-test), all increased. -- All 10 significant increases in self-reported skills using retrospective pre-post on survey responses, pairwise t-test for individuals --Significant increase in the 4 skills groups (retrospective pre- to post-survey responses, pairwise t-test) -- No significant change in student perspective about UCO helping them achieve their career goals (3 of 4 questions were already “strongly agree,” and 4th went from ”agree” to “strongly agree” on average in post-test, but not quite significant at p=.059). --Significant change (for ANY change) pre- to post-survey, p<.001 N = 24, p < 0.001

Today’s Outline Context Funding Program and Research Goals Enhancements to Our Program Participant Implementation Reflection

Enhancements 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 Photo from http://www.okcinnovation.com/

Today’s Outline Context Funding Program and Research Goals Enhancements to Our Program Participant Implementation Reflection

Implementation Reflection Choose one, 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

Evaluation of the First Year of an On-Campus Internship Program shynes1@uco.edu careers.uco.edu/InternUCO Dr. Sharra Hynes Mark Walvoord stlr@uco.edu uco.edu/stlr @ucostlr