Study Method

Using a case study methodological approach,¹ we studied five programs across the United States to understand the motivation, goals, and design of paid WBL opportunities available at two-year colleges. Four research questions guided our investigation:

1. What are the program’s intended objectives and outcomes?
2. How is the program funded?
3. What are the program’s particular features and characteristics?
4. Which student demographic(s) participates in the program?

We used a convenience sampling approach to identify and select the most accessible, information-rich, and geographically diverse cases. Our investigation included the following research sites:

• Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts (Learn and Earn Experience)
• Salt Lake Community College in Utah (Campus Internship Program)
• San Antonio College in Texas (Earn and Learn Program)
• Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio (Summer Internship Program)
• Bunker Hill Community College in Massachusetts (Learn and Earn Program).

We conducted in-depth, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with program directors and senior campus administrators who were influential in developing and leading the WBL program. On average, all discussions lasted 60 minutes, and were conducted by one to two New America staff members via Zoom. Except for Bunker Hill, interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. A qualitative approach was well suited for this topic because it helped unpack often overlooked or potentially hidden programmatic elements and decisions. The interview protocol examined each WBL program’s origins, intended goals and outcomes, funding sources, types of institutional resources provided, and career development support available to students.

Middlesex Community College

Spanning two branch campuses (Bedford and Lowell campuses), Middlesex Community College is a midsize, public, two-year institution in Massachusetts with an estimated student population of 6,885 (fall 2020).² Middlesex’s mission is to equip students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds with a high-quality and affordable education. Students are prepared for success through workforce development opportunities, such as the Learn and Earn Experience program. Following the apprenticeship/co-op model, the program affords students majoring in the Biotechnology Technician Program an opportunity to work at a biotech company while completing their associate degree. Closing the diversity gap in STEM was a driving factor in creating the program, in partnership with regional biotech companies. While employed full time for one year, earning a minimum of $20 per hour, students progress towards degree completion by completing seven credits per semester. Classes are flexibly structured to avoid conflicts with work hours. When they complete the apprenticeship/co-op, program alums have already been vetted for potential permanent positions at partner biotech companies and often directly hired into them. Participating employers include Pfizer, Bristol Myers, Takeda, and Ultragenyx, to name a few.

Since launching in 2020, the program has admitted two cohorts, serving a total of 30 students. Stefana Soitos, director of the Learn and Earn Experience, told us about the integrated wraparound services—or the “invisible work,” as she called it—that help with student retention. “One [strategy], in particular, is checking in with them every semester,” Soitos said. Another wraparound support with impact relates to academic enrollment. Instead of students enrolling themselves into courses for the next semester, Soitos “bulk enrolls them in a cohort.” This makes the decision to continue in the program into a nondecision. This advising strategy is critical when working with community college students because of the greater likelihood of dropout and temporary stop-out. This case study shows that integrating proactive advising strategies is one way Learn and Earn program staff can address common barriers to student retention and completion.

Salt Lake City Community College

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) is a large, public two-year institution committed to removing economic barriers for underprivileged students by covering the cost of tuition and fees. The campus is Utah’s largest and most diverse college, with student enrollment exceeding 27,000 (fall 2020).³

Driven by concerns about narrowly tailored secretarial student employment on campus, the Campus Internship Program (CIP) aims to broaden students’ professional skills and enhance career readiness. In addition to a semester-long internship with an on-campus office or department, students receive mentorship from supervisors and support from coaches in Career Services. In addition, students are encouraged to attend various career exploration and readiness workshops and other events hosted by Career Services, such as Gallup’s StrengthsFinder, major exploration, and career readiness. Students must enroll in a minimum of nine academic credit hours during the fall and spring semesters.

Since the program was revamped in 2018, nearly 200 students have participated. When CIP launched in 2010, interns earned a starting hourly wage of $12.75. However, because market conditions have driven up the average hourly salary by 8 percent,⁴ Earn and Learn program staff and employers had to rethink their compensation strategy. Career Services Director Ella Aho said the expansion of lucrative employment opportunities off campus has resulted in significant declines in student participation in the program during the summer months. Current economic conditions led Aho to advocate raising CIP starting wages to $15 per hour, although the intern hourly rate was only $14.29 at the time of our interview. “Some unique context about Utah is that it has consistently ranked among the top five U.S. state economies. So we have a low unemployment rate and a high minimum wage rate, so offering students $15 an hour would make the program more competitive with students choosing not to work on campus right now. For example, students could work at retail or fast food and make $20 an hour,” she explained. Because most community college students are already employed—whether part time or full time—employers must design attractive internship opportunities that encourage students to apply. Following our interview, SLCC President Deneece Huftalin announced plans in March to raise the increase the student minimum wage to $15 per hour. This case study highlights the importance of providing livable wages to attract and retain talented students from culturally diverse and economically underprivileged backgrounds.

San Antonio College

Among one of the largest community colleges in the nation, San Antonio College serves approximately 20,000 students each year (fall 2020).⁵ Founded as a junior college in 1925, this public, two-year college is one of five colleges in the Alamo Community College District.

The Learn and Earn program launched during the COVID-19 pandemic using institutional and federal funding sources (i.e., Pell Grants). The Assistant Director, Sabrina Macal-Polasek, said, "we saw a lot of students who have never had any sort of work experience before." The program seeks to help equip students with career-ready skills through high-impact internship opportunities, particularly on campus.” Providing internship opportunities on campus is critical for multiple reasons. “Many [students] don’t have transportation,” said Macal-Polasek, “and they’re taking two buses to get to campus, and so the program helps to relieve a huge burden of them having to travel back and forth to different areas.” In turn, the program’s focus on campus opportunities helps eliminate potential transportation obstacles and encourages students to become more engaged in campus life.

Piloted in fall 2021, the program has already served over 300 students. Participants must maintain enrollment in a minimum of six-course credit hours, which helps them stay on track for program completion. They receive an hourly base salary of $13.75 for their internship, with the opportunity to participate over successive academic terms.

In addition to employment opportunities on campus, participants can access other institutional support networks. For example, Career Navigators, two full-time staff members, assist with various career readiness competencies, such as resume review and mock interviews. This case study suggests hiring multiple dedicated coordinators to administer program activities can help ease staff capacity issues while facilitating access to caring, individualized career advising for community college students, fostering an optimal environment for experiential learning.

Cuyahoga Community College

With approximately 19,000 students, Cuyahoga Community College, in northeastern Ohio, is the state’s oldest and largest two-year college.⁶ Founded in 1963, this large, public school—also known as Tri-C—has expanded to serve diverse students across four branch campuses and at various off-campus locations. Tri-C's mission is removing barriers to a high-quality, affordable, and accessible education for local community members. As articulated in its 2018–22 strategic plan, Tri-C strives to build on current workforce development efforts by increasing opportunities for students to earn degrees and industry credentials that align with employer need.

Campus leaders are working toward this goal through Tri-C's Summer Internship Program (SIP). Sandy McKnight, associate vice president for Access, Learning, and Success, said that improving student retention was the most significant factor behind the development of SIP. "The program was designed to give students a rich experience, but what we have learned at Tri-C is that if we can keep people engaged [on campus] through the summer, they are more likely to return for the fall semester," McKnight said.

With a base hourly salary of $11, SIP participants must take at least one academic course during the summer, which the college fully subsidizes, for up to five credit hours. Another feature of this program is that students receive a book voucher for $125. Since the program launched in 2016 with over 100 participants, student interest has steadily grown, peaking at 212 participants in 2019, before the pandemic. Because of the program’s growth and success in increasing retention rates by as much as 20 percent, McKnight said it has evolved from focusing primarily on campus-based internships to expanding internship opportunities off campus through emerging partnerships with local businesses.

Although Tri-C has captured the short-term effects of the program on year-to-year student retention, McKnight, unfortunately, could not report on the program’s long-term effects on student completion. One critical implication from this case study is the significance of collecting robust, comprehensive data on student outcomes, which allows college leaders to demonstrate program impacts.

Bunker Hill Community College

The largest and most racially and ethnically diverse two-year institution in Massachusetts, Bunker Hill Community College is a public, midsize, urban institution serving the metropolitan Boston area and adjacent cities. Many Bunker Hill students are already employed, over half are parents, and over three-fourths fall within the two lowest income quartiles. Founded in 1973, the college has expanded to educate students across its two main campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea. Most students live less than eight miles from the college and commute via local transit.⁷

Because most students remain in the area upon degree or credential completion, helping them gain exposure in their desired fields through partnerships with local businesses is imperative. Building on the college’s mission to become an “educational and economic asset for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” the Learn and Earn program launched in spring 2012 with just 20 students, driven by a partnership with five firms seeking to broaden the diversity of their talent pool.⁸ With the creation of new alliances with small businesses, civic organizations, corporations, and nonprofits, Bunker Hill now places approximately 150 interns each semester. Although internship placements typically last for 10 weeks, some corporate employers support a limited number of yearlong positions. Over 500 students have benefited from internships thus far, and more than 40 percent have had their placement extended or converted into permanent positions.⁹

Learn and Earn participants receive a starting hourly rate of $18 and must complete a three-credit internship class. In addition, participants in the program benefit from travel stipends, ranging from $180 to $500, which helps alleviate a common barrier to internship participation for community college students.

Bunker Hill President Pamela Eddinger asserts that when designing WBL opportunities, college leaders must consider the demographics of the student population: “that so many BHCC students already work, and the majority are older, are facts that must be taken into account by higher education institutional leaders and policymakers who want to expand the availability of internships for this population,” she said.¹⁰ Eddinger mentioned that while students are often eager to build new connections in their fields of interest and demonstrate their skills and preparation, they still may require encouragement, resources, and material support to overcome perceived obstacles to participation. Although many two-year institutions are accustomed to operating with limited financial resources, one key takeaway from this case study is that access to adequate funding is a prerequisite to expanding and sustaining high-impact WBL opportunities, particularly for community college students.