Takeaways and Recommendations

Our look at five community colleges suggests that while paid WBL programs are viewed mainly as an effective strategy for facilitating student career readiness and retention, leaders must do more to make these experiences more equitable for all learners. Below we outline four recommendations for state policymakers and college stakeholders in career services, academic advising, and workforce development to enhance the effectiveness of WBL program design and implementation.

Our research reveals that some community colleges struggle to provide equitable WBL opportunities for all learners, especially historically underserved populations, including but not limited to low-income, first-generation, and racially minoritized students. For example, after auditing and revamping its participant outreach and recruitment methods—such as eliminating arduous, multi-round interviews and removing grade point average cutoffs—Bunker Hill staff achieved parity in participation among college men from racially minoritized backgrounds, who now make up the second largest student subgroup. Community colleges that espouse a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in campus mission statements cannot overlook systemic inequities within the implementation of WBL programs that reinforces white racial privilege.

Community college leaders must begin to see equitable participation in paid WBL programs as both an economic justice and a racial equity issue.

Community college leaders must begin to see equitable participation in paid WBL programs as both an economic justice and a racial equity issue. Staff members from career services and academic advising should start this process by conducting an internal audit of their outreach activities to better understand which student groups are most likely to apply for and participate in WBL. Disaggregation—breaking data down by race/ethnicity, gender, age, college generation status, family income level, and/or other demographic factors like foster care and student parent status—can help explore hidden gaps in participation.¹ College staff must accept institutional responsibility for disengagement trends found among specific student subgroups.² Finally, institutions should leverage qualitative research methods, such as focus groups or interviews, to better understand why particular subgroups do not participate or accrue the same short- or long-term benefits as their peers.

One significant shortcoming of this investigation is that WBL staff generally do not collect and could not elaborate on long-term impact of programs, especially those operating for five or more years. The scarcity of high-quality student outcome data weakens accountability for achieving program goals and diminishes meaningful opportunities for program improvement. This issue partly stems from the fact that most WBL programs do not have the staff capacity to conduct extensive program evaluations.

WBL staff should consider forming partnerships with institutional assessment offices to perform annual evaluations and closely track student outcomes such as employment status, wages, and career satisfaction. Community colleges should consider joining the recently launched National Survey of Paid Internships led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. Longitudinal data on student outcomes will provide college leaders with the evidence needed to advocate for future state funding. With the collection of robust, comprehensive program data, WBL staff will be able to demonstrate impact, establish an iterative design process, and ensure accountability for goals.

Concerns about inflation and the rising cost of living in the United States affect many Americans, especially community college students who are often financially independent. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, studies indicated that community college students faced severe challenges related to housing and food insecurity.³ It should come as little surprise that such challenges have worsened for community college students throughout the pandemic resulting in unprecedented enrollment declines and stop-outs.⁴

Our interviews suggest that access to dependable transportation is another significant barrier to student participation in paid WBL programs. In crafting a high-impact WBL program, staff must attend to the crucial yet often overlooked basic needs factors, such as child care costs and transportation to off-campus work sites.

To lessen barriers to participation and attract talented students, college leaders and employers should aim to offer at least a starting $15 hourly base salary. To determine starting compensation through an equity lens, employers should give special consideration to student parents, especially family size and the total number of financially contributing adults in a household. In addition, employers should redress basic needs concerns by providing vouchers for travel and child care expenses. Furthermore, it is vital that paid WBL opportunities, especially part-time positions, guarantee a minimum number of work hours each week.

Our interviews revealed that one of the biggest concerns of WBL staff is securing adequate funding for program operation, expansion, and sustainability. For example, WBL staff members at San Antonio College were interested in helping underserved subgroups, such as undocumented students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Unfortunately, Title IV federal financial aid guidelines prohibit staff from serving this vital group.

Increasing funding for paid WBL learning programs is one of the most impactful ways that state policymakers and community college presidents can promote program growth and sustainability while broadening participation. With additional funding, programs may be able to recruit staff members trained in program evaluation and provide more comprehensive, caring wraparound services to participants.

With equity-minded policies and strategies in place, employers and community colleges can broaden the impacts and benefits of paid WBL to countless students like Brandy.