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UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey Report

Shakira Moreta

Salem State University

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The Office of Student Affairs at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), is devoted

to providing student employment opportunities that influence students’ personal and professional

development as well as their academic success (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes

Survey, 2015). In August 2015, the Office of Student Affairs decided to administer a survey to

students who were employed on campus at the end of the 2015 Spring semester. The Office of

Student Affairs plans to launch a student employment supervisory and engagement program

called Alaska PEAK (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Along with

wanting to understand how students develop through their on-campus employment experiences,

the Office of Student Affairs intends to use the survey data as a baseline for Alaska PEAK.

The Office of Student Affairs and the Student Affairs Assessment Team conducted this

evaluation. The data from this survey will benefit the student affairs office when creating

employment opportunities based on what students state they have learned and what they think

they should be learning in their student employment positions. The Office of Student Affairs will

also benefit from this evaluation because it will provide them with guidelines for their new

Alaska PEAK program.

Methodology

At the end of the 2015 Spring semester, there were 726 student employees on the UAA

campus (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Of the 726 student

employees, 212 students were student affairs employees. The surveys were administered

separately. The first group to receive the survey were students who worked in student affairs

(UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). The second set of surveys was

administered to the 514 students who did not work in student affairs (UAA Student Employee

Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). The surveys were administered electronically (UAA Student
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Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Only 34% of student employees responded to the

survey; 157 students were non-student affairs employees and 91 students were employed in

student affairs (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015).

Results

The results in the report were divided into five sections which were Learning Gains,

Academic Conversations, Applying Classroom Learning, Transferrable Skills, and UAA

Experience. Based on the 248 student employee responses, the finding suggested that overall

student employment helped their students gain experience with being held accountable for their

assignments at work, working cooperatively in diverse work environments, and responding to

others in a timely manner (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). According

to the survey results, students expressed that the top three skills they have acquired throughout

their employment experiences were written communication, understanding different points of

views to solve problems, and making connections between learning in and out of the classroom

(UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). There were 17 skills which students

were asked to reflect on for the survey. Students were to rate to what level of agreement they

believed their jobs helped them develop each of the 17 skills (UAA Student Employee Student

Outcomes Survey, 2015). The report shows a graph for Learning Gains responses. For each of

the 17 skills, the graph shows the percentage of students who responded “agree” or “strongly

agree” that their jobs helped them develop these skills (UAA Student Employee Student

Outcomes Survey, 2015). The graph showed the responses in three ways; overall, student affairs

employees and non-student affairs employees (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes

Survey, 2015).
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The survey also asked students how often they had conversations with their supervisors

regarding the connections between what they learned in the classroom and their job (UAA

Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Overall, 34% of the students responded that

they “frequently” speak with their supervisors and 44% responded they “sometimes” speak with

their supervisors about academic connections (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes

Survey, 2015). Results showed that students who did not work in student affairs were more

likely to frequently have academic conversations with their supervisors (UAA Student Employee

Student Outcomes Survey, 2015).

To analyze the areas where students make connections between what they learn in class

and what they’re doing at their job, the survey asked students to describe an example of a time

they have applied what they learned in class to their job (UAA Student Employee Student

Outcomes Survey, 2015). Of the 248 students who responded to the survey, only 198 students

responded to this question (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Only

three students were unable to provide an example of applying what they have learned in class to

what they do at work (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Like the

“Applying Classroom Learning” question, students were asked to describe a skill that they have

acquired that can be transferrable to other employment opportunities (UAA Student Employee

Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Common responses included verbal communication, time

management and organization, and the ability to work with individuals of diverse backgrounds

(UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015).

To assess their experience at UAA, students were asked to describe one specific way that

their job has had a positive effect on their experience at the university (UAA Student Employee

Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). Feelings a part of the university’s community, building long
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lasting friendships, and providing opportunities they might not have had if they did not work on

campus, were some ways students described their on-campus employment had positively

influenced their experience at UAA (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015).

Students also expressed that their student employment made them aware of the resources

available to them, provided a work environment that was flexible and supportive and motivated

them to succeed because of the connection between their jobs and what the learned in class

(UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015).

Recommendations

The report did not include recommendations. The conclusion stated that the results would

be used to develop and implement the Student Affair’s Alaska PEAK program (UAA Student

Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015). It was also mentioned that by understanding how

students perceive what they’re gaining from their experiences, Student Affairs can continue to

develop the student development experience through student employment opportunities on

campus (UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes Survey, 2015).

Evaluation

The methodology in this report did not assist in answering the goals of this assessment.

The methodology described how the survey was administered, which office conducted and

supported the evaluation, the sample size and the categories in which the responses were divided.

The survey questions that were used did help answer the goal regarding how students’

perceptions of their student employment experience contributed to learning which skills

contributed to learning which skills contributed to success. However, because the report was not

clear about the goals of the Student Affairs’ Alaska PEAK project, it is unclear if the questions

helped answer the goals of the Alaska PEAK program.

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I believe this report focused only on the positive responses from the survey. For example,

the graph for the “Learning Gains question, only showed the percentages of students who

responded “agree” or “strongly agree.” Although the percentage of students who answered

“agree” or “strongly agree” were high it is important to review all responses if the goal is to

influence positive student employment experiences for all students. The report did not include

recommendations.

The report was not well organized. The methodology was a small section on the left

margin of the report. It would have been more understandable had the heading been placed after

the purpose of the evaluation. The methodology also lacked information that would have

explained the evaluation and how it was conducted was in the descriptions of each of the survey

questions which were their own sections in the report. The graphs and charts were clear, however

as previously mentioned, the graph regarding learning gains only included positive response

data.

To better understand the purpose of this evaluation, it would have been helpful to include

more background information on the Alaska PEAK program. Being that it is a new program, it

would be helpful to know why this program is being designed to determine if the data was

helpful.
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References

University of Alaska Anchorage (August 2015). UAA Student Employee Student Outcomes

Survey. Retrieved from https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/about/student-

affairs/assessment/_documents/StudentEmploymentOutcomesSurveyAugust2015.pdf