Beyond Completion Challenge: Scaling Work + for Post-Graduate Success

Beyond Completion Challenge: Scaling Work + for Post-Graduate Success Beyond Completion Challenge: Scaling Work + for Post-Graduate Success To support ASU students to succeed "Beyond Completion," we propose to advance and scale a student employment program that we originally piloted during the first goal phase of the McKinsey Taskforce for Higher Education and Opportunity. Students at ASUlike the 14 million working learners8 across the country9work while pursuing their degree for a variety reasons, including to meet educational and living expenses or because the experience could be a valuable part of their education. Regardless of their motivations for working, there is a tremendous opportunity to leverage students employment to aid in academic persistence and performance, degree completion, and personal fulfillment and economic success after graduation. ASUs University College (UC) personalizes undergraduate students learning experiencesin both academic and professional contextsto end achievement disparities for students of all backgrounds. One of the ways we do this is through Work+, which fundamentally redesigns student employment to align with a students career goals. Though developed and piloted by UC in 2020- 2021, Work+ has become an institutional initiative, reshaping the employment experiences of working learners across the university. The program was created in response to an institutional design challenge: how might universities change student employment to ensure all working learners, in all roles, whether part-time or full-time, whether on-campus or off-campus, can derive professional meaning and value from their work? Through intentionally designed mentorship, student reflections, peer feedback, and educational programming, Work+ supplements existing student employment opportunities to help working learners develop their sense of identity, agency, and purpose, as well as to enhance workforce preparedness. Beyond Completion Challenge: Scaling Work + for Post-Graduate Success Arizona State Universitys Work+ program strives to become a national model for professional skill and competency development that is accessible, relevant and meaningful to the more than 14 million working learners across the country.1 For this reason, the work we have completed to-dateincluding through Stradas Beyond Completion Challenge Phase I Innovation granthas centered on continuous improvement, scalability, and design replicability. Considering Work+s relative nascency and our national aspirations, we have moved toward and adopted a formative approach to program evaluation, leveraging both qualitative and quantitative data to inform future iterations of the program. Insights garnered through this approach will guide the intentional evolution of the Work+ model into one that can be easily adopted and adapted by diverse higher education institutions in the United States. This shift in our evaluation approach will help us better understand which programmatic elements are most effective at connecting learners employment to their respective long-term career aspirations and goals. With the information gained through this process, we will amplify effective practices and address challenge areas to ensure our program best meets the diverse needs of working learners.