The Assessment of Transferable Skills in a Campus Recreation Program: An Exploratory Case Study on how Professionals Teach and how Student Employees Learn

Abstract

Recently, two leading organizations on student experiences in colleges and universities (i.e., NACA and NIRSA) issued a call for increased scholarship in the area of transferable work skills (identified by NACE) in student employees within campus recreation programs. An exploratory case study was conducted to provide insight into what student employees learn and what campus recreation staff teach (in regards to these transferable skills) at a campus recreation program at a midsized regional university in the southwestern United States. Data were collected via a survey of both student employees and professional staff concerning the opportunities to learn these skills. Focus groups were also conducted. The results demonstrate that student workers learn through doing. Aquatics was one key area identified where staff clearly teach and student employees must learn transferable skills. The results suggest that student employees need to be provided with opportunities to critically reflect on skills gained.

Practice Makes Perfect: Student Employee Transferable Skill Utilization in Campus Recreation

“…This indicates that, even in relation to other sought-after transferable skills, student employees in campus recreational settings utilize these two skills at a low level. This seems contrary to the preliminary results presented by Bolton and Rosselli (2017), in which the vast majority of respondents indicated transferable skills were used "daily" or "almost daily". This justifies the need to look further into the roles and responsibilities of student employees in campus recreation to determine how these skills are utilized among different demographic groups and across institutions, as this study began to address.…”

“…Additional learning opportunities included critical thinking, appreciation of diversity, and integrative learning. Student employees were also found to recognize their increase in transferable skills and positive learning outcomes from their employment in campus recreation (Bolton & Rosselli, 2017).…”

“…Recently, Bolton and Rosselli (2017) examined the presence of these skills in campus recreation employment settings through a case study to "provide insight on [what] student employees at a campus recreation program : : : believe they glean from working in campus recreation" (p. 128). This study builds upon that work through an analysis of the utilization of these "most desired" skills across a variety of educational institutions and campus recreation employment areas to provide a more comprehensive examination of the frequency with which student employees utilize transferable skills.…”

The Relationship Between Sense of Community and Job Satisfaction Among Campus Recreation Center Employees

“…By contrast, student employees felt higher job satisfaction in “operating conditions” and “coworkers” than professional employees. This finding may be consistent with prior research, as student workers are usually aiming to enhance social skills, gain leadership or to accumulate work experience in the field (Bolton & Rosselli, 2017). Specifically, student employees work in a teamwork environment (e.g., necessary staff meetings, training) under specific rules and manager's supervision (Bolton & Rosselli, 2017; Hall, 2013), which may enhance social interactions and contribute to learning collaboration with coworkers and it may lead to the levels of their job satisfaction.…”

“…This finding may be consistent with prior research, as student workers are usually aiming to enhance social skills, gain leadership or to accumulate work experience in the field (Bolton & Rosselli, 2017). Specifically, student employees work in a teamwork environment (e.g., necessary staff meetings, training) under specific rules and manager's supervision (Bolton & Rosselli, 2017; Hall, 2013), which may enhance social interactions and contribute to learning collaboration with coworkers and it may lead to the levels of their job satisfaction. One possible reason for the difference in job satisfaction between professional employees and student employees is workload and job responsibilities.…”