Student employment programs in ARL libraries /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 139).

Term-time student employment : a comprehensive review /

Cover title.

Factors influencing radiation therapy student clinical placement satisfaction

Introduction Radiation therapy students at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) attend clinical placements at five different clinical departments with varying resources and support strategies. This study aimed to determine the relative availability and perceived importance of different factors affecting student support while on clinical placement. The purpose of the research was to inform development of future support mechanisms to enhance radiation therapy students’ experience on clinical placement. Methods This study used anonymous Likert-style surveys to gather data from years 1 and 2 radiation therapy students from QUT and clinical educators from Queensland relating to availability and importance of support mechanisms during clinical placements in a semester. Results The study findings demonstrated student satisfaction with clinical support and suggested that level of support on placement influenced student employment choices. Staff support was perceived as more important than physical resources; particularly access to a named mentor, a clinical educator and weekly formative feedback. Both students and educators highlighted the impact of time pressures. Conclusions The support offered to radiation therapy students by clinical staff is more highly valued than physical resources or models of placement support. Protected time and acknowledgement of the importance of clinical education roles are both invaluable. Joint investment in mentor support by both universities and clinical departments is crucial for facilitation of effective clinical learning.

What is the on-campus experience? Engineering student study and work

Accreditation for off-campus engineering programmes has proven to be problematic. In Australia, off-campus programmes are compelled to contain mandatory residential sessions so that offcampus students can have an `on-campus experience'. This paper explores the nature of modern oncampus undergraduate engineering study, and finds that it now typically involves at least part-time employment and has more in common with off-campus study than the on-campus experience enjoyed by most of the current institutional (education and professional) administrators when they completed their undergraduate studies. Rather than ignore student term-time work, engineering programmes should use it to enhance the development of desirable graduate attributes.

Concurrent undergraduate study and industry employment - the Australian experience

Undergraduate education in Quantity Surveying (QS) and Construction Management (CM) in Australia has traditionally incorporated concurrent industry experience as an important requisite prior to graduation. This has been primarily driven by accrediting professional associations but most universities have also recognized the value of this cooperative approach to education with industry. However, in recent years many universities have become concerned about the amount of time that students are spending in industry employment to the point where, for some students, their employment takes precedence over their academic studies. Past research has shown that working long hours has a negative effect on the study patterns of undergraduate students. This paper presents the results of research undertaken to examine the amount of time that Quantity Surveying and Construction Management students actually spend engaged in paid work during semester time and the impact on their studies. The methodology for the research was based on two separate questionnaire surveys distributed to undergraduate Quantity Surveying and Construction Management students at 7 universities across Australia. The questionnaires focused on the nature and extent of their paid work while enrolled in full-time study. The results indicate that students in the early stages of their program tend to undertake casual work that is not related to their degree but move to construction industry employment in the later stages of their program. The research found that students were spending an average of 18 hours per week in industry employment with this average increasing to over 23 hours in their final year. A number of students were spending well over 30 hours per week in industry employment. The implications of the extent of this concurrent industry employment are discussed.

Pathways to industry : work practices of undergraduate students in construction programs in Australia

This research reports the impact of work on undergraduate students enrolled in construction programs. Students responded to a questionnaire on the nature of their paid work while enrolled in full-time study in six universities across Australia. The results indicate that students are working on average 19 hours per week during semester time. The results indicate that students in the early years tend to undertake casual work that is not related to their degree. However, this pattern changes in the later years of the program, where students switch to roles in construction that does relate to their coursework. The students start working on average 16 hours in the first year of their degree, and the number rises to 24 hours in their final year. Past research suggests that students may be working to an extent beyond what is considered beneficial to their studies. Past research has shown that working long hours has a negative effect on the study patterns of undergraduate students. The implications of the amount of time working and the type of work are discussed. The paper concludes by suggesting that universities need a greater awareness of the impact of paid employment on student engagement.

Measuring pathways to university : success factors in construction management education

Past research has shown that many students find navigating pathways from TAFE to university difficult. This paper proposes a framework for evaluating the success of the pathways. Student enrolled in higher education courses responded to a questionnaire on the nature of their experiences in VET and how this impacted on their decision to articulate to university. The survey covered a sample of three universities across Australia. The results showed that students generally had positive experiences, but that some pathways had better outcomes than others. The framework developed in this research is capable of identifying issue that lead to poor outcomes. The results indicate that matrix developed contained three factors that were good measures of the success of the pathways. The paper concludes by suggesting that universities need a greater awareness of the impact of pathways on identifying pipelines for their students.

Work and study in construction education : practices of undergraduate students in Australia

Purpose of this paper The aim of this paper is to determine the amount of time construction management students spend engaged in paid work and study during semester time. Past research has shown that working long hours has a negative effect on the study patterns of undergraduate students.

Design/methodology/approach Students responded to a questionnaire on the nature of their paid work while enrolled in full-time study in a sample of universities across Australia.

Findings The results showed that students are working on average 18 hours per week during semester time. The results indicate that students in their first two years tend to undertake casual work that is not related to their degree. However, this pattern changes in the later two years of the course, where students switch to roles in construction that do relate to their coursework. The students start working on average 15 hours in the first year of their degree, and the time spent rises to 23 hours in their fourth year.

Practical implications Past research suggests that students may be working to an extent beyond what is considered beneficial to their studies. The implications of the amount of time working and the type of work are discussed.

Originality/value of paper The long-term impact of high levels of work and study on construction students are unknown. The paper concludes by suggesting that universities need a greater awareness of the impact of paid employment on engagement with their learning.

Pathways to university : enabling factors in construction management education in Australia

Past Australian and international research has shown that many students find transition and navigating pathways from vocational education to university difficult. This paper proposes a framework for evaluating the success of these pathways in construction management education. Students enrolled in undergraduate degree courses responded to a questionnaire on the nature of their experiences in vocational education and how this impacted on their decision to articulate to university. The survey covered a sample of three universities across Australia. The results showed that students generally had positive experiences, but that some pathways had better outcomes than others. Utilising an existing outreach-developed matrix the research identified three factors that were good measures of the success of pathways models. The paper concludes by suggesting that universities need a greater awareness of the impact of transition issues for their pathways students. This research is significant in that it considers pathways as an organised and systematic process, which is capable of being defined and measured.

Career Fairs: What Does the Industry Want

Career fairs are a popular function with hospitality schools. Recruiters' perceptions of these events are important to ensuring their success. The authors report on the results of their survey of recruiters participating in a 1990 career fair at the University of South Carolina, indicating directions other schools may wish to consider.

Physical therapy recruitment and retention strategies of hospitals in the US

Hospitals are seeing a reduction of physical therapy (PT) staff due to increased opportunities and competition. Planning effective recruitment and retention strategies for PTs in hospital settings may play an important role in reducing the problem. The primary purpose of this descriptive research was to compile information on recruitment and retention strategies used for physical therapists working in hospital settings. Four hundred surveys were mailed nationwide to hospital-based physical therapy managers. Strategies most commonly used were: attractive benefit package, interdisciplinary teams, competitive salaries, and student employment. The least used strategies used were: sign-on bonus, incentive pay programs, recruitment and retention committee and temporary staffing. It was concluded that hospital administrators need to analyze current strategies used and future recruitment and retention staffing trends, in order to institute successful strategies appropriate to their departments to effectively recruit and retain their staff.

Encouraging student to reflect on their employment experience

The purpose behind this case study is to share with a wider audience of placement officers, tutors and those who are involved in the management of placement students or employment of graduates, the approach taken to encourage reflective learning in undergraduate placement students at Aston Business School. Reflective learning forms an important foundation of the placement year at Aston Business School, where a professional placement is a mandatory element of the four year degree, for all Home/EU students (optional for International students) who are taking a Single Honours degree (i.e. a fully business programme). The placement year is not compulsory for those students taking a Combined Honours degree (i.e. a degree where two unrelated subjects are studied), although approximately 50% of those students taking an Aston Business School subject opt to take a placement year. Students spend their year out undertaking a ‘proper’ job within a company or public sector organisation. They are normally paid a reasonable salary for their work (in 2004/5 the average advertised salary was £13,700 per annum). The placement year is assessed, carrying credits which amount to a contribution of 10% towards the students’ final degree. The assessment methods used require the students to submit an academic essay relating theory to practice, a factual report about the company which can be of use to future students, and a log book, the latter being the reflective piece of work. Encouragement to reflect on the placement year has always been an important feature of Aston Business School’s approach to learning. More recently, however, feedback from employers indicated that, although our students have excellent employability skills, “they do not think about them” (Aston Business School Advisory Panel, 2001). We, therefore, began some activities which would encourage students to go beyond the mere acquisition of skills and knowledge. This work became the basis of a programme of introductions to reflective learning, mentoring and awareness of different learning styles written up in Higson and Jones (2002). The idea was to get students used to the idea of reflection on their experiences well before they entered the placement year.

Essays on employment / education, investment in education and student achievement

Méthodologie: Modèle de régression quantile de variable instrumentale pour données de Panel utilisant la fonction de production partielle

Transitioning students to work through authentic employment-based training in an Australian senior secondary VET program.

A common challenge among OECD countries has been the development of education and training pathways that accommodate student needs and interests at the upper secondary level (OECD, 2000). The introduction of trade-focussed Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) has met with mixed response. The ATCs aim to create a supported transition from school to work through dual pathway programs enabling students to follow a trade career while completing their upper secondary studies. There has been little explicit examination of the effectiveness of such senior secondary school arrangements. Using one such Australian Technical College as a case-study, this paper investigates the perceptions of the employers and students who were associated with the college. Using mixed-methods consisting of quantitative perception surveys and focus interviews, the results of this study show that students and employers are very satisfied with the College and illustrate that students have made significant gains in relating their learning to the workplace and everyday life.