Responding to student concerns about the market value of an undergraduate degree in Political Science, many departments offer students the opportunity to earn credits toward their degree by completing relevant internships. This raises two important questions: what sort of internship experiences should qualify as a Political Science internship and…

It is important to note from the outset that the duty of preparing students for careers rests with the educational community. Internship before graduation appears to offer students experiential learning, better opportunities for employment and better knowledge of real work environments. The institutions benefit by obtaining more resources at a…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is recognised as a valuable pedagogical strategy for developing graduate employability, increasing employment prospects and contributing to a range of other learning outcomes. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the degree to which WIL students in higher education, felt they fully engaged in…

Higher education continually faces scrutiny regarding the value of a degree and the investment of money and time. Is a college degree worth the cost of attendance? Do graduates face a burden of financial debt that is crippling them and/or society? Should the government limit funding to educational institutions that are unable to establish that…

Student internships are valued as solid indicators of future employability, which often result in the acquisition of additional education and career skills. This study describes the perceptions of interior design students after completing a summer internship with a design firm. Utilizing a case study approach, the study data were collected through…

Experiential learning is critical to a smooth transition from higher education to the workforce. Work-based college courses, such as internships and practicums, may be useful in facilitating this transition. This paper applies an innovative text mining technique to identify and analyze work-based courses from transcript data. The paper examines…

At a time when colleges and universities are anxious to prove that their graduates are employable, internships are being increasingly touted as valuable 'high-impact' practices. However, how students themselves conceptualise internships is poorly understood, which inhibits the inclusion of their voices in the employability discourse and…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is widely recognised as significantly contributing to enhancing graduate employability. Empirical evaluation of its impact and value is often confined to work-based WIL (internships/placements/practicums), known to pose challenges with scalability and equitable access. Through the lens of experiential learning, this…

As the advisers for the Model United Nations and Judicial Internship programs at our university, we have witnessed first-hand the benefits of simulations and experiential learning. Specifically, students are able to apply knowledge from other classes to real-world situations, all while honing their writing skills and communication skills, as well…

A vast body of research exists on experiential learning and workforce preparedness of students at the high school level; however, there is a limited focus on the community college sector. Administrators, who recognize the need for studies that address the potential benefit experiential learning can provide students at two-year institutions, will…

Surveys of New England employers, college academic officers, and graduates find that many consider today's college graduates inadequately prepared for the world of work. In 2017, the New England Board of Higher Education convened the Commission on Higher Education & Employability, under the leadership of Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo.…

Many students recognizes the value of participating in an internship program. The experience benefits not only students and potential future employers, but colleges, too--not the mention the workforce. Internships often equip students with a competitive advantage over other job seekers. On-the-job programs not only allow students to discover the…

Results of 3-year study of over 200 University of Maryland student interns indicated participants felt internships helped them locate jobs, test career interests, provide opportunities to integrate classroom learning with field experience, and better understand personal and career goals. (NEC)

The Women's Management Development Project (WMDP)--initiated at Goucher College in 1977 to provide job reentry opportunities at the professional or management level to college-educated women in the Baltimore, Maryland, area--is described. The program involves a 6-month course of cognitive and experiential training, combined with individual and…

There has been a decline in the enrollment in sociology courses and a decline in the number of students choosing to major in sociology. To counteract this decline, departments need to continue to offer a traditional academic sociology curriculum, but also need to offer stronger training in research methods and statistics, interdisciplinary…