Georgia State and Chandler Gilbert Community College: Small Steps in the Right Direction

Georgia State University (GSU) and Chandler Gilbert Community College (CGCC)
Student Employment: Small Steps in the Right Direction

Each of our inaugural Institute universities were paired together to interview, learn from and share valuable insights and work with one another.  Each institution was then charged with writing a blog that summarized key takeaways and learning.  In this series of blogs, we'll delve into the innovative approaches, best practices, and success stories from universities across the country. From career development initiatives to performance management strategies, we'll explore how universities are enhancing the student employee experience ensuring their roles are preparing them for the future workforce. Join us as we uncover the secrets to maximizing the potential of student employment programs and creating meaningful opportunities for students on campus.

This blog highlights the efforts of the Georgia State University and Chandler Gilbert Community College.

In a conversation between GSU’s Division of Student Success and CGCC’s Academic Advisement & Career Services teams, many similarities were discovered regarding re-designing initiatives for the Student Employment Experience. Both schools share the challenge of lack of data for Student Employment, identifying key collaborators across the college, and roadblocks in the structural processes of student employment. As the teams brainstormed ideas to address these challenges, three themes emerged:
Start small and build
Collaboration is the key
Identify your resources

Starting small may often appear to be a way to play it safe, but actually, it’s like building on a beautiful portrait.

It’s hard to tackle a big project without first knowing the scope and creating groundwork. Georgia State University (GSU) and Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) both agreed that access to more robust student data would help to identify where working learners are and what supports the need.

GSU has over five hundred student learners, which gives them a great start in establishing a rapport to train students. CGCC began laying the groundwork for working learners by hosting an on-campus job fair and providing a student guide for working learners within their Canvas LMS. CGCC saw this as a way to set better expectations while delivering career resources and student testimonials about the benefits of working on campus.

Student employment touches many areas on campus, and therefore collaboration is key. Both teams are making efforts to collaborate with others within their institutions; for GSU with the human resources professionals who hire students, and for CGCC with human resources, financial aid, student life and department supervisors who oversee working learners. They have started smaller committees to do research, hold regular meetings, and give everyone a voice in this process.

For both institutions, the next step is understanding the existing resources that can be utilized. For GSU, this will be the website for employee hiring and creating a portal for supervisors and students. This ideal page is where all employees generally go when looking for a job. It’s been built for information, but we must add content. CGCC plans to offer training for supervisors and increase recognition of student workers across campus.

Although both teams are starting small, we feel we are heading in the right direction.