holding power of internships: analyzing retention in a school-to-career program, The

Community College Enterprise, The, Fall 2004 by Ryken, Amy E

Students who worked in internships attended community college at much higher rates than those who did not work in internships. In addition to helping students make decisions about work preferences, internships and co-op jobs assisted students in making the decision to attend college. Working in different settings helped students understand what level of education is needed for particular jobs. Students made decisions about the educational and career paths they pursued based on their own experiences. In the statement below, the student identifies his personal goals and notes the importance of college degrees in the hiring process:

I learned that most of the jobs only hired someone with a college degree and some type of experience in science and engineering. My goal is to finish high school, go to college, and work in a great job and make good money.

Milestone 3: earning the college certificate

The third program milestone is obtaining the college certificate. Students who had paid co-op jobs while attending community college were more likely to earn the college biotechnology certificate. Fifty-four percent of the partner college entrants earned the certificate but over 35% dropped out of the program before completion. An additional 10% were still enrolled after two years, working to complete the certificate.

A 53.8% completion rate (with the potential for a 64% completion rate, based on students still completing requirements for the certificate) is noteworthy. A study of the sub-baccalaureate labor market found that only 30% of community college entrants earned sub-baccalaureate credentials and 50% dropped out before completing credentials (Grubb, 1996a). In addition, a study by the National Science Foundation (2000) found that only 24% of undergraduate students seeking an associate's degree or certificate earned the desired credential within five years.

Co-op job participation as a community college student is an important factor in program retention and completion. As Table 2 illustrates, community college students with co-op jobs dropped out at much lower rates (28.6%, 20/70) than those students who did not have co-op jobs (100%, 8/8). Community college students who had co-op jobs graduated at distinctly higher rates (60%, 42/70) than students who did not have co-op jobs (0%, 0/8). When this study was completed, all students still enrolled at the partner community college and working to complete the certificate had co-op jobs.

It is noteworthy that all of the community college students who did not have co-op jobs dropped out of college. Although co-op job participation is strongly encouraged, some students chose not to take the related positions, instead working in jobs unrelated to biotechnology and their college studies because of higher wages. In only two instances did students stop reporting to co-op jobs or were fired. Interviews revealed that program participants who chose to work in co-op jobs made a commitment to program completion, saw more connections between their community college courses and jobs, and had access to an additional network of adults (supervisors and coworkers) who provided academic support and career guidance.