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Assess Institutional Readiness

Gauge your systems, data, and leadership support for change.

The Current Reality

Before redesigning student employment, every campus must understand where it’s starting from. Institutional readiness means building a clear picture of what currently exists and what is needed to move forward. It involves looking honestly at systems, leadership, and culture to ensure the foundation can support meaningful change.

When the Work+ Collective began at Arizona State University, student employment was described as highly transactional jobs were structured to meet operational needs rather than learning goals. Many students didn’t believe their campus jobs were preparing them for post-graduation success. Recognizing that gap became the starting point for transformation. Readiness is not about perfection it’s about alignment. Asking the right questions early helps institutions act with clarity, not assumption. You can’t fix what hasn’t been defined, and that’s what makes this stage so critical.

Why Readiness Matters

Strong leadership, connected systems, and supportive culture are the foundation of successful redesign.

Without them, even well-intentioned efforts risk losing momentum once initial enthusiasm fades. Leadership plays a central role in readiness. When campus decision-makers see student employment as part of student success not just labor management change moves faster and lasts longer. The Work+ Collective has seen that campuses with visible leadership support build stronger connections between supervisors, departments, and students. Systems and data are equally essential. Many campuses can’t easily answer basic questions like: How many students work here? Where are they employed? Who supervises them? Without this visibility, it’s difficult to identify inequities or measure the impact of redesign. Building better systems helps campuses see patterns in access, pay, and opportunity and ensures decisions are grounded in evidence, not guesswork.

The Case for Change: A Systems Perspective

Readiness is about examining the whole ecosystem that shapes student work. The Work+ Collective approaches this through four interconnected layers of action:

Individual

Understand how student employment connects to learning, reflection, and identity.

Interpersonal

Strengthen communication and mentorship between supervisors and student employees.

Institutional

Align HR, academic affairs, and student life around shared goals of learning and equity.

Collective

Collaborate with partner campuses to share tools, insights, and scalable redesign models.

This systems perspective ensures that change is not dependent on one champion or department—it becomes part of how the institution operates.

Steps to Assess Readiness

Step 1: Clarify Your Starting Point

Reflect on your current approach to student employment. How intentional is it? What’s working, and where are the gaps?

Step 2: Identify Stakeholders

List the offices and leaders involved in student employment—from HR to financial aid to academic units. Determine who can champion change and who needs to be engaged early.

Step 3: Evaluate Systems and Data

Gather basic information about job roles, pay levels, supervisors, and student demographics. Look for blind spots in how information is shared or tracked.

Step 4: Assess Leadership Commitment

Determine whether leaders at every level understand the connection between employment and learning. Visible commitment from senior administrators signals readiness to act.

Step 5: Examine Campus Culture

Explore how student jobs are perceived. Are they viewed as transactional labor or as learning experiences? Readiness depends on shifting that mindset toward growth and belonging.

Reflection Prompt

What existing strengths or barriers shape our institution’s readiness for redesign, and how can we align leadership, systems, and culture to support working learners?

This reflection helps teams connect honest assessment with a shared sense of purpose.

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