Step 1

Grounding and Alignment

Student employment is more than a paycheck—it’s one of the most powerful, scalable, and equitable learning experiences your campus can offer. The Work+ philosophy challenges institutions to see every student job as a potential classroom, every supervisor as a mentor, and every work experience as a high-impact practice that can shape lifelong career outcomes. 

For decades, higher education has treated student employment as operational support rather than educational opportunity. Yet research shows that how students work matters as much as whether they work. On-campus roles—when designed intentionally—help students connect coursework to real-world contexts, develop transferable skills, and build the confidence and networks that propel them into meaningful careers. 

Work+ repositions student employment as a strategic driver of equity and career readiness, not a side program. It invites institutions to redesign systems and structures around the lived experiences of “working learners,” many of whom are low-income, first-generation, or students of color who rely on their jobs to stay enrolled.