Campus Recreation Student Employee Professional Development Curriculum: Perceived Student Employee Outcomes

Kuh and colleagues (2008) use the term "high-impact practices" (HIPs) to describe co-curricular programs that are particularly effective in advancing student learning. The original list of HIPs does not include campus employment, which McClellan et al. (2018) argued should be added. According to the results from the 2019 NASPA survey reported by Burnside et al., recreational services is one of the top three areas in the number of student staff members. These student employees tend to come from a diverse academic background (Kampf & Teske, 2013) and may not be pursuing a future career within the recreation field. Campus recreation departments and other student employers are recognizing the importance of incorporating programs that provide students with transferable skills to prepare them academically and professionally (Hackett, 2007). At the University of Mississippi, the Department of Campus Recreation (DCR) has developed the Student Employee Professional Development Curriculum (SEPDC) that combines guided reflection on work with professional competency development. This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) introduces an evaluation plan that seeks to examine the perceptions of student employees about the outcomes, if any, of their participation in the SEPDC. My leadership philosophy, approach to leadership in attempting to address the problem of practice, and what I have learned as a scholarly practitioner will be discussed. Finally, future potential research as a result of this evaluation plan to further address the problem of practice will be explored. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]