Assessing federal work study program at northern essex

Running Head: ASSESSING FEDERAL WORK STUDY PROGRAM AT NECC 1

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at Northern Essex Community College

Brianne McDonough

Courtney Struble

Jonathan Ladino

Xia He

July 28 2013

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 2

Abstract

The main goal of this assessment project is to evaluate the current Federal Work-Study

Program at Northern Essex Community College. A survey, which included a mix of both open

response, Likert scale, and yes or no response questions, was designed and administered to

students who were employed under the Federal Work-Study Program at the college during the

2012-2013 academic year. The data was collected via an online survey, which included both a

qualitative and quantitative evaluation. This report includes the methodology, results, analysis

and recommendations based upon the responses collected by the survey.

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 3

PURPOSE

The purpose of this assessment project is to conduct an external evaluation the Federal

Work-Study Program (FWS) at Northern Essex Community College (NECC). The intention of

the assessment team was to develop learning outcomes for the Federal Work-Study Program,

assess the newly developed learning outcomes, and to gauge student satisfaction on their

experience being employed through the program. Furthermore, the assessment team hopes to be

able to establish a framework for further refining and evaluating the Federal Work-Study

Program and make recommendations based upon their findings.

NECC is a 2-year public institution location in Haverhill, Massachusetts. As a

community college, North Essex offers both associates and certificate programs and is defined as

a medium-sized institution with population of 7,385 students (Carnegie Classifications, 2013).

NECC lists its mission on their website which reads,

The mission of Northern Essex Community College is to serve the people of the Greater

Merrimack Valley as a caring and comprehensive center of educational excellence that offers

high quality, affordable adult and post-secondary education through the Associate Degree level,

as well as a broad range of occupational programs and community services which enhance the

social, cultural and economic life of the region (Northern Essex Community College, 2013).

The Federal Work-Study Program at NECC is rooted in the federal Opportunity Act of

1964. The main goal of the program is to provide employment opportunities for students,

provide relevant career and academic related experience for students, and improve the

relationship between the College and the community (Stephen F. Austin, 2013). One of NECC’s

core values is to provide “affordable access to educational opportunities” (Northern Essex

Community College, 2013). Aligning well with both the institutional mission and several core

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 4

values, the Federal Work-Study Program at Northern Essex is one of the many programs

supported by the Financial Aid Office, which provides financial support to both students and

their families.

As a federally supported program, the Federal Work-Study Program adheres to strict

guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education

has a large role in regulating which students are eligible for employment under the Federal

Work-Study Program, and the type of employment permitted. In addition, program allocations

and wages are determined at the federal level, rather than at the institutional level (U.S.

Department of Education, 2013). This close regulation by the federal government presents

additional challenges for the Financial Aid Office in carrying out program objectives and

complicates the process of assessing intended programmatic learning outcomes.

At Northern Essex Community College, the existing Federal Work-Study Program

provides an opportunity for students to work on or off campus. Through their employment

students gain relevant employment experience and entry-level job skills in addition to earning an

income, which helps many to defray the costs of living expenses or educational expenses. In

combination, employment in the Federal Work-Study Program promotes the successful

completion of a degree and provides work experience, which is useful to students seeking

employment opportunities upon graduation.

Despite these well-understood goals, prior to the undertaking of this assessment project,

there were no established learning outcomes set for the Federal Work-Study Program at Northern

Essex Community College. Therefore one of the first tasks taken on by the assessment team was

to develop learning outcomes for the program. The assessment team and representatives from

the Financial Aid Office worked together to develop measurable learning outcomes for the

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 5

program. Development learning outcomes was guided by the Council for Advancement of

Standards in Higher Education Self-Assessment Guide for Financial Aid Programs (2008).

The following learning outcomes were established for the program:

Provide a professional experience that students will be able to put on their resume

Improve interview skills i.e. eye contact, clear voice, volume, personable

Allow students to work and earn money that they can use to finish their education

Allow students to gain a network of professionals who they can then utilize if/when

needed

Help students gain professional experience that they can use in their future career

Students will meet with their supervisor at least twice a semester

Students will establish goals and work towards them with their supervisor

Students will learn the importance of professional responsibility; time management,

responsibility, communication, understanding strengths/weaknesses etc.

Students will add their position to their professional resume

The existing Federal Work-Study program at North Essex Community College currently

serves approximately 150 students each year. The program encourages students to find

employment related to their course of study. However, since its inception, there has been no

formal move to create learning outcomes or conduct an assessment of the program. The

assessment team determined that both the development of learning outcomes and an initial

assessment of the program would be useful to both the Financial Aid Office and the College.

Recognizing that this step towards creating a means to evaluate and assess this program as an

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 6

essential piece, the assessment team decided to move forward despite time constraints and

limited support from College stakeholders.

As just one of the many programs supported by the Financial Aid Office at Northern

Essex, the Federal Work-Study Program has many components. As indicated in Table 1, many

different resources are dedicated to supporting the program. The inputs include financial

resources, including funding from both the institution and federal government; human resources

which includes departmental supervisors and staff; technological resources; as well as equipment

and facilities.

What is produced as a result of the program is equally, if not more, important. In the year

2012-2013 the Federal Work-Study Program employed 127 students in 38 different

departments/organizations. In total, student staff logged approximately 18,700 hours. Students

being able to earn a paycheck to help support them in their educational pursuits is just one of the

initial outcomes of being able to provide employment opportunities to students at the College.

Of course, other benefits include experience developing basic job skills, improved attitudes

towards employment, and increased contact with staff and administrators.

The intermediate and long-term goals include increased commitment to the institution

and ability to stay enrolled at the College. Employment through the Federal Work-Study

Program also leads to increased experience with employment prior to graduation and increased

confidence working alongside staff and administrators. Long-term this is likely to transfer into

increased employability upon graduation and increased entry-level job experience and

transferable skills.

Given the inputs, outputs, and long-term outcomes, it is evident that the Federal Work-

Study Program not only has a lot to offer students, but also is also well invested in at both the

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 7

institutional and federal level. Taking into account its place at the institution, the program is

certainly worth assessing in order to make sure these resources are producing (and to what extent

they are producing) the intended outcomes. The research team felt assessing this program would

be beneficial to both the institution and the students who choose to take advantage of their

financial aid by seeking employment through the Federal Work-Study Program.

Table 1. Logic Model for the Federal Work-Study Program at Northern Essex Community College

Upon conclusion of the project, the assessment team plans to meet with representatives

from NECC’s Financial Aid Office to discuss their findings and to make recommendations to the

program director. The assessment team is confident that their findings will provide an initial

context for which the department can further develop their assessment and program goals. This

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 8

assessment project will provide a trial run assessment on which the department can refine the

program learning outcomes, questionnaire, data collection methods, and lastly the program itself.

METHOD

Prior to the development of the methodology stakeholders of the program were identified

and invited to provide their input for the assessment team. The major stakeholders were

identified as the Financial Aid Office, Career Services, Enrollment Management, various

department employing students through the program, and the U.S. Department of Education.

The Financial Aid Office was quickly identified as being one of the most significant stakeholders

with an interested in the assessment project. A member of the assessment team, who maintained

a close connection with the Financial Aid Office, volunteered to serve as the liaison.

This connection with the Financial Aid Office allowed the assessment team to have a

close working relationship with key stakeholders at NECC. The assessment team, including the

liaison for the Financial Aid Office developed a timeline and maintained regular communication.

Additionally, the team agreed to meet weekly in order to discuss the progress of the project,

divvy up tasks for the following week, and set deadlines. This means of communication created

a successful synergy between all members of the assessment team.

In order to conduct an assessment which combined student satisfaction and an evaluation

of intended student-learning outcomes, the assessment team settled on a survey that utilized two

components. The first portion sought to understand to what extent students were gaining

relevant job training and skills through their Federal Work-Study position. The second part of

the survey served to gauge how satisfied students were with their experience.

The assessment team decided to focus on students who had participated in the Federal

Work-Study Program at NECC would be contacted to participate. Students were chosen as the

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 9

focus due in part because they are the main recipients of the intended learning outcomes and

have valuable feedback to offer the Financial Aid Office regarding their experience.

Furthermore, a critical evaluation of their satisfaction with the program and an assessment of the

skills they are gaining can offer an inside perspective of how the program is meeting the

established learning outcomes.

Several methodologies were considered as a means of collecting data for the assessment.

The assessment team determined utilizing the web-based tool SurveyMonkey would be the best

method. This tool was determined to be the most compatible, especially given the short-timeline

and limited accessibility to students during the month of July. The assessment team was

fortunate to have the support of the Director of the Financial Aid Office who provided clearance

to implement the survey, contact information for students who were involved in the work study

program during the 2012-2013 academic year, and access to the College’s Survey Monkey

account for the purpose of creating and distributing the instrument for data collection.

Overall this assessment project is crucial to the institution at large. More information

about how students are viewing their experience and what skills they are coming away with can

lead to more developed learning outcomes to continue to improve the program. The Federal

Work-Study program serves to benefit both the students and the university. It provides a source

of income for the students and employees to various departments on campus. This keeps the

average debt lower for students, which is also a positive because students are able to have

financial support and continue towards achievement of their degree. Additionally, students who

take advantage of the FWS program are able to gain entry-level skills which can aid them in

finding employment upon graduation. Students’ success through this program can very possibly

lead to success graduation, which increases institution’s retention rate.

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 10

Beyond the institutional level, the success and management of funds of the FWS program

is determined by the Federal Government and the Department of Education. As external

stakeholders, these two constituents have a vested interest in the rapport of the program. Move

over, if the program can be improved and built upon, then the FWS program may gain a more

reputable standing among students and the institution.

Considering the research plan and purpose focused on a needs assessment of the Federal

Work-Study program, it seemed only appropriate for the population of the study to begin with

students currently utilizing the program. The research team decided to concentrate on the

student’s current view of the program, and leave the supervisor input for future research.

Collecting data from students would allow the research to focus purely on the needs of the

program’s consumers. The Federal Work-Study program had 127 participants during the 2012-

2013 academic year.

Due to summer break, not all students are on campus so the next determination that had

to be made was the type of survey instrument that would help collect the most data in the least

amount of time and in the most cost-effective manner. Since the director of the Financial Aid

Department had already offered the services of the web-based data collection program

SurveyMonkey, this was the best option to move forward. A member of the research team works

in the Financial Aid department and was able to obtain the students’ NECC email addresses and

personal email address.

The survey was created to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative

data included demographic information, Likert scale questions, and yes or no questions

determining the students’ interaction and experience with the Federal Work-Study coordinator,

their position supervisors, and their job responsibilities. The qualitative data was collected in the

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 11

form of open ended questions asking the student for their job experience, perceived strengths and

weaknesses of the program, and ideas for improvement (Appendix A). Once the instrument was

created it was then distributed to the 127 work study students via email during the first week of

July 2013. The email notified the student that they had until July 15th, 2013 to complete the

survey (Appendix B). Follow up emails were sent every 3 days, to both the students’ school and

personal email accounts, during the first two weeks of July 2013 reminding students to complete

the survey. By sending the email to both the students’ school and personal email accounts the

research team sought to reach the students who were no longer utilizing their school accounts.

Although the best efforts were made to allot for any possible barriers to the study, there

were notable limitations to the study. The greatest limitation came from the fact that the project

was completed during the summer months. Many of the student workers were no longer on

campus for the summer. Other workers had graduated from Northern Essex Community College

during the spring and were no longer checking their student email accounts. The research team

may not have had up to date personal email account information for some of the student workers

involved with the study. In addition, because of the quick turnaround of the survey some

students may not have had the opportunity to complete the survey in the allotted time frame.

Finally, some students may not see the importance of completing the survey and may not be

interested in spending the time to provide feedback. With all of these limitations, only a limited

amount of work study students, 34, involved in the program provided information.

FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS:

Upon closure of the survey, the research team found that the feedback gained as a result

of the survey was extremely useful in providing insight to the student experience. Out of the 127

students who were sent the survey, 34 responded by completing the survey. This indicates that

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 12

26% of the students contacted chose to participate in the survey. The majority, 73.5% of

students, had been employed in the program for a year or less, while 38.2% had been employed

for over a year through the program. The research team was pleased to see that students

represented 22 different majors and concentrations and 23 different departments including a

range of both on campus and off-campus site locations.

The majority of respondents indicated that they were given the opportunity to work

independently on a task or project during their employment in their work-study position.

Participants responded they were ‘always’ and ‘almost always’ given this opportunity at 26.5%

and 47.1%, respectively. 20.6% indicated they were ‘occasionally’ given the opportunity to

work independently. Two participants responded negatively, indicating they were ‘almost never’

and ‘never’ given the opportunity to work independently providing a 2.9% response rate

Participants were asked if they ‘had the opportunity to work on a team toward a shared goal’.

Responses indicated that the majority of students gained exposure to working on a team.

Participant responses were as follows, 44.1% ‘always’, 20.6% ‘almost always’, 20.6%

‘occasionally’, 5.9% ‘almost never’ and 8.8% ‘never’.

The majority of students responded positively that they were given the opportunity to

work both independently and on a team. The response rates for ‘working on a team towards a

shared goal’ are slightly higher than the responses for working independently. This indicates

that students feel they are involved in the office goals and collaborative projects while being

given the opportunity to work with others slightly more than on an independent project or task.

This also indicated that students felt as though they were actively contributing to the office that

they were working for.

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 13

Participants were asked to answer how frequently they were encouraged to bring new

ideas and/or take a creative approach to completing tasks and projects. The majority of students

responded positively. 47.1% responded ‘always’, 17.6% ‘almost always’, 29.4% ‘occasionally’

while 5.9% responded ‘almost never’, zero students responded ‘never’.)

Similarly to the above question, the results show that students feel encouraged to bring

forward their ideas in the workplace. It shows that they were challenged to think deeper about

some of the processes that the office performed and present new and fresh ideas. In this case,

hopefully students feel included in the processes and goals of the office and feel as though their

opinion is valued.

Participants were asked to respond to the different types of communication used during

their work-study positions. The majority of students indicated they used written communication

in the form of email communication and writing letters/flyers. Responses were 38.2% ‘always’,

17.6% ‘almost always’, 26.5% ‘occasionally’, 8.8% ‘never’ and 8.8% ‘almost never’. Similarly,

participants were asked to about the development of their oral communication skills in the form

of making telephone calls, participation in meetings, etc. The majority of students indicated they

used this type of communication frequently. Responses were 32.4% ‘always’, 26.5% ‘almost

always’, 17.6% ‘occasionally’, 8.5% ‘almost never’ and 14.7% ‘never’.

Student responses indicated that they were using a variety of communication throughout

their employment. Most concerning, 17.6% of students indicated they ‘almost never’ or ‘never’

used written communication during their work study positions and 23.3% indicated they ‘almost

never’ or ‘never’ used oral communication. This may be an indication that students may not

necessarily pinpoint, recognize, or value these forms of communication as a skill set.

Regardless, supervisors should be encouraged to incorporate both written and oral

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 14

communication into the traditional task for work-study positions in order to build upon students

experience in these areas. This experience is a great way for students to develop both their oral

and written skills, with the amount of students who feel that these skills were not utilized, this is

an opportunity wasted.

Participants were asked to respond how frequently they interacted and worked with a

variety of students, faculty, and staff. 50% of participants responded that they ‘always’ worked

with a variety of students, faculty and staff, while 23.5% responded ‘almost always’ and 17.6%

responded ‘occasionally’. Only 8.8% of participants responded ‘almost never’ while zero

participants responded ‘never’.

The vast majority of students noted they ‘frequently interacted with a variety of students,

faculty, and staff’. At 73.5% responded ‘almost always’ and ‘always’. This is quite positive as

students are gaining exposure to working with a variety of constituents across the college, which

will then improve their ability to work with a variety of people in the workplace.

In order to gauge the level of computer technology skills students were utilizing in their

work-study positions, participants were asked how frequently they used computer technology in

their positions. Participant’s responses were as follows, 41.2% ‘always’, 17.6% ‘almost always’,

26.5% ‘occasionally’, 5.9% ‘almost never’ and 8.8% ‘never’.

This response was especially important for students at the community college who may

not otherwise have a broad experience with computer technology. It is encouraging to see so

many students responding positively that they utilize computer technology. However in the

alternative, students who are not encouraged or required to incorporate technology into their

tasks are missing out on the opportunity to build upon an important skill set.

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 15

A number of questions were asked regarding the supervision students received during

their work-study positions. 97.1% of respondents felt they had access to their supervisor or

coordinator when they needed it. 79.4% of students felt their supervisor ‘always’ held them

accountable while 14.7% of students responded ‘almost always’. 2.9% responded

‘occasionally/sometimes’, 2.9% said ‘almost never’ and zero students responded ‘never’.

Students were asked to answer how frequently they met with their supervisor; participants

responded 38.2% ‘always’, 23.5% ‘almost always’, 29.4% ‘occasionally’, 5.9% ‘almost never’,

and 2.9% ‘never’.

Students were also asked how often their supervisor helped them to identify strengths and

weakness. Participant responses were as follows, 44.1% ‘always’, 20.6% ‘almost always’,

26.5% ‘occasionally’, 2.9% ‘almost never’ and 5.9% never. 94.1% of respondents were satisfied

with the feedback they received from their supervisor. Overall, responses regarding supervision

seemed to indicate students were satisfied with their supervisory experience and felt their

supervisor provided good feedback. Most felt their supervisor was available and accessible.

All thirty-four students indicated that they gained new knowledge and skills during their

employment in a work-study position. The most prevalent skills gained were, seven participants

listed communication skills, five people listed computer skills and four people listed

administrative skills. The fact that all thirty-four students indicated that they learned a new skill

or refined an existing one, demonstrates that each student was able to takeaway something from

their experience. For the students who listed communication, computer, or administrative skills,

these are skills that they will be using in their daily lives in any type of occupation.

Of those who responded, 82.4% of students felt that financial aid provided them with

enough help to locate a work-study position. Conversely, 17.6% indicated that they were not

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 16

satisfied with the level of help they received while trying to find employment through the work-

study program. 76% of students felt there was enough variety in the options available for

employment in the work-study program, while 23.5% feel there is not enough variety.

Although 82.4% of students indicated that they felt there was enough help provided to

them to locate a work-study program, there is still room for improvement in this area. It is the

goal of the program to provide assistance to all students in searching for a position and help them

gain the experience necessary to improve their skills. Also, 23.5% of students believe that there

is not enough variety in the employment options that are offered through the program. This is an

area that the program can explore new unique positions that they can offer students to help

diversify the job market.

Participants were asked to indicate whether or not they maintained a professional resume.

79.4% responded yes, they have a professional resume, while 20.6% do not. Similarly, 70.6% of

students list their part-time work-study position on their resume. 85.3% believe that their work-

study position gave them valuable experience, which will help them in their long-term career

goals.

Considering that 85.3% of students indicated that their work-study position gave them

valuable experience which will help them in their long-term career goals, adding a resume

component to the program, and making sure that work-study position is listed should be a key

component to the program. This is an opportunity to assist students in not only developing a

professional resume, but also filling that resume with valuable job experience which can be used

to help achieve their long-term career goals.

The survey showed that 100% of students enjoyed their work-study experience. 100% of

students indicated they would recommend the work-study program to another student. 94.1% the

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 17

experience had a positive impact on their academic experience. Students were asked to share

any changes they would like to see in the work-study program. The most common responses

were they are satisfied and do not want to change anything (15) and they would like to have

additional hours for the program (11).

This information indicates that all of the students had a positive experience with their

work-study position. Not only did every student say that they enjoyed their experience, but all of

the students indicated that they would recommend the program to another student. This shows

that overall this is an extremely positive experience for students and one in which they wouldn’t

mind sharing with others. Considering eleven students indicated that they would like to see more

hours, this is something that we could investigate more to see if it is possible to provide more

hours to students.

There are areas of this experience that can be open to some adjustment to enhance the

student experience in the future. The area of suggested improvement that most students

indicated was the lack of operational hours for students to partake in while in the program. Most

students indicated that they would like to see more hours provided to students so that they can

get the most out of their time in the program. Although there will be a budgetary restriction in

terms of this adjustment, this should be something that the program looks into further to

investigate if there is a possibility to extend the program hours.

Along with the hour provided, there must be a strong push for all students to use both

written and oral communication within their experience in the work study program. 23.3% of

students indicated on the survey that they either almost never or never used oral communication

while 17.6% indicated that they almost never or never use written communication. No matter

the student’s plan of study, both of these communication skills are prevalent in any type of work

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 18

or career. There is an opportunity here for students to not only learn these different

communication skills but also to enhance them through usage and continued knowledge. There

should be an incorporation of both oral and written communication throughout the students

experience in the work study program. In addition to written and oral communication skills,

students also have an opportunity to build their computer skills through this program. From the

study, 14.7% of students indicated that they almost never or never used any computer skills

throughout their experience. Much like the written and oral communication skills, this program

offers a chance for students to learn and develop their computer skills in an educational

environment. These skills will be essential to the student’s success upon graduation and entrance

into the business world.

Along with the overall program, there are changes to the survey that would be made if it

was administered again. For the question that asks about supervision, rephrasing the question

would have helped gather more descriptive data then it does as written. The survey asked

students to evaluate how many times they met with their supervisor to discuss their overall job

performance and to rate it on an always to never scale. This question would have been more

beneficial to rate the satisfaction of the supervisor to student ratio based on quality feedback and

overall availability. The supervisor role in this program is essential to its success because it

allows for students to fully understand not only how their job performance is, but also how they

can improve their skills to be more marketable. The supervisor is responsible to help train and

market the student with valuable skills that they can take with them from the experience.

Obtaining a better understanding of the supervisor role in the program would help get a better

feel for how successful the supervisor to student interaction is.

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 19

References:

Stephen F. Austin State University (2013). Federal work-study. Retrieved from

http://www.sfasu.edu/faid/programs/workstudy.asp

U.S. Department of Education (2013). Federal work-study (fws) program. Retrieved from

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.html

Northern Essex Community College (2013). Mission statement and core values. Retrieved from

http://www.necc.mass.edu/about/values/

Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2008). CAS self-assessment guide

for financial aid programs.

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 20

Appendix A

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NECCFWS

1. How long have you been involved in the work study program?

Less than 1 year

1 year

2 years

3 or more years

2. What is your major?

3. What department or organization do you work for?

4. What skills or knowledge do you feel that you have acquired from your work study position?

5. Did the program give you enough help to find your job?

Yes

No

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 21

6. Did you enjoy your work study position?

Yes

No

7. Would you work at this position again?

Yes

No

8. Do you feel there was enough variety in the available work study positions?

Yes

No

9. Were you able to have access to the work study coordinator and/or your supervisor when

you needed to?

Yes

No

10. Did your work-study experience have positive impact on your academic performance?

Yes

No

11. Do you have a professional resume?

Yes

No

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 22

12. Is your work study position on your professional resume?

Yes

No

I don't have a resume

13. Do you feel that your work study position will help you in your future career?

Yes

No

14. Are you satisfied with the amount of feedback from your supervisor?

Yes

No

15. Would you recommend this program to other students?

Yes

No

16. I had the opportunity to work independently on a task or project.

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 23

Always

17. I was encouraged to bring new ideas and take a creative approach to completing tasks

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

18. I utilized written communication as a part of my position (i.e. email communication, creating letters for disbursement,

creating flyers, etc.)

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

19. I utilized oral communication as a part of my position (i.e. telephone calls, meetings, etc.).

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 24

Almost Always

Always

20. I utilized computer technology (such as Microsoft Office Suite or similar) as a part of my position

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

21. I had the opportunity to work with a variety of students/faculty/staff across campus

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

22. My supervisor held me accountable for the responsibilities outlined in the position

(including attendance, deadlines).

Never

Almost Never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 25

Almost Always

Always

23. My supervisor met with me individually to discuss job responsibilities and my progress within the position.

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

24. My supervisor helped me to identify areas of strength and weaknesses in my job performance.

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

25. I had the opportunity to work on a team towards a shared goal.

Never

Almost never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Almost Always

Always

26. What would you like to see change in the Northern Essex Community college work study program?

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 26

27. Is there anything else you like to share with us?

Appendix B

Hello XXX,

Assessing Federal Work-Study Program at NECC 27

In preparation for the 2013-2014 academic year, we are doing an evaluation of the Federal

Work-Study program her at Northern Essex Community College. We are hoping to improve the

program for next year and we need your help. Your work study experience can provide us with

information on how you have perceived the program and how we can make it better for you and

other work study in the future. Please complete the survey at the attached link. It is anonymous

and shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. Your input can really help us to create a better

experience with our Federal Work-Study Program here at Northern Essex Community College.

The Survey should be completed at the below link.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NECCFWS

The final day to complete this survey will be July 15th, 2013. If you have any questions at all

please let me know. Have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Courtney Newman

Financial Aid Counselor

Northern Essex Community College