Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of internships and cooperative programs at community colleges on post-graduation wages.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of internship and cooperative program participants to non-participants. Using the Florida Education and Training Placement Information Program (FETPIP) dataset, the author conducted statistical models to compare outcomes between the groups.
- The study found that participation in an internship or a cooperative program were significant predictors of higher post-graduation quarterly wages.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to internships and cooperative programs at community colleges, but other factors might also have contributed.
Features of the Study
Internships and cooperative programs are experiential learning opportunities that aim to enhance learning and improve career outcomes for students. In the present study, the author focused on Florida community college students who participated in an internship or cooperative program as part of their Associate of Science (AS) or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees. These degree programs comprised the following ten career-focused areas of interest: paralegal studies, office administration, business administration, criminal justice technology, computer programming and analysis, computer information administration, drafting and design technology, accounting technology, hospitality and tourism management, and computer engineering technology. The specific curriculum and requirements for each internship or cooperative program varied across programs and institutions.
The study used a nonexperimental design to examine the effect of participation in internships and cooperative programs on post-graduation quarterly wages. Eligible participants had to have attended a community college in the Florida College System, graduated from one of the ten career focused AS or AAS degree programs from 2006 to 2010, and have available wage data prior to graduation and for at least one quarter after graduation. The study sample included 2,562 students, with 508 students in the intervention group (355 in internships and 153 in cooperative programs) and 2,054 students in the comparison group. The participants were primarily female (61%) and White (61%), over half were ages 21 to 30 (51%), and the majority of participants received an Associate of Science (AS) degree (71%). The primary data source was the Florida Education and Training Placement Information Program (FETPIP) dataset that provided data on students' education history, participation in adult education and training programs, graduation, job placement, employment, and earnings. The author used statistical models to compare differences in outcomes between the internship and cooperative program participants and comparison group members.
Findings
Earnings and wages
- The study found that participation in an internship or cooperative program were significant predictors of higher post-graduation quarterly wages.
- Compared to students who did not participate, the study found that internship participation was significantly associated with a 10% greater increase in earnings during the 10 quarters after graduation.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The use of only one pre-graduation data collection point for wage data may limit the ability to demonstrate trends in wages from pre- to post-graduation among the community college students. In addition, the use of data for only students who graduated from the community colleges and no data for the students who did not graduate may introduce bias in interpreting the effects of internships or cooperative programs on post-graduation wages.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the internships and cooperative programs at community colleges, but other factors might also have contributed.