Improving Outcomes of Underrepresented College Students Through Community- Engaged Employment

Abstract

Although volunteer community engagement has been recognized as promoting positive academic outcomes among college students, such experiences can be impractical for underrepresented students who often need to work. Community-engaged employment offers paid opportunities for students to earn money while participating in meaningful community initiatives. In this study, we explored the impact of community-engaged employment on the academic outcomes of underrepresented students. We created a comparison group using propensity score matching, which reduced selection bias and group differences on background characteristics, thus strengthening causal arguments. Results showed that underrepresented students who were employed in a community-engaged work program had significantly higher second-year retention rates, graduation rates, grade point averages, and number of credits completed compared to similar students not employed in the program. These findings indicate that community-engaged employment can provide positive academic outcomes similar to volunteer community engagement experiences, while also addressing financial barriers that many underrepresented students encounter.