An Examination of Variables Related to Student Employment in Campus Recreation Programs

Abstract

Previous literature on student employment within campus recreation departments has focused on a variety of work-related factors, but has been limited by examining single institutions. The current study extended this area of research by examining 290 recreation student employees at 11 institutions located throughout the United States to determine how important five work-related variables were to student employment. Results indicated all variables were rated high in importance, but ability to work around class schedules was most important. Results also indicated that females believe pay rate is more important than males, first year employees do not desire supervisory roles as much as students with more work experience, and students who have supervisory responsibilities find these roles more important than students without such roles. These results can be used by recreation administrators to better understand the priorities of their employees, which ultimately could impact quality of work.