Do Working Students Buy Into HIPs? Working for Pay and Participation in High-Impact Practices

High-impact practices (HIPs), a set of distinctive educational experiences associated with a range of educational benefits, have garnered the attention of educators, policy makers, and researchers alike. Concerns exist regarding who has access to HIPs, and one possible impediment is paid employment. We investigated the relationship between student employment and participation in two HIPs: service learning and undergraduate research. Using data from 207,925 respondents to the 2015 and 2016 administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement, we examined patterns of HIPs participation when considering the differing circumstances of part-time and full-time senior undergraduates with regard to paid employment on campus, off campus, and both. The findings can guide institutional practice, such as the design of campus employment opportunities as well as academic advising to promote HIPs participation.