Santa Rosa Junior College knows that their student employees represent the college. To that end, the students are provided training in business ethics and good work habits, customer service, and diversity awareness. The students being trained gain valuable skills and the students being assisted get good service - a winning combination for all.

Santa Rosa Junior College employs over 800 students each year who work onthe primary two campuses and other off-campus sites. Students gain valuable skills, work experience and financial support while supplementing the on-going delivery of services by permanent staff. This article will address how Santa Rosa Junior College Student Services provides training for student employees to enable them to quickly learn the material they need to know in order to be successful in their jobs and project a professional image.

Recognizing the important role of student employees, and in particular the interest of Student Services in having well trained staff, led to the development of a seven-hour training program which focuses on specific skill sets and complements the individual training provided by departments. Initiated in 1999, the special training for student employees is under the direction of the Student Training Coordinator who also is responsible for job placement and related seminars. This program is supported and maintained through Student Services. According to Vice President of Student Services, Ricardo Navarrette, “the initial goal of this program was to set a consistent standard for excellent customer service. As the training evolved, we also realized that the camaraderie of the students enhances cross-referrals among departments and institutional retention goals.”

The training is required for all student employees within Student Services and is encouraged for those employed in other areas. Students who are enrolled in Work Experience/Work-Based Learning have the added benefit of receiving credit for participating in the training. An effective system has been set up to coordinate this activity with Work Experience, which is an FTES-generating program.

Individual departments select and hire student employees and provide the initial training. There are commonalties and differences among the various departments, especially related to the scope or level of responsibility a student may be assigned. Therefore, this training focuses specifically on institutional standards and goals that transcend individual department needs and are applicable to all student employees.

Prior to establishing the training program certain questions needed to be addressed:

• Could a training program of only seven hours be effective?
  
• What should be the components of the core-training program?
  
• How should the program be evaluated?
  
• When should training be scheduled?
  
• What should be the behavioral objectives and goals of the program?

The Coordinator of the training program was assigned the responsibility of developing, implementing and overseeing the training program. The assessment of training needs was accomplished by means of a survey and informal discussions with supervisors of student employees who identified what they thought student employees needed to learn. Supervisors indicated a need for good work habits such as reliability, communication and interpersonal skills and attention to customer service.

Based on these requirements, the training was designed to include three intensive workshops during a seven-hour period. The modules of the training consist of the following: (l) Business ethics and good work habits, (2)

Customer Service and (3) Diversity Awareness. The content of the modules deal with such activities as the role and responsibility of a student employee, understanding nonverbal behavior, learning about educational ethics and personal values, learning how to approach your supervisor if you have a problem, and understanding how different people communicate. The workshops are part lecture and interactive with some group work. The format is very open and lends itself to lively and sometimes emotional discussion. Participants have said they “enjoy being able to voice their thoughts and opinions and be genuinely listened to.”

Each workshop is designed for groups of 20 students. The trainers are primarily adjunct college instructors who are selected based on their training and expertise. Adjunct instructors have proven to be excellent trainers due to their varied experiences in private industry and the educational environment. Each instructor has a background compatible with the topic they are responsible for covering. For example, the instructor who teaches diversity awareness is a counselor and therapist who has been trained extensively on that subject. The instructor who teaches customer service has a private consulting business that works extensively with both private and non-profit organizations and develops staff training to meet their needs. The instructor who teaches business ethics has a background in private industry and teaches in the SRJC Business Department. Early workshops included representatives from private industry, including a Human Resource manager from an insurance company and temporary agency recruiters. However, it was found that presenters without a background in education are less compatible with the needs of an academic environment.

An additional component of the training includes an informal networking session with lunch provided. This allows students to meet other student employees, make on-campus connections and increase their knowledge of the various departments and services available.

Due to the busy schedules of students along with staffing issues faced by some departments, one of the biggest challenges has been to select a day and time that meets their diverse needs. The times that did not work well, due to student unavailability, were during the summer and just prior to the start of the new semester. The workshops with the best attendance have been Fridays from 9 AM to 4 PM approximately 2-4 weeks after the new semester begins. Students have indicated, however, that “seven hours is too long for one day of training” and that “Friday afternoons are not a good time.” In the fall, we plan to experiment with a new template of two consecutive Friday mornings, one of which will include lunch.

The program is promoted to both supervisors and student employees.Advertising is done six weeks before the first scheduled training via campus-wide e-mails, flyers and newsletters. The Student Employment Office also informs new hires about the upcoming opportunities to encourage them to discuss the workshops with their supervisors.

Students complete a brief evaluation form at the conclusion of the training. In addition the training program is informally evaluated through regular contact with supervisors. Feedback indicates students who completed the training experience “a greater connection with the college.” Quotes from students include the following: “A very enjoyable and informative experience”... “taught me many things about the work environment, since working at SRJC is my first experience”... “I learned how to diffuse a disruptive situation and the importance of diversity.” Despite the limitations of the brief training, supervisors have been pleased with the outcomes and have observed that the training “has increased student motivation and commitment to quality service and has made a noticeable difference in attitude about their jobs on campus.”

Since the training program presents a lot of information in a short time, and ongoing training often needs reinforcement, a student employee handbook was created. The handbook is a reference containing information about campus policies and procedures for all student employees and includes such items as a “New Employee Checklist,” “Definition of a Student Employee” and a “Q&A&” for questions frequently asked by student employees. The handbook is distributed to all new employees and can be accessed on the SRJC web site at http://www.santarosa.edu/stuemp.

An important element of training students is the role the supervisor plays as role model and trainer. The majority of supervisors are classified staff that are responsible for hiring, training and overseeing student employees. As an outgrowth of the Student Employee Training Program a special workshop was developed at the request of classified supervisors. Student Service funded this workshop for supervisors, which focuses on hiring, training and supervisory skills. A positive response was received from the twenty-five supervisors who attended the pilot workshop in spring, 2002. We are planning to continue offering this training for supervisors. A manual with guidelines, policies and procedures was created to complement the supervisory training.

In conclusion, the Training Program offered for Student Employees which supplements the training provided by individual departments has proven to be an effective tool to promote quality customer service, improve work habits and enhance retention goals. Student Employees have demonstrated skills that serve both Student Services and the mission of Santa Rosa Jr. College.

The following includes general guidelines and time frames for this program:

Steps: Tasks of the Student Training Coordinator

Step 1: 8 weeks prior:

• Select dates and time
  
• Schedule time slots and break periods for each workshop
  
• Identify and recruit instructors to lead workshops
  
• Reserve a classroom with movable seating for group activities

Step 2: 6 weeks prior:

• Begin advertising to supervisors and students
• Notify on campus food service of need for refreshments/lunch

Step 3: 3 weeks prior:

• Send out reminder e-mails to supervisors to prompt sign-ups

Step 4: 1 week prior:

• Send out confirmations to supervisors along with agendas and
  
• Encourage them to discuss learning objectives with students
  
• Send out confirmations and parking permits to instructors
  
• Prepare student packets with agenda, handbook, and handouts
  
• Request equipment from Media Services: easel and flip chart, overhead projector, laptop and projector as needed
  
• Confirm head count for lunch/refreshments

Step 5: Day of Training

• Arrive early to set up room; arrange chairs in semi-circle
  
• Welcome students, tell them why they are there; what to expect
  
• Review Student Employee Handbook
  
• Discuss how students can receive Work Experience/Work- Based Learning credits for participating
  
• Introduce speakers
  
• Circulate sign-up sheet to confirm attendance for payroll purposes
  
• Pass out evaluation forms at end of day

Step 6: Day after Training

• Send out Certificates of Completion to students
  
• Review evaluation forms and modify program as needed

For further information about the program contact

Suzanne Papa, Career Developer
spapa@santarosa.edu
707-527-4690.