The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fall 2025 pilot WorkWise Academy program in helping part-time employee participants achieve five core learning outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of modern professionalism by identifying personal strengths, communication styles, and workplace expectations relevant to part-time roles.
- Apply emotional intelligence strategies to effectively manage workplace communication, feedback, and conflict with confidence and empathy.
- Use critical thinking skills to analyze real-world problems, generate solutions, and make decisions in work-related scenarios.
- Articulate their skills, experiences, and goals in a professional manner through resumes, interviews, and personal branding tools like LinkedIn.
- Create a personalized career development plan that outlines next steps for academic, professional, or personal growth.
Additionally, this assessment measures the program’s contribution to Employee Well-Being by tracking improvements in employee satisfaction, engagement, and the sense of belonging among the part-time workforce.
This assessment is necessary to determine if the program successfully engages staff on a deeper level related to their professional goals and work readiness. It aligns with EMCC’s commitment to equity, ensuring that part-time employees—who often have less access to development—have fair opportunities for advancement. Furthermore, documenting these outcomes supports the institutional goal to increase overall employee satisfaction by demonstrating that when employees are given targeted professional development opportunities, their professional investment increases.
It is also important to document whether this program has the potential to be scaled to include larger employee group offerings and document any necessary improvements if the program is continued.
The program and assessment are implemented through a structured, interactive format, which includes:
- Session Themes: Four, 1-hour sessions were offered each month to participants over the course of the Fall 2025 semester (September-December). Session topics were created using the NACE career competency framework .
- Supervisor-Employee Conversations: Integrated guided discussions that strengthen workplace communication were assigned after each session and debriefed at the beginning of each session.
- Layered Evaluation: Data was collected through a Pre-Assessment (baseline confidence), Session Feedback Surveys, and a comprehensive Post-Assessment to measure overall impact.
- Engagement Strategies: Group brainstorming and activities were used to enhance retention and foster a sense of community among participants.
Analysis of the 2025 data reveals a strong positive trend in skill acquisition and institutional alignment:
- Growth in Readiness: Post-assessment results indicate a significant shift from neutral/disagree to "Agree/Strongly Agree" regarding the ability to describe workplace expectations and apply professional skills.
- Belonging & Value: Qualitative feedback highlights that the program makes part-time staff feel "included, welcomed, and valued." This directly supports the strategic goal of increasing the employee sense of belonging.
- Communication & Identity: Participants reported a newfound ability to talk "freely" with supervisors and a sense of being "in control" of their next steps, moving the needle on the college’s vision to help learners "transform their lives."
- Satisfaction: The high satisfaction rates among those who completed the series suggest that targeted professional development is a key driver for the Employee Well-Being goal.
Qualitative Data Highlights:
In response to the question “What was the most valuable thing you learned or experienced during this program”, participants responded:
“How to have important conversations with my supervisors. What to expect professionally, emotionally and what to look for in professional environments”
“I’ll start by saying all sessions & topics discussed were incredibly valuable & helpful! It was a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone & gain insight on various aspects of professional development. Given where I am from a professional development standpoint, I’d say session #4 was the best to me. I’m at a place where I feel ready to move onto the next chapter in my life. I feel in control of what those next steps will look like. I have the necessary tools & resources to seek an opportunity that I was not aware of before starting the program.”
“The most valuable thing I learned in this experience is learning what are the next steps to my professional and academic life. I also value knowing that I can talk to my supervisor freely.”
“This program was the perfect resource to learn more about myself, my communication style and my skills in the lens of a part time employee, as I was preparing to start the process of pursuing a full time position and eventually transitioning into a full time role between the third and fourth session. It also gave me the perfect resource to not only ask questions, but to know what questions to ask and feel a sense of community with other part time employees learning the same things as me.”
When asked “If you would recommend this program to a peer, why”, participants responded:
“As someone who was initially hesitant to partake in the program, I’m glad I took the opportunity. It’s very rare to see a company/organization provide a program specific for part-time employees. It makes you feel included, welcomed, & valued. It’s also an opportunity for part time employees to gain insider knowledge & perspective of a full time position.”
“Because these sessions helped me figure out how to handle myself in a professional environment, especially when it comes to problem-solving, I think these sessions helped me figure out what to do in tough situations, how to handle issues, and I think these sessions could also help someone figure out what are the next steps to their professional life.”
“I would recommend this program to a peer if they were a part time employee looking to grow and learn more about the resources and support available to them.”
“It had a lot of valuable information regarding professionalism in Maricopa. I also felt like it was an insight not very many people receive and I loved that supervisors were involved in the process. It felt engaging.”
A more in-depth analysis of the data can be assessed through the WorkWise Academy Dashboard (Thanks to Matthew Grace in OPIE!!).
WorkWise Academy is a four-part professional development series designed specifically for part-time and federal work-study staff to bridge the gap between their current roles and future career goals. This cross-collaborative effort included Career and Transfer Center, Center for Workforce and Experiential Learning and Counseling representatives. During the Fall 2025 student affairs pilot cohort, the program focused on fostering an environment that supports individual growth and professional potential. Evaluation of the 2025 cohort via pre- and post-assessments shows significant growth in participant confidence, professional identity, and institutional belonging, directly supporting the college's strategic priority of employee well-being.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| WorkWise Academy Flyer | 1006.24 KB |
| WorkWise Academy Supervisor Expectations | 2.04 MB |