Michigan State University employs approximately 14,606 student workers. This labor force not only supports essential work at the University, but these jobs also help students hone their professional skills.
The Work+ Career-Ready Spartans presidential initiative aims to help student workers and their supervisors align roles with vital career competencies employers seek in MSU graduates. During the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) Fall 2026 Convening, the MSU Work+ Project was awarded UIA funding.
In alignment with MSU UIA Liaisons Renata Opoczynski, interim vice provost & dean of Undergraduate Education, and Amy Hertel, senior advisor to the Provost for Strategic Initiatives, the Work+ Project aims to be implemented campuswide with the UIA funding.
This project will be led by Mary Molnar-Witherspoon, director of employer relations and communications, Career Services Network, and will be jointly project-managed by Wasek Sazzad, MSU UIA fellow & student success project manager, and Lynn Foucrier, project manager, Career-Connected Spartans.
Supporting MSU students with Work+
The process to launch Work+ at MSU began in 2025 when Karin Hanson, director of the Career Services Network, attended the UIA conference. With the help of the UIA Collective, Hanson and her team recruited student workers, supervisors, and university leaders at MSU to participate in a Discovery Design Sprint to adapt the Work+ program to MSU’s unique needs.
Identifying barriers
Across the University, there are many different student work opportunities. Through stakeholder interviews, participants identified 70+ barriers leading to inequitable student employment experiences. These barriers fit into four categories:
- Need for improved institutional recognition of the value of student employment
- Improving clarity and consistency in job roles, expectations, and career alignment
- Enhancing supervisor training and accountability measures
- Improving the feedback and evaluation infrastructure
Providing solutions
The Career Services Network implemented the Work+ initiative to address these barriers. The first intervention, launched in summer 2026, is the Work+ Student Supervisor training. This training helps student supervisors on campus connect student workers’ job responsibilities directly to key career competencies established by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Mapping these competencies to job descriptions helps supervisors create ongoing learning opportunities for student workers to foster their career growth. This also helps students identify and articulate their growing professional skills.
Hanson’s team then launched a second, student-facing intervention in conjunction with the MSU Local Job and Internship Fair in September 2026: Work+ career training modules in D2L. These modules guide students in articulating their skills, growing in their roles, and connecting their responsibilities to future careers. This self-paced, guided learning provides a low-effort, high-impact experience that supports students’ career management, so they are prepared to promote their on-campus work experience in resumes, cover letters, interviews, and other interactions with future employers.
Next steps
Moving forward, the CSN team will seek continuous student and supervisor feedback to maintain and expand the Work+ program. Near-term plans include establishing an MSU Student Employment Leadership Team to advance a shared institutional vision for student employment and develop consistent practices that position on-campus work as a meaningful learning and career development experience.
Learn more and join Work+
Supporting students as they develop career skills while working on campus creates successful career-ready Spartans! Visit the Career Services website to learn more about how to get involved.