Model

In a professional setting, expectations differ from those in academic environments. Besides financial support, students also expect their campus work experiences to help them apply classroom learning, develop career-ready skills, and build support networks (Burnside et al., 2019; Millard, 2020). On-campus job programs serve as valuable experiential learning opportunities where students can practice essential soft skills like time management, organization, and professional communication (Remenick & Bergman, 2021; Taylor & Sandoval, 2023). At Ontario Tech, students highly value these career-ready skills. It's crucial to structure on-campus jobs thoughtfully to meet both students' and employers' expectations.

For students in the OER Lab, their work often marks their first professional or office job and, for some, their first paid opportunity. Clearly defined expectations help students understand acceptable behaviours in a workplace and give OER Lab management a framework for coaching if needed. Using a shared document, like Google Docs, allows for easy access and collaboration in creating expectations. It can include university employment program information, such as timesheet completion and HR policies, along with internal Lab norms and expectations. Collaboratively building this document draws on insights from the Lab's context and its students, aligning with Hutchins' theory of distributed cognition (1991).

Initially, the OER Lab did not have a written expectations document. Assumptions were made that students understood professional expectations without explicit communication. The first group of employees were hired during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing challenges from prolonged school closures and disruptions to their education (Aurini & Davies, 2021; Appleby et al., 2022; Cote et al., 2020). These challenges affected their university preparedness and professional skills. As operations progressed, OER Lab management developed evolving expectations to guide students in the professional setting, incorporating their identified needs through a collaborative approach. This resulted in improved communication, meeting efficiency, and on-task behaviors, reflecting the principles of Open Educational Practices (Hegarty, 2015).

Dedicated discussions of professional and student expectations ensure a shared understanding of tasks and behaviors in an OER Lab setting. This document evolves with student and management needs, institutional policies, and opportunities. Improved behaviors and a consistent approach enhance the Lab's capacity, leading to more on-time project outputs, clearer job roles, and increased satisfaction. Operating in a professional manner builds trust with faculty and university administrators, addressing common barriers to OER involvement (Skidmore & Provida, 2019).

Being tech-savvy and using technology in your work is a crucial skill that's considered "future-proof" (RBC, 2018). Digital literacy, the ability to understand and use info on computers and the internet, is key. Since Gilster coined the term in 1997 (Pool, 1997), it's been clear that having digital skills can improve students' outcomes at university (Youssef et al., 2022). But not having access to technology, known as the digital divide, can hold students back (Willems & Bossu, 2012).

Universities often assume that students, especially Gen Z, are tech-savvy because they're digital natives, growing up in a tech-heavy society (Bennett et al., 2008). But even though students in the OER Lab are digital natives and use tech daily for personal and academic tasks, they still need help with professional digital skills.

The OER Lab Coordinator and Manager noticed this gap and introduced a two-week paid training period for new employees. This helps students get used to the work environment, understand expectations, and learn essential tasks. They also get to practice skills like editing, accessibility audits, and using 3D printers.

Training includes a mix of virtual and in-person sessions, giving students flexibility and easing the workload for the Coordinator and Manager. This way, they can focus on other responsibilities without neglecting training for the OER Lab.

It's important to provide upfront training for students to support their work, including technical skills like using specific software and soft skills like managing client communication. Even though students are digital natives, they still need this foundational knowledge.

Training ensures a sustainable future for the OER Lab model at Ontario Tech University. The management team knows that even returning employees need training to understand new expectations, projects, tools, and relationships. Forecasting for this training period helps the team organize resources and avoid costly delays in project completion.

Post-secondary students handle various challenges in the campus community, like navigating social interactions, understanding assignments, and managing their time for studying and leisure (Hartner-Tiefenthaler et al., 2018). Being able to deal with uncertainty is linked to problem-solving and collaborative communication skills (Jordan & Babrow, 2013). On-campus job programs offer students hands-on experiences where they can learn skills like time management and organization, as well as problem-solving and subject-specific skills gained from their studies (Remenick & Bergman, 2021; Taylor & Sandoval, 2023).

Problem-solving and collaboration are crucial skills sought by industries, and they're also common learning outcomes for undergraduate degrees (RBC, 2018). Ontario Tech prioritizes experiential learning opportunities as part of its Strategic Mandate Agreement for 2020-2025, with 25% of performance-based funding allocated to expanding these opportunities (Ontario Tech, 2020).

Experiential learning theory (Kolb, 2014) describes learning as a cycle involving real-life experiences, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation. The OER Lab at Ontario Tech encourages employees to participate in training, real project tasks, reflection, and applying their learning to new situations. This approach aligns with the university's goal of providing diverse experiential learning opportunities.

While there are many campus jobs available through the University Works program, the OER Lab offers a unique model similar to traditional publishers, giving students exposure to tasks that build job-ready skills. Students are expected to meet professional standards, communicate effectively, manage their time, and interact appropriately with others. This differs from typical student work-study jobs, which often involve basic office tasks like data entry or email responses.

By giving students higher-stakes tasks, the OER Lab helps them develop skills in OER development, utilizing their expertise and intellectual capital. This intentional focus on experiential learning opportunities encourages student employees to stay engaged in the Lab, allowing the OER Lab staff to focus on operations rather than day-to-day project tasks. No additional staff hires are needed to support the OER Lab model beyond the Coordinator role, saving the institution money while advancing the Lab's operations

In Canada and around the world, more and more college students are taking on jobs while they study (Carnevale et al., 2015). They work to cover things like tuition, textbooks, housing, and living expenses, and to gain experience for their future careers (Soliz & Long, 2016). But finding good jobs can be difficult, with low pay, inflexible hours, and few benefits (Bernhardt et al., 2008). Plus, balancing work with classes, transportation issues, and lack of job experience makes it hard for students to find typical minimum wage jobs.

At the OER Lab, student employees get flexible job opportunities; they can work on-campus or remotely, and the scheduling is flexible as well. This means students can still attend classes while working up to 12 hours a week during the school year. Even students in demanding programs or upper-year courses can participate, bringing a wide range of experience to the Lab, which is crucial for developing OER.

While flexible scheduling is important for students, it does pose challenges for the Lab's staff. The Lab Coordinator, who manages day-to-day operations, scheduling, and projects, has a unionized position with strict guidelines on hours and work type. So, they can't adjust their schedule as freely as students can. This can be tricky, especially when they want to be available for students outside of regular business hours.

To keep things running smoothly despite the flexible schedule, the Lab uses a robust meeting tracking system. This helps everyone stay on the same page and avoids putting too much pressure on unionized staff.

Flexible job opportunities at the OER Lab ensure that work continues smoothly, even with potential interruptions. By offering flexible spaces, schedules, and opportunities, the Lab attracts students and keeps them coming back each semester. This ensures a high level of expertise in the Lab, supporting new students and keeping projects on track.

The OER Lab leveraged multiple digital tools to support day-to-day operations and OER development. The majority of programs were available at no cost; either they were already provided by enterprise-level subscriptions at the university, or the tools had a free or freemium version that the students could use. Rather than seeking out tools for a particular function, for example, a project management/productivity tool like Monday.com, the Lab needed to leverage tools that could be used without an additional purchase or subscription fee, such as Google Workspace. This novel use required some creative thinking on behalf of the OER Lab Coordinator and the Lab’s student employees, in order to determine the best tools available for the job, but resulted in cost savings for the program. 

The use of existing tools also meant that existing training and support resources could be leveraged without a budgetary outlay by the Lab. The university provides various support resources for educational technology like Canvas, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office through the IT service desk and the Teaching and Learning Centre. Both offer no fee for service, and students could use them when technical issues arose, leveraging the expertise of those employees. This support also meant that the OER Lab Coordinator, who is responsible for the training of student employees, did not need to be an expert in all tools used in the Lab.

While we provided training during the two-week paid session, new projects often required us to rethink our tool choices or learn something new. Students admitted that when they were unfamiliar with a program, they made mistakes. However, by the end of the project, they felt a sense of accomplishment and realized they could use the tool again when needed. For instance, one student mentioned that although they used Google Drive frequently for various purposes, recent updates required them to learn new features to fully utilize it. Self-learning with the tool allowed them to improve their productivity by using templates and shortcuts available in the new update.