1. P
Professor Helen Higson
Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Professor of Higher Education Learning and Management
19 May 2011

2. Why work experience can change your life
► Recent research at Aston University
► Research informed practice
► Considerable track record of practice
► Case study examples

3. Research informs practice
Placements and degree performance: Do placements lead
to better marks, or do better students choose placements?
• Driffield, N.L, Foster, C.S., and Higson, H.E.
• Aston Business School, Aston University,
No regrets? Measuring the career benefits of a psychology
placement year
• Moores, E. and Reddy, P.
• Psychology, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University,

4. Key findings
► Work experience (placement) improves your degree result
► The ‘best’ students take up work experience (placement)
► Those with lower academic achievement benefit most from work
experience (placement)
► Work experience (placement) improves a student’s transferrable
skills and time management, confidence and a sense of
responsibility
► Work experience (placement) improves career direction,
employability and pay levels dramatically

5. Innovative and forward thinking: Integrated work
placements: Aston University case study
35% offered Aston Business
School 1,200
Over 60% of graduate jobs Over 800
placement
Aston’s within their Aston placement
vacancies a
undergraduate placement undergraduate database
year generated
students take company students take a advertises over by Careers and
‘sandwich’ 12 month 2,500-3,000 Employability
courses placement opportunities Service
each year

6. Employer Links: Graduate Advantage
case study 35% of graduates go into
full time job after
internship
HEFCE • Aston is the single largest provider of
HEFCE internships in the UK
funded Established 2003 and
• 65% Professional Services sector employs team of 14 staff
Over 1,000 • Aston leads partnership of from Aston
placed Wolverhampton, Staffs, UCB
AWM funded • 20,000 local employers registered Times Higher Award for
• SME specialist Outstanding Employer
921 placements • 13 weeks is the average length of Engagement 2010 Finalist
placements
ERDF funded • Internships in High Growth SMEs
• Starts April 2011 for 3 years
1,400 interns • Aston-led consortium of ten HEIs

7. Bibliography
► Driffield, N.L., Foster, C.S., and Higson, H.E. (2011), ‘Placements and degree
performance: Do placements lead to better marks, or do better students choose
placements?’ (under review).
► Gomez, S., Lush, D. and Clements, M. (2004) Work placements enhance
academic performance of bioscience undergraduates, Journal of Vocational
Education and Training, Vol.56 (3), pp.373-385.
► Green, J. P. (2011) The impact of a work placement or internship year on
student final year performance: An empirical study, International Journal of
Management Education, Vol.9 (2), pp.49-57.
► Mendez, R. and Rona, A. (2010), ‘The Relationship between Industrial
Placements and Final Degree Results: a study of engineering placement
students’, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Issue 4-2, pp.46-61.
► Reddy, P. and Moores, E. (2006), ‘Measuring the benefits of a psychology
placement year’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol.31
(5), pp.551-567