About
The WCU Business Internship Knowledge Center is a project funded by the WCU Provost Research Grant 2024-2026.
The project is an initiative led by West Chester University Libraries in collaboration with the College of Business and Public Management and the Twardowski Career Development Center.
Our Objectives
The project aims to develop an Internship Opportunity Map for WCU undergraduate business students and build a platform to serve as the first step for students to identify potential internship opportunities and find internship preparation resources.
Why this Project?
Internships are an important factor contributing to students' career success:
- Internships can improve a candidate’s ability to acquire an interview at a rate that is 14% higher than those who did not choose an internship (Nunley, Pugh, Romero, & Seals, 2016)
- Approximately 72% in-person internships and 56% for hybrid internships are offered full-time job offer (Collins, 2025).
- Employers are willing to pay 15% more for employees with internship experience and who exceeded their expectations during the internship. Demonstrating initiative and commitment to quality work are the most important factors in employers’ decision to rehire the intern (Gault, Leach, Duey, 2010)
- On average, 52% four-year college graduates are working in positions that do not typically require a bachelor’s degree one year after graduation. However, business students who completed internships are 15% less likely to be underemployed (Strada Institute & The Burning Glass Institute, 2024).
- Early-career professionals who participated in experiential learning also report substantially more positive outcomes than those who did not, including faster-than-expected career progression, higher career satisfaction, stronger professional networks, greater access to workplace mentors, and average salaries approximately $15,000 higher (Kahn & Patil, 2025).
What Has Been Accomplished?
WCU Business Internship Focus Group Studies
The project has organized 6 sessions of focus group studies with 26 business students. The conversations with students shed light on their internship awareness, starting point, internship experiences, clarity of career directions, attitudes towards internship, part-time jobs, and internship challenges and preferences.
WCU Business Internship Interest and Experience Survey
The project has conducted an internship experience survey among WCU business students and received 713 responses, with an estimated response rate of 15%. The survey collected data about internship employers, students’ internship experience, preferences, the impact of part-time jobs, and identified student internship peer mentors.
Business Internship Opportunity Dashboard
The Business Internship Opportunity Dashboard has incorporated the internship employer and experience data collected via the internship survey, library databases, and online research. It included 1,000+ employers that have provided internship opportunities to WCU students, have strong WCU alumni connections, and operate in nearby regions.
WCU Alumni Connection Dashboard
The WCU Alumni Connection Dashboard has visualized the 1000+ employer data based on the number of WCU alumni connections. It provides an intuitive understanding of where our WCU alumni are and provides access to the alumnis' LinkedIn profiles.
WCU Business Internship Knowledge Center
The Business Internship Knowledge Center serves as the first step for WCU business students to prepare for their internships. It integrated the two Dashboards and resources from the WCU Career Development Center, WCU University Libraries, and other valuable information sources.
Project Team
Prof. Grace Liu (Project Director), Associate Professor, Business Librarian at the F.H.G. Library.
Dr. Yingying Lyu (Co-Project Director), Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Planning
at College of Business and Public Management
Dr. Bahar Ulupinar (Faculty Advisor), Professor of Finance and Faculty Associate to the Dean at CBPM.
Dr. Jennifer Bozeman (Faculty Advisor), Associate Professor, Department of Management at CBPM.
The following students have assisted with the project:
Julius Albert Snoh assisted in organizing the internship focus group studies.
Michael Thais assisted in regional employer analysis and summarized the employer panel insights.
Myles Chadwick, Harrison Green, Michelle Puglia, and Michael Thais assisted in the survey questionnaire design and testing.
Grace Hendershot developed the internship map and dashboard prototype.
Michelle Puglia, Zoe Martin, and Grace Hendershot assisted in collecting the internship employer and alumni data.
Zoe Martin conducted extensive research and helped design and build the Business Internship
Knowledge Center.
Collaborators
The Twardowski Career Development Center
Business & Public Management Center