Assessing the Value to Client Organizations of Student Practicum Projects

Abstract

Public policy and public administration degree programs often require students to gain real-world training by working on practicum projects with client organizations. Whereas past literature has focused largely on the impact of these projects on students, we examine their impact on the client organizations. The results are based on surveys of government agencies and nonprofits that participated in the Public Policy Practicum Program at Stanford University. Clients reported that the students’ work was high quality, policy recommendations were helpful, and projects had a positive impact on their organizations. The clients’ satisfaction can largely be attributed to four program design elements: consulting-based course design, appropriate projects, close faculty involvement, and regular client feedback. We discuss the generalizability of our results and the adaptability of this program to other institutions. We hope our study helps other institutions avoid common challenges for client organizations that participate in service-learning courses.