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Defining and Delivering Quality in Work-Integrated Learning

Expanding access to work-integrated learning has become a priority across higher education and industry. But access alone is not enough. Quality remains uneven and, in many cases, underdefined. Data from BHEF’s Expanding Internships report suggests that 30% of interns have a low-quality experience. That means nearly one in three students who secure this coveted opportunity may not be gaining meaningful skills, structured support or clear professional growth from their placement.

For institutions and employers building a WIL strategy, this presents a real challenge. Expanding participation in moderate- and high-intensity WIL models (e.g. microinternships, internships, co-ops) without defining quality risks reinforcing equity gaps, weakening student perceptions of value and reducing employer return on investment.

Why Quality Matters

Low-quality experiences can widen existing disparities. Students without strong professional networks or prior exposure to workplace norms are particularly affected by unstructured roles. Inconsistent quality undercuts WIL’s ability to accelerate career mobility and success.

There is also a clear connection between internship quality and entry-level talent needs. Quality often reflects how strategically an organization views early talent.

Core Markers of Quality WIL

While there is no single national standard for quality moderate- and high-intensity WIL models, consistent markers appear across research and practice. These fall into three broad areas: pay, structured support and skills development.

Pay

Compensation expands access and signals that student contributions are valued. Paid experiences reduce barriers and increase accountability. For curricular models such as industry-led capstone courses, compensation may take the form of a project completion fee paired with course credit. The structure may vary, but financial support should be part of the design. If pay is not possible, at minimum, learners should have clear pathways to earn credit toward their postsecondary credential.

Structured Support

High-quality experiences are intentional. They include:

  • Formal onboarding
  • A trained supervisor
  • Access to centralized resources
  • A staff buddy or mentor
  • Regular feedback
  • Measurement of intern satisfaction and engagement

Students should understand expectations, receive guidance and have space for reflection.

Skills Development

Work-integrated learning should be based on clearly defined competencies that are aligned with real work, building not only technical- or role-specific skills, but also durable skills. Quality experiences include:

  • Clear learning outcomes aligned with real world work
  • Opportunities to work on a team
  • Exposure to internal tools and systems
  • Ownership of a defined project
  • Completion of deliverables
  • Presentation of work
  • Measurement of skills attainment

Students should leave with demonstrable skills, not just hours logged.

The Quality Distribution

Employer data reflects similar patterns to students’ reports on the quality of their experiences. Roughly 30% of employers offer lower-quality internships, 35% offer medium-quality experiences and 35% offer high-quality internships based on the number of quality markers present.

These markers apply beyond internships. Higher intensity models like co-ops and low intensity experiences, like microinternships and project-based learning, alike benefit from the many of the same design principles. Without a shared definition, partners struggle to deliver consistent experiences and lack a clear path to improving them.

Building Systems That Support Quality

Quality improves when it is built into model design, HR processes and program evaluation. Institutions, employers and intermediaries can work together to:

  • Establish shared quality standards
  • Collect data on satisfaction and skills development
  • Use quality markers to guide continuous improvement
  • Provide templates, training and onboarding materials
  • Set expectations for partnership renewal based on quality

Clear definitions and consistent measurement create accountability that moves WIL from transactional to meaningful experiences for all stakeholders.

Partnering Creatively to Ensure Quality

Not every employer has the capacity to meet every quality marker independently. Small businesses and nonprofits, in particular, may lack staff time or formal infrastructure. Creative partnership models can help distribute responsibility while maintaining quality.

Shared supervisor or mentor models: An institution or intermediary can provide supervisor training, external mentors or structured reflection sessions for student participants. This supplements on-site supervision and strengthens student support.

Cohort-based placements: Multiple employers participate in a shared intern cohort. Institutions coordinate onboarding, professional development workshops and final presentations. Employers focus on project oversight while centralized supports ensure consistency experiences and work products.

Project scoping assistance: Partners can help employers define learning outcomes, scope feasible projects and align tasks to skill frameworks before the experience begins. Strong design up front prevents underdeveloped roles.

Blended funding approaches: Philanthropy or public grants can fund student stipends when employers cannot fully pay. In curricular settings, project fees combined with credit can provide compensation. Shared funding models expand access without lowering expectations.

Sector collaboratives: Groups of smaller employers can participate in a regional or industry collaborative that shares interns, co-hosts skill-building sessions or rotates students across sites. This strengthens both quality and regional talent pipelines.

Centralized toolkits and training: Providing onboarding templates, supervisor guides, feedback rubrics and skills assessment tools reduces variability and lowers the burden on employers.

Embedded intermediary oversight: Intermediaries can conduct midpoint check-ins, gather satisfaction data and provide real-time troubleshooting to maintain quality across placements.

When partners align around clear quality markers and share responsibility for delivering them, work-integrated learning becomes more consistent and effective.

Embedding and scaling quality WIL is central to higher education’s ability to keep pace with labor market change and disruption. For students, high-quality WIL provides meaningful experiences that translate into recognizable signals in hiring processes. For employers and the broader economy, it strengthens talent pipelines and reduces the risk of underemployment by aligning skills development with real workforce demand.

Defining quality is the first step. Sustaining it at scale is what ensures WIL fulfills its role in a responsive and equitable talent ecosystem.

BHEF offers technical assistance to its network members, as well as on a fee-for-service basis for those outside the network through its WIL Innovation Center. To learn more, share your contact information here.