Expectations of industry based learning: a stakeholder approach

It is very difficult for a service provider to meet and exceed expectations when the stakeholders' expectations are unknown. Employers, university mentors, and students are significant stakeholder groups in the long-established Industry Based Learning (IBL) program at Swinburne University of Technology. Although studies have explored the benefits of this type of program, the expectations of the three stakeholder groups is an under researched area. Therefore, this research explored the expectations of employers, mentors, and students involved in IBL to both increase knowledge of stakeholders' expectations from this type of program, and to identify gaps and mismatches in expectations, if any, between the stakeholders. Employers, students and academic mentors were interviewed to explore their expectations and their perceptions of the other stakeholders' expectations. The interviewees included current, past and prospective IBL students as well are employers and academics with extensive knowledge of this professional learning option. Results revealed interesting agreements and disparities. Three distinctly different comparisons between the stakeholders' expectations and perceptions of expectations were made that identified four gaps: a means-ends gap of expectations between employers and students, a gap in students' perceptions of the other stakeholders' motivations, a service expectations gap of the university, and a gap in recognition of the university's role in the partnership. Overall the academic mentors had the best understanding of the expectations of both the students and employers due to their extensive experience with the program. However, the gap in expectations of the university's role in the partnership requires urgent attention.