Unpacking High-Impact Practices in the Arts - Predictors of College, Career, and Community Engagement Outcomes

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah

SNAAP research used survey data from 43,515 arts alumni to examine whether high-impact practices—internships, community service, study abroad, portfolio creation, and working with community artists—predict educational, post-graduation career, and current community involvement outcomes. Regression models controlled for gender, race/ethnicity, parent artist status, parent education, years since graduation, major, institutional type, and size. Results showed all five HIPs predicted stronger academic skill development and satisfaction, with portfolio and community artist experiences showing stronger associations. Career outcomes highlighted shorter initial job searches and better matches for portfolio, internships, and community artist work, while study abroad was not significant.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Study purpose and background

Definition and scope of high-impact practices

Research design and data

Regression models and controls

Findings by outcome type

Academic outcomes

Post-graduation career outcomes

Current involvement in the arts community

Illustrative qualitative comments

MENU ~~ ~~ VOLUME 10 , NUMBER 3 Unpacking High-Impact Practices in the Arts: Predictors of College, Career, and Community Engagement Outcomes SNAAP research scientist, Angie L. Miller, Indiana University Bloomington, and co-authors Nathan Martin, Arizona State University and Alexandre Frenette, Vanderbilt University, used SNAAP data to explore whether participating in “high-impact practices”(HIPs) such as internships, community service, study abroad, creating a portfolio, and working with an artist in the community are related to various educational, career, and community involvement outcomes for alumni with undergraduate degrees in the arts. This study originated from a presentation at the annual Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts Conference in 2017, and was recently published in The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society. There is a great deal of research on the benefits of participation in ‘high-impact practices”(HIPs) in higher education, especially related to their influence on student learning and development (Kuh, 2008) . To be considered an HIP, the activity necessitates a considerable amount of students’time and effort, offers structured opportunities for reflection and integrative thinking, provides substantive feedback from faculty, provides opportunities for learning outside of the classroom, incorporates meaningful contacts with faculty and peers, and involves interactions with a diverse group of people (Kuh & O’Donnell, 2013) . However, most HIPs emphasized in the higher education curriculum (i.e. learning communities, service learning, undergraduate research with faculty, internships, senior capstone projects or culminating experiences, and study abroad) are not discipline-specific. This study explores whether more traditional HIP participation (community service, internships, and study abroad) and discipline-specific HIPs (working with an artist in the community and use of portfolios) predict academic, career, and community involvement outcomes. Data from 43,515 undergraduate-level arts alumni from the 2015 and 2016 SNAAP survey administrations suggests that many arts alumni were involved in HIPs during their time at their institutions, to varying degrees (see Figure 1). Furthermore, a series of regression models found that several different types of HIP participation were significant predictors of a variety of educational, career, and community involvement outcomes, although the magnitude of the relationship varied greatly depending on the outcome. These relationships were apparent even after statistically controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, parent artist status, parent education level, years since graduation, major, institutional type, and institutional size. For academic outcomes, all five of the HIPs included in the models (internship, study abroad, community service, portfolios, and working with community artists) predicted significantly higher levels of skill development and college satisfaction. However, working with a community artist and completing a portfolio or community service project had stronger net associations with these academic outcomes in comparison to internship or study abroad experience. For post-graduation outcomes, alumni who worked with community artists and completed portfolios or internships were significantly more likely to have shorter initial job searches and to find jobs that closely matched their postsecondary training. In these models, internship experience was one of the strongest predictors of a shorter initial job search and closer match with training; conversely, study abroad experience was not significantly related to either of these early career outcomes. In terms of their current careers, arts alumni who worked with community artists, completed portfolios, and completed internships as students were significantly more likely to currently work in an arts occupation. Finally, each of the five HIPs was associated with significantly higher le

FAQs

Which high-impact practices were tested in the study?

The study examined internships, community service, study abroad, creating a portfolio, and working with an artist in the community.

What academic outcomes did the practices predict?

All five HIPs significantly predicted higher skill development and college satisfaction, with portfolios and community service or working with a community artist showing stronger associations than internship or study abroad.

How did study abroad relate to early career outcomes?

Study abroad was not significantly related to either shorter initial job searches or closer matches with postsecondary training, while internship and portfolio or community artist experiences were more predictive.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah