The Impact of Working while Studying in University on Academic Performance: Results of a Longitudinal Study of Undergraduate Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2026.1.3105Keywords:
student employment, combining study and work, academic performance, student rating, panel data, panel regressionAbstract
Combining higher education with work is becoming a common practice among undergraduate students. Initial studies of this phenomenon demonstrated the negative impact of paid employment on students' academic performance. However, in recent years, several positive effects of combining study and work have been observed, depending on the type of employment and student characteristics. In the Russian context, ambitious and motivated students at leading universities, such as the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), discussed in this article, are more likely to combine work and study. This study aims to understand how students' academic performance changes during their university studies as they acquire different types of employment. The empirical base was comprised of eight waves of the annual representative HSE student survey “Monitoring Student Life” (2017-2024). The final panel database included full-time students who completed the survey at least twice during the specified period. The final sample size (Nmain) was 2,723 students. It was found that employment (on- and off-campus) had a greater impact on students' GPAs and ranking positions than did employment type (full-time or part-time). Using longitudinal panel analysis methods based on generalized estimating equations (GEE), it was demonstrated that employment has a generally negative impact on academic achievement. Working on campus is associated with a significant increase in current ranking positions and GPAs, while off-campus employment may have a positive effect on cumulative GPAs, confirming a self-selection effect. Employment during the first years of study has the most negative impact on academic performance. A new feature of this article is the inclusion of student ranking indicators in the calculations, allowing for a more accurate and detailed measurement of students' comparative competitive positions and their academic success. Where the models do not reflect significant changes in students' GPAs, changes in ranking indicators are reflected.
Acknowledgments. We express gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. The study was carried out within the framework of the Basic Research Program of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University).
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