Work-Study Program Faces Cuts

By Casey Moore

Beginning Monday, the university's work-study financial aid recipients will receive special scrutiny, as the University Financial Aid Office sends warning emails to each of its 180 work-study students still unemployed after two full months of studies.

According to the Federal Student Aid website, federal work-study "provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses." Students are eligible if they demonstrate exceptional financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

However, eligibility does not guarantee an award at Santa Clara. Richard Toomey, dean of University Financial Aid Services, said that Santa Clara's Financial Aid office distributes its limited work-study funds to "the neediest (students) first."

"There's never enough work-study to go around to all the work-study eligible students," Toomey said. "There's probably 100 eligible for every five who get it."

This year, the national budget deficit led Congress to make cuts that slashed nearly 10 percent off Santa Clara's work-study allowance, dropping the total budget to $750,000. Approximately 50 fewer students can receive work-study funds, Toomey estimated.

Emails sent to the unemployed students in the program will remind them of their work-study awards and ask for a job search status update, said Trista San Agustin, associate director of student loans. Awardees who are actively searching for jobs will be given a time extension, generally two to four weeks. Those who have decided not to work on campus will have their work-study awards removed and funds reassigned to other eligible students.

"We would love to award every eligible student a work-study award; however, with limited government funding for this program, (that goal is) just not an option," she said.

Currently, 383 undergraduate and graduate students possess work-study awards as part of their financial aid packages.  

The Federal Student Aid site encourages students to pursue work-study jobs in fields "related to the recipient's course of study" or within a private nonprofit that performs work in the public interest. Santa Clara employs work-study students in positions ranging from departmental assistants to weight-room attendants.

Federal work-study funds support 75 percent of each student salary allocation, while other 25 percent is paid by the departments, Toomey said.

"Departments prefer to hire work-study students because it costs them less," he said.

Departments individually determine how many work-study and non-work-study students to employ, according to Liz Mireles, manager of student employment. As such, there is no university-mandated percentage of work-study versus non-work-study jobs; openings appear "on an as-needed basis."

"At times, (work-study) is required for some positions based on department budget constraints," Mireles said. "However, many departments do not require work-study, so they hire both work-study and non-work-study students."

At Malley approximately, 30 percent of its 87 employed students are work-study hires. Like other on-campus employers, Director of Recreation Janice DeMonsi prefers to hire work-study students in all positions.

"The more work study students I can hire, the more student workers we can have since less of our student wage budget will go to their full hourly rate," DeMonsi said.

But occasionally, student employees will be hired with work-study, but later lose the award. In this case, Malley will still keep the student on payroll.

"We do not turn someone away once they have started working for us if they lose work study," DeMonsi said. "You should not lose it because your financial situation changed."

Contact Casey Moore at c1moore@scu.edu.