Finances will be a little tighter this fall for some students who rely on work-study jobs to help pay for their college education. According to a story posted today on the U.S. News website, the number of federally funded work-study jobs will drop by about 162,000, to a total of 768,000 for the upcoming academic year.
Our friends at Student Workers Solidarity, organized by a group of students from Seattle Pacific University, played a key role in protecting Washington state financial aid programs this year. Will they have to march on Olympia again in 2011?
The story quotes a U.S. Department of Education official as saying the reduction merely reflects a return to the “historical norm” for work study, which was boosted last year by federal stimulus funds. Maybe so, but it’s still a hit for those 162,000 students who will have to figure out some other way to earn money for college.
Here in Washington this amounts to a double whammy on students, as funding for the State Work Study program also was reduced for this fall by about 30 percent. That’s not necessarily a 30 percent reduction in jobs, as part of the savings is being achieved by asking the employers to pay more, and booting nonresident students out of the program. Part of the rationale for that was that nonresidents could still get federal work study—less likely now, given today’s news.
This on the heels of news that 15,000 students eligible for the State Need Grant program did not receive grants last year, despite generous funding from the legislature. Need is simply out-pacing available cash.
There’s some good news. Private colleges continue to invest more money in institutional financial aid, and the net cost of attending independent institutions has actually dropped in recent years. Here at Independent Colleges of Washington we again topped $1 million in fundraising for scholarships in our just-completed fiscal year.
There are a number of ways that you can help protect financial aid programs and help bring opportunity, choice, and success for college students:
- Follow the work of the Governor’s Committee on Transforming Washington’s Budget. Attend one of its hearings or write in and let them know that student aid is important and effective.
- Sign up to become an ICW Advocate on our grassroots Legislative Action Center. We’ll keep you posted about the progress of financial aid issues and let you know when your letters or phone calls will be most effective. With a projected budget deficit of $3 billion for the next biennium, financial aid programs could again be on the chopping block.
- Keep an eye on this blog, our SaveStudentAid.org website, and our friends at Student Workers Solidarity for the latest news on student aid issues.
- Contribute to scholarships through Independent Colleges of Washington. It’s an easy, one-click process!
Help us keep high-quality, academically rigorous independent higher education possible for all students, regardless of their financial resources.
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Work study is very important to students; I agree.