Work-Study During COVID-19


Monday, August 3, 2020

Federal work study may look different this Fall as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.



The Federal Work-Study program, often referred to as “Work-study”, is a federally-funded program in the U.S. that helps students with the cost of higher education. Through work study, students earn financial funding through a part-time employment program. As many as 3,400 institutions participate in this program.

There is a huge possibility that students who rely on part-time jobs funded by the federal work-study program to pay for college may see financial aid options limited or even rescinded this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether students can access work-study funding or not will largely depend on the policy in place at the college they attend.

Work-study usually only goes toward a small part of the overall cost of paying for college. According to Sallie Mae’s How America Pays for College 2020 study, only 18% of families relied on work-study to pay for college and the average aid amount was $1,847 in 2019-2020.

While the amount of aid may not seem like much, every dollar can make a difference when it comes to paying for the various costs of college. Students can use that money to help pay for anything from rent to textbooks and transportation fees. At a time like now, when many are left with unemployment or reduced wages due to the economic impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, any source of income or financial aid is valuable. Income from work-study is just as essential as other types of financial aid.

In a direct message to U.S. News & World Report, Alex Fuselier, a junior at Mount Holyoke College, shares concern about the challenges of taking advantage of the work-study program amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. “It scares me to think that if I were to get a (work-study) job off campus that risks me being exposed to the coronavirus, then I could bring the virus back to campus and risk all of my peers as well as the faculty and staff being exposed." Fuselier, a low-income, first-generation college student also shared, "So it's kind of an unfortunate position where I need a job to cover my tuition, but I also worry that it's too high of a risk."

Colleges that are planning to hold in-person classes in the fall may still include federal work-study in student financial aid packages, with an emphasis on options to work safely such as online/remote options or in-person jobs that allow for social and physical distancing. Students are most likely going to find themselves competing for those jobs.

Some colleges, such as Mount Holyoke, will provide grants to replace work-study for students in situations where they are learning online and are unable to work virtually/remotely. Some schools are coming up with revised financial aid packages that rescind work-study aid entirely and replace it with largest student loans.

The California State University system—which includes top public schools such as San Diego State University and California State University Northridge—was one of the first major universities to announce a fully online fall semester. The CSU system plans to offer limited work-study to some students on a case-by-case basis.

Dean Kuljo, a director of student financial aid services at Cal State, shares, "It will depend on the nature of work/job. Is it something that the student can do remotely, versus in person? It is also far more likely that a student who had work-study the prior year may get an award, as compared to a new student. Given the limited work-study funds campuses have, it is not likely that students would be funded equal to their prior year in work-study."

Students can borrow larger student loans and take advantage of the lower-than-normal interest rates. Others can request emergency relief grants or find other forms of employment.Jobs available to students awarded work-study could be remote or in-person.  While work study policies and grant availability might be different depending on each college or institution, students who cannot use work-study should think about their other options.




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