Tens of Thousands of College Work-Study Students to Benefit From Stimulus

An additional 130,000 college work-study students may have jobs next year thanks to the economic-stimulus bill that President Obama just signed into law which allocates approximately $200 million in new funding for Federal Work-Study Programs, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Economic-Stimulus Law Creates Jobs for Students, Too,” Feb. 19, 2009).

The money, which colleges should receive by April 1 of this year, will not be tied to a new community service requirement as some higher education officials had expected. Work-study funds will be distributed to undergraduate and graduate students next year based upon “existing formulas and information that colleges have already submitted.”

With the additional $200 billion in stimulus money, Federal Work- Study Programs could receive $1 billion in total funding this fiscal year — a level not seen since 2001, The Chronicle reports.

College work-study programs have widespread support in Congress, unlike Pell Grants and tax credits, notes Cynthia Littlefield, director of federal relations for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

“Federal Work-Study continues to be highly regarded in a very bipartisan manner on Capitol Hill because everybody realizes the importance and purpose of it,” said Littlefield. “Everyone understands the concept of working your way through school.”

Although the $200 million in stimulus funding for colleges is targeted at providing more work-study jobs, it may not be so easy for schools to get the money that will create the new jobs for their students, The Chronicle suggests.

Since colleges match the Federal Work-Study money on a 25-percent to 75-percent basis, schools can only qualify for the additional funds if they have the extra institutional funds on hand to match the federal money.

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