Fewer students working on campus

By Ryan Briscoe
Cardinal Staff

Money is usually a concern for anyone considering higher education. Lately, it seems that the number of full-time students working while in school is on the rise.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, college students are significantly more likely to work or look for work than high school students; the national average of full-time college students working in 2007 was 48.6 percent, compared to only 29.4 percent of high school students. Given that as many as 20 percent of young people ages 16-19 are currently unemployed, according to the Kaulkin Ginsberg Report, many students have been looking to government programs, such as Federal and State Work Study, to help them through college.

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Applying for work study funds is not a simple process. The first step requires a student to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The completed forms are then considered, along with all other financial aid opportunities available (scholarships, etc.), in the order in which they are received.

“The process gets extremely complicated, as it depends on the other financial aid monies a student has been awarded previously and whether or not those monies are renewable,” said Jayne Wobig, financial aid director. Ultimately, this affects the amount of work study a student is awarded.

Is the collegiate workforce actually growing? During the 2006-07 school year, SMU employed 502 students (28 percent) in both its Federal and Minnesota State Work Study. This amounted to $607,574 having been earned by students. However, in 1998, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, 538 SMU students received work study but earned only $477,821. It appears here at SMU fewer students are working, but more money is being earned by those who do.

Although these statistics are helpful, “it is very difficult to accurately judge the number of students who are employed,” said Wobig. “On campus alone there are many jobs available which do not require work study awards.” These include working for the Alumni Phone-a-thon (through the SMU Office of Development), Chartwells employees and students employed by Barnes and Noble.