Work-study funds cut for this summer

The University will not give students federal work-study grants for this summer because it does not have enough money to pay them, administrators said yesterday. The cancelation of the program, which provided government-subsidized jobs to nearly 600 students last summer, will make finding summer work even more difficult for qualified students in a year when companies are hiring fewer summer employees. The University does not have enough money to pay for the program because it spent all of its federal work-study money during this academic year, Student Financial Services Director William Schilling said yesterday. The College Work-Study program, which underwrites almost all work-study jobs at the University, gives money to the University to cover wages a student earns at a designated work-study job. The program aims to meet students' financial needs during the academic year. Students receive work-study grants as part of the aid package the University gives them. Financial need is determined when students turn in tax forms and the federal Financial Aid Form. Colleges and universities are able to offer summer federal work-study grants when they have money left over from the academic year. Usually, some students choose to pass up their work-study jobs in favor of Perkins loans -- which are federally guaranteed loans -- leaving work-study money available for the summer. But the University's Perkins Loan allotment was "spread around" to meet students' original needs and students were unable to take loans instead of the jobs, Schilling said. The size of the summer work-study program varies from year to year according to student need during the academic year, and Schilling said the summer work-study program has been canceled previously. Last year, Student Financial Services awarded 585 federal work-study grants, Student Employment Director Carol Murphy said yesterday. The year before, however, the program gave jobs to 376 students. The summer program has a history of erratic financial support. During the 1970s, the summer work-study programs ranged from awarding money to over 1000 students, to not existing at all, Deputy Vice Provost and former Financial Aid Director George Koval said last night. Schilling said the lack of money for the federal work-study program results from stagnant funding levels from the federal government combined with increasing student need for financial aid. "The situation is not getting better," Schilling said. "I don't expect Congress and the [Bush] administration to come through with significantly larger appropriations for the program." Students who wanted to apply for the program said yesterday they were upset about the program's cancelation, and administrators said they are looking for ways to hire summer workers without the grant money. College freshman Priyamvada Chandra said although she is not worried about finding a job this summer, she is dismayed the program will not exist. Student Employment Director Murphy said she has fielded questions about summer work-study grants but many students coming in to apply for summer financial aid know work-study will not be available. Murphy added few students have applied for summer work-study by filling out a summer financial aid form, adding the financial aid forms were "just sent out" and the deadline for applying for aid is May 1. Deputy Vice Provost Koval said he had been told a few weeks ago of the possibility that no students would be given summer work-study grants. Since then, the University Life office has been working on contingency programs to pay for student positions the grant may not have covered in University Life's smaller offices. A "limited" number of students from the state will be able to receive a state work-study grant, Schilling said yesterday, although Murphy said she did now know how many students were able to receive state grants.

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