Having a work study job proves to be helpful to most full-time students here at Seton Hill University (SHU). Being a part of the work study program gives students the chance to put some money in their pockets or work toward paying their tuition.
However, with the beginning of the spring semester, some students with work study jobs found that their hours were going to be cut down.
By Rachel Prichard,
Staff Writer
Having a work study job proves to be helpful to most full-time students here at Seton Hill University (SHU). Being a part of the work study program gives students the chance to put some money in their pockets or work toward paying their tuition.
However, with the beginning of the spring semester, some students with work study jobs found that their hours were going to be cut down.
Tier one work study jobs make minimum wage. There were recently several bills passed in the House of Representatives and Senate that will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour. Since the budget was set before the minimum wage was raised, SHU only has a certain amount of money to use for work study pay.
Director of Financial Aid, MaryAnn Dudas said, �To keep the earnings at the same level we needed to cut back the hours.� The initial cut in hours should not affect what the students earn.
Student work study packages are based on a set dollar amount. Students will work a certain number of hours per semester to earn that set amount.
Most students with these jobs work about eight hours a week, depending on which office the student works for. Some offices may give out four hours a week, while
others may give out 13 hours a week.
The admissions office, the Writing Center, Reeves Memorial Library and Lowe Dining Hall are some of the many places students have jobs on campus, and will all be affected by the change.
�The biggest burden is on the individual departments. They hire the students to do certain tasks. Since they are not there as much anymore, the employees of those departments have to take on the tasks,� said Dudas.
Departments like The Child Development Center and kindergarten are required by the state to have a certain amount of hours. Also, some of the computer labs must be open for a number of hours, which requires a work study student to be present.
How are students dealing with the cut in their work hours? Krista Ocilka, a sophomore, works in the admissions office where she does clerical work and gives tours of campus. Her paycheck does not go to her tuition, but it is used for spending money for the semester.
�My hours went from eight last semester to six this semester,� said Ocilka.
�The way it was explained to me was that the students will essentially make the same amount of money,� Ocilka said.
Some students were not affected at all by the change in hours. Emily Gearheart, a sophomore, works in the admissions office also. Her hours were not cut due to the type of scholarship she receives.
�To keep my scholarship, I am required to work 10 hours a week,� said Gearheart.
Some work study students just want to make money to cover some school costs.
�My (football) scholarship covers most of my tuition. I use my paycheck to buy books and stuff for myself. As long as I make the same amount of money in the end, it doesn’treally affect me,� said AJ Erni, a sophomore with a work study job in the library.
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