Approximately 3,400 postsecondary institutions participate in the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program as one way they provide financial aid to their students. This means it’s highly likely you are either a student, faculty, staff, or administrator at an FWS participating institution or know someone who is. You may very well even know someone who has or has been a recipient of FWS funds. But how much do you really know about this important federal program?
The Federal Work-Study program was established by Congress as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and later incorporated under the Higher Education Act of 1965. The program provides funds to colleges and universities to pay undergraduate and graduate students for part-time employment as a way of helping them meet their expenses while enrolled in college. It also encourages jobs related to a student’s course of study and community service work. With the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 1992, 5% of FWS dollars at each institution was to be allocated to public service work. The percentage was increased to 7% in 2000.
So, you might be asking yourself: “What does the community service FWS allocation mean for my students or my institution?” Yes, students receiving FWS funds could choose to work in dining services, or with the campus landscaping team, or they might utilize their funds to become a reading tutor for preschool-age or elementary school children, or a math tutor for students at a local middle or high school, or perhaps to become a literacy tutor in at a community-based family literacy center, or even work with a local emergency preparedness and response agency. The possibilities are endless. For your campus or community partner, the benefits are limitless. They can provide quality employment opportunities for students that, many times can align with the student's career path for a 25% cost share of the student’s FWS allocation. At the same time, the student is able to gain useful skills while the campus and community also benefit.
In April 2022, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter reminding higher education institutions of their requirements under the Higher Education Act, including distributing voter registration forms to their students. The letter clarified that students who receive FWS may engage in civic engagement activities including voter registration efforts on or off campus. In February 2024, an updated guide was issued with additional information on how FWS funds can be used to support federal, state, local, or Tribal public agencies doing civic engagement work that is not associated with a particular interest group who are doing “broad-based get-out-the-vote activities, voter registration, providing voter assistance at a polling place or through a voter hotline, or serving as a poll worker.”
Campus Compact has resources that go in-depth about how to get the most out of the Community Service aspects of Federal Work-Study and is in the midst of updating these resources through interviews with campus administrators, student-employment offices, financial aid offices and community partners. Stay tuned for more!
Federal Work-Study In Action
Read these stories from across the country that illustrate the different ways institutions leverage Federal Work-Study to create powerful impact.
University of Richmond offers students ways to earn FWS dollars by working with nonprofit or governmental organizations
University of Richmond’s Bonner Center for Civic Engagement offers students with FWS a variety of opportunities to earn their award serving in the Richmond community.More →
IUPUI Partners students and community organizations using FWS funds
IUPUI’s Community Work-Study Program provides students with real-world experiences through community-based work that helps Indianapolis community organizations reach their goals.More →
Northampton Community College and Ask Every Student create FWS guide
As part of the 2022 Ask Every Student Codesigner Cohort, Natalie Sobrinski created a guide on using Federal Work-Study to promote civic engagement on Campus based on the work of Northampton Community College. More →
CUNY Kingsborough Community College leverages Federal Work-Study for student voter engagement
Kingsborough Community College is leveraging Federal Work-Study to hire “Engage the Election Ambassadors” to to run democratic engagement events, voter registration drives, and in-class presentations.More →
Get involved: Federal Work-Study
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The U.S. Department of Education recently clarified that colleges and universities can access Federal Work-Study (FWS) funds to support nonpartisan voter registration work by college students. The Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, and the Campus Vote Project recently released a comprehensive toolkit to help guide college and university personnel in securing and applying FWS funds to maximize the positive impact this opportunity can have on civic engagement among students and in a campus community.
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The NPSS Support HUB offers no-cost technical assistance to academic institutions and providers of student support services, including how to best utilize FWS to achieve their common goals.
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Check out the NPSS Toolkit on leveraging partnerships between higher education and P-12 systems as a way to support students through FWS.
Safeguarding Students’ right to free speech & peaceful protest
Statement by PEN America on Campus Protests
The growing number of campus protests have resulted in challenging situations that mandate respect for students’ right to free speech, concern for student safety, and a condemnation of antisemitism in all forms and outside agitators infiltrating peaceful protests. Our team highlighted this statement from PEN America as a useful reference for the current moment. Read more at pen.org/press-release/statement-by-pen-america-on-campus-protests.
Related resources
Find resources from PEN America for combatting antisemitism while supporting students in protesting safely and within their rights:
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