University looks to expand Federal Work-Study positions

The 33 Virginia Tech undergraduate students holding federal work-study positions within University Libraries have performed their tasks so admirably that Rebecca Osborne hopes to add more this fall.

“I am in awe that more departments don’t take advantage of this,” Osborne, human resources coordinator in University Libraries, said of the Federal Work-Study program.

Those who work in the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid hope to change that. Specifically, they want to add more of the part-time on-campus positions in hopes of helping even more students earn money to offset college expenses.

Theirs is a strategy that fits within Virginia Tech Advantage, the university’s multi-year $500 million fundraising effort to assist Virginia undergraduate students with financial needs.

“Right now, we’ve got a little more than 800 students with Federal Work-Study positions,” Elissa Waybright, assistant director of Federal Work-Study and compliance at Virginia Tech, said. “We’ve got students working in University Libraries, Dining Services, athletics, the Moss Arts Center, Pamplin, and more.

“We’ve basically doubled the number of students participating in our Federal Work-Study program from the past two years in 2024-25, but we’re looking to increase that even more. Our program relates to the university’s commitment to experiential learning, and I feel like campus partners will want to fall in line and commit to it as well, and by partnering with us, that’s allowing them to do so.”

What is Federal Work-Study?

For those unfamiliar with Federal Work-Study, it is a program created by Congress in 1964 to help students earn money for college while gaining work experience and later incorporated under The Higher Education Act of 1965. Congress appropriates more than $1 billion each year for the program, and the money gets allocated to positions for students based on their eligibility and financial need.

Other notables on the program for students:

• Work-study positions are essentially subsidized part-time jobs for university students.
• Students who accept a work-study offer as part of their financial aid package must apply for available openings on Handshake, which opens for students July 1 each summer.
• Students typically work 10-20 hours per week based on the position and class schedules.
• First-year work-study recipients typically get paid up to $5,000 per academic year, while returning work-study recipients receive a max award of up to $6,000, according to 2024-25 amounts.
• Students do not pay taxes on any money earned from a Federal Work-Study position.
• Off-campus work-study positions are available, but have parameters.

All sides benefit

One of the major advantages of Federal Work-Study is its flexibility. Various on-campus departments can create positions to meet business needs or ones that potentially help students with career objectives.

In return, students can work a position simply to earn the extra money, or they can work to make money and gain career-related experience.

University Libraries offers both types of roles. Students can work in any of the 10 areas within the library ecosystem, either doing administrative tasks or in positions like the studios network, where they gain experience working with 3D printers, laser cutters, virtual reality, and the gaming studio – tasks that could help prepare them for future careers.

“We have students looking for both,” Osborne said. “Those working in the studios network, for example, are looking for experience in that field, and then others, they’re just looking for a unit on campus that offers a work-study position. They’re looking for practical experience. For many, it’s their first job. They might not be doing something that they aspire to do in the future, but it gives them experience.”

The Office of the University Registrar also participates extensively in the program, offering eight to 10 work-study positions each year. Roughly half of its students work administrative positions, while the other half performs tasks in the office’s classroom audio-visual unit. In the latter roles, students go into classrooms and help with any audio-visual needs or concerns.

“They are a huge help,” Robin Lucas, assistant to the university registrar, said. “They’re great workers. We employ enough work studies for the work that we have, so when they come in, they’re working from the time that they get there to the time that they leave.

“They work out great for us, and they’re getting experience. A lot of them use us for references on applications for jobs once they leave and that type of thing. So it’s mutually beneficial. They’re helping us, and we’re helping them.”

Addressing misconceptions

The big carrot for more departments to participate in the Federal Work-Study program is the wage coverage – something that Waybright often brings up in conversations with various campus departments. Those potential partners often don’t realize this, but they benefit greatly by participating in Federal Work-Study if, for nothing else, they only pay 25 percent of the student’s salary, Waybright said.

“If we’re covering that much of the wages, they could potentially hire more than one student,” Waybright said. “I try to reiterate the wage coverage every chance I can because we do have departments that can’t afford to hire students unless they are getting most of those wages covered.”

In addition to educating on that concern, Waybright spends time addressing other misconceptions related to Federal Work-Study positions. For example, many on campus believe the program only applies to certain departments or that the positions are strictly administrative ones.

Others believe they shouldn’t hire a student because they don’t have enough work to guarantee hours every week.

“We’re really trying to dispel these notions for everybody and let them know, ‘Hey, if you have a project or something that you need done, hire a student to do it,’” Waybright said. “We have heard numerous students say they do not have the availability every single week, so there are many out there specifically looking for opportunities with sporadic need and not as many hours.”

Another notion Waybright tries to dispel is that it is difficult to hire work-study students.

“It’s really no different than hiring a regular student wage worker,” she said. “The only differences are that departments have to check a student’s work-study eligibility, enter the funding split so 75 percent of the wages are pulled from our account and 25 percent come from the department, and then keep track of the student’s work-study remaining balance by running a Legacy Web Report from the Controller’s Office.”

Waybright added, “I also think that most faculty and staff are unaware of the resources that are available to them during the work-study employment lifecycle.”

Career and Professional Development offers two programs geared toward campus partners who supervise students: iGROW @ Virginia Tech and Campus internEXP, and also publishes a Federal Work-Study On-Campus Supervisor Handbook on its website that includes a checklist specific to each academic year.

Federal Work-Study supervisors are encouraged to participate in iGROW@Virginia Tech as the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid wants to ensure that all students going through the program have the best experience possible. This may be the first time that some are in a supervisory role and may not know where to begin, especially when students are involved, so supervisors need resources and support.

“iGROW@Virginia Tech is a great option for supervisors of student employees on campus,” Becca Scott, director of professional development and experiential initiatives, said. “Through this program, we provide resources, support, and training opportunities to supervisors, so they can engage in best practices. We provide a framework for professional development and reflection on work that elevates the on-campus employment experiences for both students and supervisors.

“For many students, their campus job is likely their first, and we have a great opportunity to help them develop the career ready skills they will need to meet the professional expectations of the workplace. Supervisors of student employees play a huge role in their student’s overall experience at Virginia Tech, often offering support and mentoring in the most authentic settings.”

Expansion on the horizon

Waybright said she doesn’t have a target number in mind for increased Federal Work-Study positions at Virginia Tech as the program already has seen significant growth in 2024-25, mostly from a strategic communications campaign by the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid for Federal Work-Study for both students and campus partners.

Funding fluctuates each year based on a complex formula that factors an institution’s participating history, overall enrollment, and the number of students with financial need as demonstrated by FAFSA. But the funding at Virginia Tech currently exists.

The Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid has been scaling up efforts to publicize the program. The office plans on applying for another State Council of Higher Education for Virginia grant in conjunction with Career and Professional Development for 2025-26 that will be used for two separate career fairs and other projects. The group previously received a similar grant for 2024-25 and was able to host the inaugural Campus Student Employment Fair last August.

The increased attention hopefully will lead to additional positions – and additional help for both campus partners and students alike.

“We like to support any programs that help our students at the university, because we are definitely a student-oriented office, and we would encourage others to do the same,” Lucas said. “We’re here because of the students, so we want to give back to them as much as they’re helping us to have a job and keep things going.”

Waybright echoed similar sentiments.

“I do think it’s been mutually beneficial for those who have taken part in it,” she said.