FINANCING EDUCATION: WORK STUDY

Federal Work-Study

Program

The purpose of the federal work-study program (FWS) is to stimulate and promote the part-time employment of students who are enrolled as undergraduate, graduate, or professional students and who are in need of earnings from employment to pursue courses of study at eligible institutions, and to encourage students receiving federal student financial assistance to participate in community service activities that will benefit the nation and engender in the students a sense of social responsibility and commitment to the community. The program shall be administered by the U.S. Department of Education and participating institutions of higher education in accordance with 20 U.S.C. Chapter 28, Subchapter IV, Part C, and

34 C.F.R. 675.1-.28. 20 U.S.C. 1087-51, -53(a); 34 C.F.R. 675.1-.28

Eligible Student

A student at an institution of higher education is eligible to receive part-time employment under the FWS program for an award year if the student:

1. Meets the relevant eligibility requirements contained in 34 C.F.R. 668.32;

2. Is enrolled or accepted for enrollment as an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student at the institution; and

3. Has financial need as determined in accordance with Part F of Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

34 C.F.R. 675.9

Eligible Employer

A student may be employed under the FWS program by the institution in which the student is enrolled; a federal, state, or local public agency; a private nonprofit organization; or a private for-profit organization.

Regardless of the student's employer, the student's work must be governed by employment conditions, including pay, that are appropriate and reasonable in terms of type of work; geographical region; employee proficiency; and any applicable federal, state, or local law.

FWS employment may not:

1. Impair existing service contracts;

2. Displace employees;

3. Fill jobs that are vacant because the employer's regular employees are on strike;

4. Involve the construction, operation, or maintenance of so much of any facility as is used or is to be used for instruction that is predominantly devotional and religious or as a place for religious worship, except to the extent that excluding such

work would impose a substantial burden on a person's exercise of religion; or

5. Include employment for the U.S. Department of Education.

34 C.F.R. 675.20(a)-(c)

Academic Credit

A student may be employed under the FWS program and also receive academic credit for the work performed. Those jobs include, but are not limited to, work performed when the student is enrolled in an internship; enrolled in a practicum; or employed in a research, teaching, or other assistantship.

A student employed in an FWS job and receiving academic credit for that job may not be:

1. Paid less than the student would be if no academic credit were received;

2. Paid for receiving instruction in a classroom, laboratory, or other academic setting; and

3. Paid unless the employer would normally pay the person for the same position.

34 C.F.R. 675.20(d)

Notice of

Employment

Opportunities

To participate in the FWS program, an institution of higher education shall enter into a participation agreement with the U.S. Secretary of Education. The agreement provides that, among other things, the institution shall inform all eligible students of the opportunity to perform community services and consult with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations to identify those opportunities. 34 C.F.R. 675.8

Texas College Work-

Study Program

Any institution of higher education, including a college district, is eligible to participate in the Texas College Work-Study Program and/or the mentorship program in accordance with Education Code Chapter 36, Subchapter E, and 19 Administrative Code Chapter 22, Subchapter G. 19 TAC 22.128(2), (4), .129(a)(1)

Mentorship

Program

In accordance with Education Code 56.079 and 19 Administrative Code Chapter 22, Subchapter G, the Coordinating Board shall administer a work-study student mentorship program under which students who are enrolled at participating eligible institutions and who meet the eligibility requirements for employment in the Texas College Work-Study Program may be employed by participating entities under the Texas College Work-Study Program to:

1. Mentor students at participating eligible institutions or high school students in participating school districts;

2. Counsel high school students at GO Centers or similar high school-based recruiting centers designed to improve student

access to higher education; or

3. Support student interventions at participating eligible institutions that are focused on increasing completion of degrees or

certificates, such as interventions occurring through advising or supplemental instruction.

A “participating entity” is an eligible institution, a school district, or a nonprofit organization that has filed a memorandum of understanding with the Coordinating Board under 19 Administrative Code Chapter 22, Subchapter G, to participate in the mentorship program.

Education Code 56.079; 19 TAC 22.128(73)

Institution

Requirements

Generally

To participate in the program as an employer, an institution must:

1. Provide part-time employment to an eligible student in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities;

2. Provide, insofar as is practicable, employment to an eligible student that is related to the student's academic interests;

3. Use program positions only to supplement and not supplant positions normally filled by persons not eligible to participate

in the work-study program; and

4. Provide not less than 25 percent of an employed student's wages and 100 percent of other employee benefits for the

employed student from sources other than federal college work-study program funds. Institutions eligible to receive Title

III funds from the U.S. Department of Education are exempted from the program requirement to provide 25 percent of an employed student's wages, if they provide the Coordinating Board with a copy of a current Title III eligibility letter from the

U.S. Department of Education.

Education Code 56.074(b); 19 TAC 22.129(c)

Mentorship

Program

To participate in the mentorship program as an employer, an institution must:

1. File with the Coordinating Board a memorandum of understanding detailing the roles and responsibilities of each participating entity; and

2. Provide not less than 10 percent of an employed mentor's wages and 100 percent of other employee benefits for the

employed student from sources other than federal college work-study program funds. Institutions eligible to receive Title

III funds from the U.S. Department of Education are exempted from the mentorship program requirement to provide 10 percent of an employed student's wages, if they provide the Coordinating Board with a copy of a current Title III eligibility letter from the U.S. Department of Education.

19 TAC 22.129(d)

Eligible Student

To be eligible for employment in the program, a person shall:

1. Be a resident of Texas as defined by 19 Administrative Code 22.1;

2. Be enrolled at least half-time, as determined by the student’s institution, and be seeking a degree or certificate in an eligible institution;

3. Show financial need, as defined by 19 Administrative Code 22.1;

4. Meet applicable standards outlined in 19 Administrative Code 22.3; and

5. If participating in the mentorship program, receive appropriate training and supervision as determined by the Coordinating Board.

A person is not eligible to participate in the program if the person concurrently receives an athletic scholarship.

Education Code 56.075; 19 TAC 22.130

Eligible Off-Campus Employer

An eligible institution may enter into agreements with off-campus

employers that participate in the program. To be eligible to participate,

an off-campus employer must:

1. Provide part-time employment to an eligible student in nonpartisan

and nonsectarian activities;

2. Provide, insofar as is practicable, employment to an eligible

student that is related to the student's academic interests;

3. Use program positions only to supplement and not to supplant

positions normally filled by persons not eligible to participate

in the work-study program; and

4. Either:

a. Unless the institution enrolling the eligible student is eligible for a waiver of matching funds under 19 Administrative Code 22.129(c)(4), provide not less than 25 percent of an employed student's wages and 100 percent of other employee benefits for the employed student from sources other than federal college work-study program funds, if the employer is a nonprofit entity; or

b. Provide not less than 50 percent of an employed student's wages and 100 percent of other employee benefits for the employed student, if the employer is a profitmaking entity.

For the mentorship program, an eligible institution must file, in conjunction with the participating school district(s) or nonprofit organization( s), a memorandum of understanding with the Coordinating Board. For the mentorship program, a participating entity, other than an institution of higher education, benefiting from the services of the mentor must provide funding in an amount at least equal to the amount of the institution's contribution, as described by 19 Administrative Code 22.129(d)(2). The participating entity's contribution may be satisfied through in-kind contributions, if acceptable by the institution.

Education Code 56.076; 19 TAC 22.131

Approval

Each approved institution must enter into an agreement with the Coordinating Board, the terms of which shall be prescribed by the commissioner. An institution must be approved by April 1 in order for qualified students enrolled in that institution to be eligible to be employed in a work-study position in the following fiscal year. 19 TAC 22.129(b)

List of Work-Study

Employment

Opportunities

Institutions participating in the program must establish and maintain an online list of work-study employment opportunities available on campus, sorted by department as appropriate, and ensure that the list is easily accessible to the public and prominently displayed on the institution’s website. Education Code 56.080; 19 TAC 22.129(e)

Funds

Distribution

Funds will be allocated in accordance with 19 Administrative Code 22.133. As requested by institutions throughout the academic year, the Coordinating Board shall forward to each participating institution a portion of its allocation of funds for timely disbursement to students. Institutions will have until the close of business on August 1, or the first working day thereafter if it falls on a weekend or holiday, to encumber program funds from their allocation for timely disbursement

to students. After that date, institutions lose claim to any funds in the current fiscal year not yet drawn down from the Coordinating Board for timely disbursement to students.

Funds released in this manner in the first year of the biennium become available to the institution for use in the second year of the biennium. Funds released in this manner in the second year of the biennium become available to the Coordinating Board for utilization in financial aid processing. Should these unspent funds result in additional funding available for the next year's program, revised allocations, calculated according to the allocation methodology outlined in this subchapter, will be issued to participating institutions during the fall semester.

19 TAC 22.133, .135

Transfer

Institutions participating in two or more of the following programs: Toward EXcellence, Access and Success Grant, the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant, Tuition Equalization Grant, and Texas College Work-Study Programs, in accordance with instructions from the Coordinating Board, may transfer current fiscal year funds up to the lesser of 25 percent or $60,000 between these programs. This threshold applies to the program from which the funds are transferred. An institution shall submit a request for transfer under 19 Administrative Code 22.11(a) by the annual deadline published by the Coordinating Board, and the transfer must occur by July 1 of the current fiscal year. 19 TAC 22.11

Discrimination on

the Basis of Sex

A recipient of federal funding that assists any agency, organization, or person in making employment available to any of its students shall assure itself that such employment is made available without discrimination on the basis of sex; and shall not render such services to any agency, organization, or person that discriminates on the basis of sex in its employment practices.

A recipient that employs any of its students shall not do so in a manner that violates 34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart E.

34 C.F.R. 106.38