On May 20, Secretary DeVos unveiled that the focus of the first higher education experimental sites initiative of her tenure would be expanding the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program in an effort to promote better aligned job opportunities for students within their programs of study.
Sec. DeVos’ proposal makes a variety of changes to the current program, aimed at providing institutions with increased flexibilities that will enable students to earn work-study benefits while participating in apprenticeships, internships and work-based learning programs, as well as earn work-study wages while completing required clinical rotations, externships and student teaching. .
Among the proposed changes, the experiment plans to reduce many of the barriers that adversely affect schools’ abilities to partner with private-sector employers in hopes of allowing students the opportunity to gain work experience in their field of study. Specifically, it will lift limits on the amount of work-study funds that can be allocated to private-sector employers, remove some other requirements related to community service opportunities, and lower the wage share for some private sector employers, such as small businesses. Further, it will increase the amount of Job Location and Development (JLD) funds available to schools in order to help foster long-term partnerships with employers. This increase includes allowing these funds to be used to retain apprenticeship intermediaries, which would help increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities for students.
The FWS program is a federally-funded program that allows qualified students to earn money that can be used toward their education expenses by providing part-time jobs. Students must qualify, reserving participation for those that have a demonstrated financial need. According to the department’s press release, almost 92% of all funds spent in this program currently go to on-campus employment opportunities for students Students may also work for certain non-profits or governmental agencies, as long as the work they are performing is in the public interest.
The Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI) is an authority given to the Secretary through the Higher Education Act (HEA) to be able to test out new policy ideas on a smaller scale, before deciding whether to implement it nation-wide or not. The ESI gives the Secretary the authority to waive certain federal student aid statutory or regulatory requirements in order to test the alternative methods of administering student aid programs at a narrow number of institutions. For more information about current and former initiatives, please visit experimentalsites.ed.gov.
ACTE will continue to work with policymakers to ensure the FWS program is updated to encourage collaboration among institutional and community stakeholders, including local employers, in identifying and developing FWS employment opportunities that are more closely aligned to the program of study the student is currently enrolled in.
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