Optimizing Federal Work Study Utilization: A Transformative Approach in Academic Support

Kimberly Rodgers, Director
Association for the Coaching and Tutoring Profession (ACTP)
Charlotte, NC
March 2024

Abstract:
In 2019, UNC Charlotte leaders decided to investigate barriers to students using their Federal Work Study (FWS) awards which resulted in a surplus of funding at the end of each fiscal year. Among other concerns, we found some students awarded FWS were employed on campus in positions paid out of University funds instead of the federal funds they were awarded. Charlotte’s learning center, the University Center for Academic Excellence (UCAE), partnered with the Office of Financial Aid to identify newly hired student employees and award them FWS funding they could use for the job they had been selected for.

In this pilot, once staff identified the students they planned to hire, they submitted their information to the Office of Financial Aid to see if the students were eligible for FWS. If they were eligible and there were funds available, Financial Aid made the award and the UCAE guided the students through the process of accepting those funds.

Each semester between 20% and 29% of the students hired were awarded FWS funds as part of this pilot saving approximately $70,000 per year of university funds in the UCAE alone. The UCAE has worked with other peer leader organizations on campus to expand the pilot saving approximately $171,000 in fiscal year 2022.
[Link to the Presentation]