More to gain from work-study?

Colorado lawmaker wants more employment options

By Perry Swanson
The Metropolitan

Auraria Campus could be the test site for a new law allowing students with state work-study grants to get jobs at for-profit employers.

House Bill 1052, sponsored by Rep. Jim Dyer, D-Durango, would let work-study students work anywhere from retail stores to state agencies. If the bill becomes law, it will only apply to Auraria colleges, at first.

ãIt seems to make sense to me to want to broaden the work-study from just inside a government kind of deal to the real world,ä Dyer said.

Dyer said many for-profit employers offer work experience that not-for-profits canât offer, and his bill would allow students to benefit from working in a for-profit environment.

ãManufacturing ... telecommunications, these are things that government kind of dabbles in, but not in the same (way as a) for-profit atmosphere,ä he said.

Work-study students can earn money by working a job on campus and drawing pay checks from the grant.
For now, students can use work-study money off campus only if it comes from federal sources. Current laws only allow these students to work at not-for-profit organizations.

Work-study grants typically amount to $1,500, said Mary Anne Romero-Hunter, Metroâs director of Financial Aid. Last year 750 Metro students received state work-study grants, she said.

Work-study students are an attractive option for campus offices because students are paid from the grant, not out of the departmentâs budget.

If the bill becomes law, work-study employees could be harder to come by since they would have the option of working off campus.

Dyer said the plan shouldnât hurt campus departments because it would not be implemented all at once.
Romero-Hunter agreed.

ãI think a lot of our students are already focused on and committed to the not-for-profit sector,ä she said. ãI think theyâre always going to be the big group.ä

Geri Reinardy, a spokeswoman for Colorado Commission on Higher Education, said the bill was not intended to ensure a plentiful work force of students for not-for-profits.

ãWeâre more concerned about the student getting a better experience than the on-campus office getting a worker,ä she said. ãThis bill is not really intended to help employers; itâs intended to help students.ä