Future of work-study: How colleges' role in student employment is changing

A familiar chunk of financial aid, work-study has for years slid job-hungry students into easy-to-learn and fluid positions that colleges might otherwise struggle to fill, especially so inexpensively. It even sometimes bridges the gap with the business community or encourages students to connect with the people who make their college work. And in many cases, the federal or state government foots at least half the bill.But new research from several quarters suggests the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program's cranky, decades-old funding formula is unfair and unworkable, and that students should get more out of the experience than they currently do. That is especially true in an economy in which the practical value of college is continually scrutinized and businesses are clamoring for job-ready graduates with hard and soft skills that they've honed through work experience.Some question whether FWS jobs actually go to students with the greatest need, and critics of the program contend those hour- and salary-restricted positions often don't pay enough. Those problems are often true of non-FWS campus jobs, too, contributing to a broad push to add value to the types of employment colleges offer students.