School or work? Education or money? Why not study while you work?

By Jayme George

After a summer of scrimping and saving, hard working students find themselves at the start of a new school year with more on their minds than classes and a social life. The easiest way for students to balance schoolwork and the necessity for a steady income is the workstudy program. The workstudy program is affiliated with both the Career Service Center and the many departments on campus that need student aid. The program gives students an opportunity to find a job - or jobs - which can help pay their tuition, without interfering too much with their class load. They are given priority over non-work study students who are also seeking on-campus employment.

Becky Hager, the receptionist at the Career Service Center strongly supports the workstudy program. "The workstudy program is a win-win situation for everyone involved," Hager said. "It's an advantage for both the students who need work, and the departments who need help." Freshman Katherine Linn also praises the ease with which she set up her own workstudy program. Shortly after submitting her request for workstudy Linn scored a job with Kids on Campus playing and caring for the children of faculty and staff on campus. "The Kids on Campus program works well with my schedule," Linn said. "All I had to do was give the coordinators my class schedule and I work the hours that are convenient for me. Plus, the job is really fun."

Freshman Carrie Shia also appreciates the opportunity to correspond her free time with her work hours. "If I had a choice I wouldn't be working, I mean, who would?," Shia said. "On the other hand, it's a good experience and very worth while considering that it goes towards tuition. I'm just glad that the hours are flexible and they give you time to do homework."Time is one thing a college student does not have to spare, so for students in a time crunch the Career Services Center has developed an even easier way to find a job that will coincide with classes and homework time.

This year marked the beginning of Jobtrack.com for on-campus employment. Originally, Jobtrack.com was used by students looking for post-graduate careers or summer internships. Now, by simply logging on to the Santa Clara University web-site, all students point and click to find the job that works for them.

One advantage to the Jobtrack.com system is that it makes jobs available to non-work study students sooner than in past years."There has always been a freeze on jobs in the beginning of the school year for workstudy students," Hager said. "This year the freeze will only last a week before jobs will be accessible to all students."

Students have been responding well to the new system as well. "The Jobtrack program was really easy to use," freshman Janice Yee said. "I was given a lot of options to choose from and now I am just waiting for the departments to call me back."Yee is not the only student who has had to play the waiting game. The demand for jobs on campus has been abnormally high, due to the setbacks the Financial Aid office has experienced. Many students are still waiting to see whether or not they will receive financial aid. The workstudy program is the next best option for students who are not eligible for financial aid.Hager attributes the delay to the new Peoplesoft program."The financial aid awards have been slower in coming due to the new Peoplesoft program," Hager said. "But everybody over there is working really hard to get those awards out so students can find out if they even need workstudy." However, for students who find themselves faced with the hefty tuition of Santa Clara University and are hoping that workstudy is the solution, Hager warns them that there is a downside. "There is only a certain amount of workstudy money that is allotted per student," Hager said. "Eventually, there is the possibility that a student can no longer make money off of workstudy."Despite its downfalls, workstudy still has benefits and can prove crucial in helping students begin to pay off their college tuition.