Students frequently associate Student Financial Services (SFS) with the overwhelming tuition bill they get every semester. SFS, located on the second floor of Usdan Student Center, however, deals with a wide variety of exactly what the name suggests: financial services. One such program is work-study.

Work-study is a financial aid program that allows recipients to earn money through employment. Kristyn Burke, the assistant director of student employment, has much to do with acquainting students with the work-study program.

“Federal Work-Study helps support part-time jobs for students with financial need, making it possible for them to earn money to help pay education expenses,” Burke said.

The program receives its funding in the form of a yearly stipend from the federal government, which is supplemented by the student employment budget funded by the university.

A student qualifies for a specific allotment of those funds, unique to their financial situation. Each year, the student must reapply for financial aid in order to be considered for work-study. The allotment they are given may vary on the need demonstrated each year. After filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and meeting federal eligibility requirements, “Awards are calculated in the student’s financial aid package by the Office of Student Financial Services,” Burke said.

After the student receives their package, it is their prerogative to find the kind of work that best fits their need or desire. There is a lot of variation in this part of the process, according to Burke, who finds that students range from a “very aggressive” approach to a more relaxed job search.

Work-study students have two options when looking for employment. They can choose between an on-campus job within a Brandeis department or an off-campus position by partnering with a non-profit organization. These jobs are easily accessible to students through the SFS website under a tab designated “Job Opportunities.”

The student employment office of SFS reserves on-campus positions for work study employment until Oct. 1, explained Burke. “This is to ensure that the students who have financial need are given earliest priority for jobs. In other words, it’s a way for us to make sure that the paid jobs go to the students who really need them first.”

On-campus jobs, however, are limited and not guaranteed for every work-study student. The responsibility for securing a position on campus if the recipient desires one is up to the student, warned Burke.

When considering a job either on or off campus, Burke advises work-study students to work not only with SFS but also with Hiatt Career Center. She encourages her advisees to consider how their work-study position can be tailored into their future goals for post-undergraduate employment.

Once the work-study student secures employment, they are paid on an hourly basis according to their job. When the student applies for work-study, the program calculates a maximum amount they can be awarded via work-study based on their determined financial need, usually around $3,000, explained Burke. After $3,000, work-study income is no longer considered strictly work-study and is reported as regular income.

A common misconception of the work-study program is that the money a student receives from working is credited to their tuition. “Students are expected to use those funds for educational expenses. Work-study earnings are intended to help with day-to-day costs of being a student, not necessarily to cover tuition,” Burke said. The flexibility of money received from work-study grants students the opportunity to use their earnings toward needs specific to each individual.

Because the money student workers make goes directly to the student, and they may choose to spend it as they wish, Burke clarified that if the student does not attain a job after being eligible for work-study, they do not have to pay anything back to the university or SFS. “If they don’t get a job then they just don’t earn the wages.”

Furthermore, if a student declines to use the work-study program they were eligible for in one year, this does not affect their eligibility for the program in future years.

Though SFS deals with the ugly business of tuition payments, it is also responsible for helpful financial aid programs such as work-study. In many situations, the work-study program allows financial-need students to attend college without the stressful financial burdens of increasingly pricey educational expenses.