A creative look at Furman University and how the work-study program can be restructured to provide additional support for the low-income student demographic.

1. Re-Imagining The Low-Income
Student Experience
USING THE FEDERAL WORK-STUDY
PROGRAM TO INSPIRE AN IMAGINATIVE AND
ENGAGING CAMPUS COMMUNITY
ROSEMARY HILLIARD
CREATED FOR RETENTION & ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIES
EDU 6220 70504
19 OCTOBER 2012

2. Problem:
COMPARED WITH 56 PERCENT OF THEIR
HIGH-INCOME PEERS, ONLY 26 PERCENT OF
LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WHO ENROLL IN
FOUR-YEAR PROGRAMS SUCCESSFULLY EARN
THEIR DEGREES.
(ENGSTROM AND TINTOM, 2008)

3. Problem:
STUDENTS FROM LOW-INCOME
BACKGROUNDS OFTEN HAVE WORK AND
FAMILY OBLIGATIONS THAT HINDER
ENGAGEMENT AND CONTRIBUTE TO
RETENTION PROBLEMS.
(LONGWELL-GRICE AND LONGWELL-GRICE, 2008)

4. Solution:
CREATE AN INTENSIVE COMMUNITY
DESIGNED AROUND THE CAMPUS WORKSTUDY PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ADDRESS
THE NEEDS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS
WHILE SUPPORTING THE UNIVERSITY’S
COMMITMENT TO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
AND COMMUNITY SERVICE.

5. Why Work-Study?
 WS provides students with the opportunity to bridge
their learning from the classroom into practical, real-life
situations while introducing them to the workplace.
(Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and Whitt, 2005, pg. 48)
 Participating in a WS program may positively influence a
student’s desire and/or ability to persist in college.
(Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon, 2005, pg. 36-37)
 “Students employed on-campus have a substantially
higher rate of persistence into their second year.”
(Cermak and Filkins, 2004)

6.  “Furman has emerged as a national leader
Furman
University
- Greenville, SC
- Private, liberal arts
- 2,662 undergraduate
enrollment
- 90% retention rate
- Cost of Attendance for
13-14: $54,448
- 38.8% of students
receive need-based
financial aid
- All students required
to live on-campus
(“Facts and Figures, 2013)
among liberal arts colleges by giving
students the chance to learn by doing
through independent study, research
projects with professors, study abroad,
community service and internships
around the nation and the world. Furman is
a leader among liberal arts colleges in the
percentage of students who engage in
undergraduate research during the
summer; the university supports student
research and internships both on and offcampus, including overseas opportunities.
One of Furman's major strategic goals is its
commitment to sustainability made evident
in the University's curriculum, construction
projects, and promotion of community
awareness of sustainability.”
(“Furman University,” 2013)

7. Furman: A Financial Picture
 53% of students apply for need-based financial aid
 30.9% of students’ financial need is fully met
 For the rest, an average of 72.9% need is met
 Based on the $54,448 13-14 COA, this leaves an
average of $14,755 to be covered out-of-pocket,
through expensive loans, or through other means
 Average debt is $27,373 (higher than national $
26,000 average) (Furman University, 2013)

8.  2009 Poverty Figures for
Greenville,
South Carolina
2009 poverty figures
indicate an area of
high-need families.





Greenville, SC:
31.5% residents live below the
poverty line
22.4% state of SC below poverty
line
37.3% of female and 30.3% of
males aged 18-24 live below
poverty level
11.4% of 18-24 year old residents
qualify as “very poor”
(“Greenville South Carolina,” 2009)

9. Introducing WORK/CONNECT.
A WORK-STUDY PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES
FINANCIALLY-NEEDY UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS WITH THE CHANCE TO ENGAGE IN
VALUABLE WORK EXPERIENCE WHILE
ENRICHING THE SURROUNDING
COMMUNITY.

10. WORK/CONNECT: Who
 All undergraduate students with an estimated family contribution of $0, as







determined by the financial aid office, will be eligible to participate.
Required GPA of 3.0 indicates ability to manage work/study schedule and maintains
“elite” status of program.
Available freshman through senior year.
Wages will be based on length of participation in the program. For example, year 1
participants make $10/hour, year 2 $13, year 3 $16, and year 4 $20. Wages should
be higher than with other FWS jobs available on-campus.
Students are grouped in teams that are then assigned work opportunities in the city
of Greenville.
Teams are integrated vertically: fourth-year members lead lowerclassmen.
Student leadership component encourages participants to “develop leadership
abilities, polish communication skills, and learn firsthand about group dynamics
[through collaboration] with other student leaders and faculty.” (Kuh, Kinzie,
Schuh, and Whitt, 2005, pg. 250)
Collaborative groups encourage learning and mutual dependency on each team
member. (Tinto, 2002)

11. WORK/CONNECT: Where
 Examples of jobs include staffing the offices of local
non-profit organizations, such as food banks,
homeless shelters, tutoring at public schools, and
community centers.
 Preferred assignments will be those that help lowincome and disadvantaged community of Greenville.
 Jobs will focus on connection with Greenville
community and improving the lives of all involved.
 Local organizations seeking assistance apply with
Furman Work-Study Office for approval.

12. WORK/CONNECT: How
 Experiential learning that enriches campus and
community environments. (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and
Whitt, 2005, pg. 236)
 Assignments/hiring decisions made by Furman
Work-Study Office
 FWS funds administered by Financial Aid
 Challenges in meeting program need?

13. WORK/CONNECT: Why
 WORK/CONNECT aims to decrease low-income student reliance




on loans and other means of covering aid gap.
WORK/CONNECT will be funded primarily through FWS,
thereby relieving the school and selected organizations of financial
burden.
WORK/CONNECT will increase student retention by providing
meaningful and enriching work-study jobs in the community and
removing students from sheltered campus environment.
WORK/CONNECT will increase applications and enrollment at
Furman by providing community visibility and positive
reinforcement of the university’s mission statement.
WORK/CONNECT will enhance university marketing strategies by
demonstrating support for low-income population and alternative
methods of lowering the all-powerful sticker price. (Lapovsky, 1999)

14. Closing thought
“THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY DEPENDS ON
OPENING FINANCIAL PATHWAYS FOR ALL
STUDENTS TO ATTEND THE COLLEGES WHERE
THEY ARE MOST LIKELY TO THRIVE.”
(BARASH, 2013)

15. References












Barash, C. (2013, September). How can we expand college access to low-income students? Reuters. Retrieved 15 October, 2013
from http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/09/04/how-can-we-expand-college-access-to-low-incomestudents/.
Braxton, J.; Hirschy, A.; McClendon, S. (2005). Understanding and reducing college student departure. ASHE-ERIC Higher
Education Report, 30(3). Hoboken: Wiley.
Cermak, K.; Filkins, J. (2004, February). On-Campus Employment as a Factor of Student Retention and Graduation. DePaul
University. Retrieved 15 October, 2013 from http://oipr.depaul.edu/open/gradereten/oce.asp.
Facts and Figures. (2013). Furman University. Retrieved 15 October from www.furman.edu.
Furman University. (2013) U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 15 October from
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com.
Greenville South Carolina Poverty Rate Data. (2009). City-Data. Retrieved 15 October from http://www.city-data.com/.
Kuh, G.; Kinzie, J.; Schuh, J.; Whitt, E. (2005). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Lapovsky, L. (1999, Fall). What you need to know about enrollment management. New Directions for Higher Education. 107.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Longwell-Grice, R.; Longwell-Grice, H. (2008). Testing tinto: How do retention theories work for first-generation, working class
students? Journal of College Student Retention, 9(4). pg. 407-420. Retrieved from
www.hartnell.edu/bsi/Research/Testing%20Tinto's%20theory.pdf.
Reese, D. (2013, May). Sequester hits work-study funds and impacts this family. Washington Post. Retrieved 16 October 2013
from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/05/29/sequester-hits-work-study-funds-andimpacts-this-family/.
Tinto, V. (2002). Taking student retention seriously: Rethinking the first year of college. Speech presented at the annual meeting
of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers, 15 April 2002. Minneapolis.
Williams, C. (2013, August). The american dream should really be called the american debt. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October,
2013 from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/27/student-loan-debt-cripple-young-americans.