A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Chapter 505

I. Program Profile

Purpose: To help financially needy undergraduate and graduate students to meet the costs of their education at participating postsecondary institutions by helping institutions to provide on-and off-campus part-time employment for students. The funds appropriated pay a portion of the students' salaries in Federal Work-Study jobs.

Funding History

II. Program Information and Analysis

Performance Indicators

Population Targeting and Services

The FWS program, with the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program and the Federal Perkins Loan Program, are collectively referred to as "Campus-Based Programs" because the institution determines which eligible students receive awards and how much they receive.

Participation: According to program data, 714,440 students received FWS awards averaging $1,092 in the 1992-93 award year (the most recent year for which data are available). This is an increase from the previous year when 697,304 students received awards averaging $1,090.

Distribution by Sector: Institutional participation in the program has decreased slightly: in 1992-93, a total of 3,620 institutions received program funds while 3,819 participated in 1991-92.

Table 1 shows the distribution of FWS funds by type of institution between 1992-93 and 1983-84, when these data were first collected. The percentage of funds going to public, private nonprofit, and proprietary institutions has changed only slightly throughout this period, with public institutions receiving slightly more than half of all funds disbursed in 1992-93 (approximately 53 percent), private nonprofit institutions receiving the next largest share (approximately 44 percent), and proprietary institutions receiving a very small portion of funds (approximately 2 percent).

Source: III. 1.

Distribution by Dependency Status and Educational Level: During the mid-1980s, increasing shares of program funds were awarded to dependent undergraduates, while the portion of funds going to graduate students was decreasing. These trends appear to have stabilized in the past few years (Table 2). In 1992-93, undergraduates received approximately 90 percent of all FWS funds, and nearly 63 percent of funds awarded to undergraduates were awarded to dependent students.

Source: III.1.

Distribution by Income: The percentages of recipients, total aid, and average awards vary by type of student and level of family income (see Tables 3 and 4.) In 1991-92, the average award for dependent undergraduates was $1,001 while the average award for independent undergraduates was 14.1% larger ($1,144). Graduate students received the largest awards, however, with an average amount ($2,000) almost double that of undergraduate students. Due to large award sizes, graduate students receive a disproportionate share of FWS funds. Although they constituted only 4.8 percent of all recipients, graduate students received 9.0 percent of all program funds.

For dependent undergraduate students, the percentage of recipients across income levels closely mirrors the percentage of aid distributed across the same income levels. Among dependent undergraduate students, approximately 53 percent of FWS recipients and dollars are awarded for families with income below $30,000. The highest average award for dependent undergraduates is for those students whose family income is between $24,000 and $30,000. The average award for family income $24,000 - $30,000 is $1,049; for family income $18,000 - $24,000 is $1,044; and for family income $12,000 - $18,000 is $1,029.

Source: III.1.

Source: III.1.

Program Administration

FWS awards are a combination of Federal and institutional contributions. The Federal contribution has changed over the past few years. In award year 1988-89, the Federal contribution could not exceed 80 percent; in 1989-90, the Federal share could not exceed 75 percent; and for award years 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 the Federal share of compensation paid to a student could not exceed 70 percent. For award years 1993-94 and following, the maximum Federal Share is 75 percent. The institutional contribution must usually equal 25 percent. The institutional share may be waived under certain conditions.

The disbursement of FWS awards is a two-step process. First, the Department of Education allocates funds to eligible postsecondary institutions according to a formula that incorporates a guaranteed minimum (based on institutional expenditures in the 1985-86 award year) and increases that reflect students' need. Second, institutions award these funds to eligible students according to their own financial aid packaging policies. Institutions determine which eligible students receive awards and how much they receive.

In addition to wages for students, institutions may use FWS funds for the following purposes:

1. Up to 25 percent of its FWS allocation for an award year can be transferred to the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program.

2. The lesser of 10 percent of its FWS allocation or $50,000 may be used to operate or expand the institution's Job Location and Development Program.

3. Administrative cost allowance may be taken if the institution provided employment to its students in that award year.

Outcomes

• 4.5 percent of all postsecondary students and about 8 percent of all full-time students received FWS employment. The percentage of students participating in the program varies by school type. Less than one percent of proprietary students receive FWS while about 11 percent of students at private institutions do so.

• 7.2 percent of dependent undergraduates but only 2.7 percent of independent undergraduates receive FWS employment. Only 1.4 percent of independent undergraduates with family incomes over $10,000 receive aid.

• Almost one-fifth (18.4 percent) of dependent undergraduate students at private institutions receive FWS employment. At these schools, about 28 percent of undergraduates with family incomes up to $30,000 receive FWS awards as compared to 13.2 percent of those with higher incomes.

• Less than one percent of part-time students received aid.

  Table 5

  Percentage of Students Participating in the FWS Program
  1989-90 Award Year

  	All	Type of Institution				Status
  		2 - Yr Public	4 - Yr Public	Private	Prop.	Full-Time	Part-Time
  All	4.5	1.8	4 .6	11.1	0.9	7.9	0.7
  Graduate	1.8	NA	1.1	3.1	2.2	4.2	0.3
  Undergraduate	4.8	1.8	5.6	13.8	0.9	8.3	0.8
  Dependent*	7.2	2.2	6.0	18.4	1.3	9.4	1.2
  Income
  Under $10,000	14.3	6.4	15.6	28.5	2.2	17.3	5.6
  $10,000- 29,000	10.9	3.2	11.4	28.2	1.4	14.6	1.1
  $30,000 & Over	4.3	0.8	2.6	13.2	0.7	5.7	0.3
  Independent*	2.7	1.6	4.8	5.9	0.8	6.4	0.7
  Income
  Under $10,000	5.3	3.5	8.5	11.8	0.9	8.2	1.4
  $10,000 & Over	1.4	0.9	2.2	3.0	0.6	4.3	0.5

  * Undergraduates only
  Source: III.2.

  NOTE: A percentage of participation is for each grouping of students that is described by the intersecting row and column descriptors (e.g., 1.1% for graduate students attending 4-year Public Institutions).

  In a 1990 review of research concerned with college work experience for students (II.4), three patterns appeared to emerge:

  1. At least in the first years following graduation, students who worked during college earn more money.

  2. There is a stronger positive correlation between working and performance in school when the job is more closely related to college courses.

  3. Students who work do not get lower grades than non-workers.

  Management Improvement Strategies

  As part of the Department's quality-control program, mandatory verification continued to include the FWS program along with other Federal student aid programs. Nationally, approximately 30 percent of all financial aid applications are selected for verification. Each year, the Department requires that institutions verify those financial aid applications that have been selected for verification. Students (and parents, if dependent) are required to submit documentation for key items in the student aid application form (such as tax forms and asset estimates) for review by institutions. Verification and institutional documentation requirements reduce student misreporting in the program.

  III. Sources of Information

  1. Fiscal Operations Report 1992-93, unpublished tables from Campus-Based Programs Branch, Analysis Section, Office of Student Financial Assistance, U.S. Department of Education.

  2. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1990).

  3. Institutional Quality Control Project Flash Report Trend Analysis, (Washington, DC: Pelavin Associates, Inc., March 1992).

  4. Work Experience for Students in High School and College (Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, Reprint Series, 1990)

  5. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1987).

  IV. Planned Studies

  The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study for school year 1992-93 will be available in FY 1994. The study is repeated at three-year intervals.

  V. Contacts for Further Information

  Program Analysis:

  Blanca Rosa Rodriguez, (202) 708-8963

  Program Policy:

  Harold McCullough, (202) 708-4690

  Program Studies:

  Steven Zwillinger, (202) 401-0182

  
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  [Federal Perkins Loan Program] [Income Contingent Loan Demonstration Program]