With the first week of second semester just completed, Freshman Jamie Alexander checked her school e-mail, taken aback as she read a message she never expected to appear. Effective Feb. 13, the work study program will be suspended at CNU due to a lack of federal funds.

“When I first read the news, I was pretty upset. I knew it would make things difficult because the money I was getting would help me pay for my books and food. I also knew I might not be able to find a job on campus since I did not bring my car,” Alexander said.

However, she is one of the fortunate ones who may be able to keep their job until the end of the semester. Working as a receptionist in the Writing Center of the Center for Academic Success (formerly known as the Center for Liberal Learning), she was told by her supervisor, Dr. Jessica Clark, it would be almost certain she would be able to finish out the year on the school payroll. Clark, who currently works as an assistant professor in the English department, is currently seeking to raise the funds necessary out of the department to pay out the rest of the year’s salaries for the students she supervises in the program.

The federal work study program provides employment for undergraduate students demonstrating “exceptional financial need.” Students are able to pay for college expenses, and work out schedules with their supervisors, as they take the classes they are enrolled in into consideration.

According to the school Web site, a student involved in the work study program may not work more than 20 hours per week, while the average number of hours worked per week is 10.

Over the course of the academic year, the Office of Financial Aid is tasked with what is described as the “incredibly difficult” job of allocating the amount of funds to the program. According to Director of Financial Aid Mary Wigginton, the process is a guessing game, which can never be an exact science.

“What we receive every year is in essence a pot of money from Congress. Over the past several years, that pot has gotten smaller and smaller. Although we want to award more money, we have to be careful to not receive too much or else we will have to return the money to the federal government, which will result in us receiving less money the following year,” Wigginton said.

Over the course of deciding how much money to allocate towards the program, the process comes with many different variables, which can change from year to year. Each student is awarded with a maximum amount of money they can earn. Some students only work a fraction of the hours, while others work all they can get.

The demographics of the school, along with the present state of the economy influence how much money is awarded. Despite the minimum wage being increased, the school did not receive more funds.

Wigginton added that in her 12 years working at CNU, the work study program has only been suspended one time before.

Financial Aid and Work Study Coordinator Veronica Cook also added that the difficulty of the task to allot funds can also be complicated with the levels of desire to employ work study students within each department. While the Department of Admissions had the most work study students this year with eight, the Freeman Center no longer employed work study students as they did in the past because Cook said they didn’t feel the need for them.

As a result of the different needs for work study students after the suspension, Sophomore Brandon Clayton voiced his thankfulness for his opportunity to finish out the semester as a school employee.

“I feel very lucky that I can stay on here with my job in the English department. The extra money always helps, but I understand some people need it more than others,” Clayton said.

Although work-study students commonly fill certain jobs, other jobs are more occupied with school employees along with work-study students. After spending her first semester working seven hours a week at the IT Services help desk in the Trible Library, Freshman Julia Craig is preparing to live without her bimonthly paycheck.

“My boss has told me if work study eventually gets more money, I can return next year. Many people who work here are regular employees, so there is no need to keep the rest,” Craig said.

The program is set to return next year and Wigginton indicated from the tentative allotment, the school stands to receive about the same amount of money.

Wigginton emphasized her hope that the program works out better with the funding next year because of how much she believes in the program.

“I always tell the parents of students that work study has more than just monetary benefits. The student is able to not only earn money, but assimilate into the community as well. If a student performs well in their freshman year in the program, they will be offered a job next year. As it turns out, the program, in large part, has been freshmen working many of the hours,” Wigginton said.