In the Know
More Students Work More Hours

College students facing a long-term erosion in financial aid are working longer hours at the expense of their education, notes a recent study.

Many students sitting in lecture halls and seminar rooms of America's universities are struggling to lead double lives, according to a recent study. Besides being full-time students, they are also full-time or nearly full-time workers.

Researchers Tracey King and Ellynne Bannon, sifting through data collected by the United States Department of Education, discovered that three-quarters of students work while going to college. Of the students who work, the researchers report, nearly half put in 25 hours or more per week. And the trend is toward more students working more hours.

King and Bannon attribute this to student aid failing to keep pace with costs. The average student aid grant at a four-year public institution is now one-third smaller compared with tuition than it was 20 years ago. The King-Bannon study was funded by the Higher Education Project of the state Public Interest Research Groups.

Not surprisingly, King and Bannon report that low-income students are much more likely to work long hours than high-income students.

Does all this work hurt students' education? Many students think so. The researchers report that large numbers of students who work 25 hours and up say that work limits their choice of classes and the course load they can handle—and hurts their grades.

Besides, the authors add, college education is more than taking classes. "Higher education is not simply a means to achieve higher earning potential, it should also be a life enriching experience. Colleges and universities foster both academic and personal development—from community service and civic engagement," they write.

But a student who works 25 hours a week is probably devoting 60 to 80 hours a week to work and study, which doesn't leave time for anything else.

King and Bannon warn that with the current belt-tightening in both state and federal governments, the situation is likely to get worse. They recommend that Congress boost need-based federal grants to students, especially Pell Grants. They also want more federal dollars earmarked for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) program and for the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) program.

For more, read At What Cost? at www.pirg.org/inpirg/incampus.asp?id2=6478.