Newsroom
Department announces Federal Work Study experiment
February 20, 2020
Landing a job in your chosen career field often depends on having some experience in that career field.
For many college students that can be a challenging conundrum. How do you get that experience needed if you are new to the world of work?
To enable students to obtain some of that valuable work experience, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Wednesday announced the creation of a new initiative that allows more students to gain on-the-job experience with employers in their field of study as part of their Federal Work-Study (FWS) program. According to an press release from the Department of Education, the initiative, known as an experimental site, expands FWS opportunities for students at 190 institutions.
Institutions participating in the experimental site will be granted waivers, which encourage them to expand the use of FWS funds to support more students working in the private sector and, for the first time, allow them to pay low-income students for work experiences required by their academic programs, such as student teaching and clinical rotations.
"We know that early, meaningful work experience can be an important stepping stone toward students obtaining good jobs and having successful careers," said Secretary DeVos. "For too long, Federal Work-Study has put up artificial barriers between education and industry and deprived students from gaining useful experience in their field of study. Rather than working the dorm cafeteria line, students-particularly low-income students-will be able to 'earn and learn' in ways that will set them up for future success."
This experiment also provides additional Job Location and Development (JLD) program funds to participating institutions and expands the allowable uses of those funds, including permitting institutions to contract third-party intermediaries to help them build partnerships with businesses. These job development activities can be used to benefit students regardless of whether they participate in FWS.
This experimental site is designed to assess whether students are better served when they are paid for work-based learning and allowed access to off-campus FWS employment aligned with their program, as measured by student retention, completion, and improved job opportunities after graduation. The experiment will provide important data to inform future policy proposals on Federal Work-Study reform. More information and a list of schools invited to participate can be found on the Department's Experimental Sites Initiative webpage.