CLARIFICATION: The combined loss of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant awards and of federal work-study funding is $360,000. 

As part of the series of federal budget cuts known as the sequester, Syracuse University is projected to lose approximately $80,000 in federal work-study funding for the 2013-2014 academic year, according to a report released by the National Association of School Financial Aid Administrators.

Along with sequestration cuts, SU is facing other reductions that could result in an additional loss of about $120,000 in federal work-study funds, said Ryan Williams, SU director of scholarships and student aid.

Additionally, SU is set to lose about $175,000 in Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant awards, resulting in a total loss of approximately $360,000 worth of federal funding for work-study and SEOG, Williams said.

“It certainly is something that we are concerned about. However, we have been planning for this now since summer,” Williams said. “Once we began to hear that this was a possibility and the cuts might happen, we began immediately thinking about how are we going to deal with it.”

During the 2012-2013 academic year, 5,230 federal work-study awards were granted to SU undergraduate, graduate and law students based on demonstrated financial aid. Of that number, 2,462 students, or about 50 percent, actually use it, Williams said.

But for students who do use their federal work-study funding, like Audrey Hart, a sophomore magazine journalism and history major, the potential loss of funding is a cause for concern.

“I pay for my tuition, so I just kind of try to work whenever and wherever I can. I work over Christmas break and summer break, but I also need to work over the school year,” said Hart, who has worked in the bookstore since the fall of her freshman year.

If she wasn’t able to receive adequate federal work-study money or enough hours, Hart said, she would have to look for a job off campus or pick up a second job.

While some students may worry about the future of work-study money, Williams said students should not see any effects on federal work-study money or awards, at least for the upcoming academic year.

“We do not want these cuts to fall on the backs of students,” Williams said. “Fortunately for us, this year, we are in a position to be able to support this.”

To keep funding for the upcoming year stable, money to replace the federal funding cuts will come mostly out of operating costs, he said. But if cuts continue or become more drastic in subsequent years, Williams said, students who work on campus could potentially be affected.

Although SU is able to adapt to a decrease in funding, other colleges and universities do not have the means to maintain their current financial aid awards under the federal funding cuts.

The University of California, Davis is set to lose $180,000 in federal funding for federal work-study and grant awards, which is equivalent to 38 work-study jobs and 18 grant awards that the university does not have the means to replace, according to a March 5 Reuters article.

Sean Fernandez, a sophomore finance and accounting major, said the effects of the sequestration cuts on federal work-study are concerning.

“It’s a shame because it gives students an opportunity to make money while studying on campus,” he said.

Fernandez holds a work-study job in the Whitman Undergraduate Office. He said if he lost federal work-study money, he would try and find a job off campus. But transportation could be a potential issue for students without cars, he said.

Said Fernandez: “I would definitely look elsewhere, but it would probably make the process a lot harder.”

Published on March 7, 2013 at 12:54 am

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