Almost half of student workers on campus are paid minimum wage.
Almost 47 percent of the nearly 4,000 students who work in departments at Ohio University are paid minimum wage.
Most of those positions are subsidized by OU, but Federal Work-Study positions are mostly funded by the government. Work-Study positions are typically offered at Alden Library, but those offered within Culinary Services are student hourly positions and paid for by OU.
Students employed on-campus can work a maximum of 20 hours, said Mary Alexander-Conte, director of Payroll Services. At minimum wage, 20 hours of work draws $159 before taxes.
Minimum wage is $7.95 per hour in Ohio, but student jobs range from $7.95 to $30.00 an hour, Alexander-Conte said.
“The student workers serve a role, and it’s a dual role too,” said Greg Fialko, senior human resources director for OU. “The student is gaining experience, and not just experience in what they are doing, but just overall, ‘how-to-be-a-good-employee’ experience.”
Most Culinary Services and Work-Study positions earn less than students who assist with research, Alexander-Conte said.
Also, in Culinary Services — which has hundreds of student workers spread across the dining halls, catering services and campus markets — starting wages range from $7.95 to $8.25 an hour.
Starting salaries depend on the department. At Alden Library, the salary starts at minimum wage, but students can receive an additional $0.10 per hour for every year he or she works at the library, Theodore-Shusta said.
At Ping, “students are eligible for pay increases the longer they work here,” Westfall said.
The raise structure is similar in Culinary Services.
Student employees are vital to operating OU’s services and facilities.
“Culinary Services, the largest student employer on OU’s (Athens) campus, currently employs around 1,500 students,” said Daniel Pittman, assistant director of Auxiliary Sales, in an email. He did not respond to a follow-up request for comment on whether Culinary Services could function without minimum-wage student workers. He was on vacation.
“Alden Library typically employs between 200 and 250 students,” said Eileen Theodore-Shusta, Alden’s human resources librarian, in an email. “We could not function without our student assistants. We are very appreciative of the work contributed by this group.”
“Ping has 150 students (working there) right now,” said Tasha Westfall, senior assistant director of Campus Recreation, in an email. “Ping is a student-run facility … The day-to-day operations are held out by students.”
“I do not feel like Ping could operate without student workers because the majority of workers are students,” said Taylor Stewart, a senior studying communication who works at Ping.
Student positions have three classifications — Federal Work-Study (mostly funded by the government), Program to Aid Career Exploration and student hourly positions (both of which are funded by OU).
“We check out books from our library, we check out books that people are picking up through OhioLink … reserve books that professors need reserved, rent movies, replace ink cartridges, paper and every once and while, we get stacks of books for patrons,” said Alaina Redlin, a senior studying exercise physiology, who has had her Work-Study job as a student assistant at Alden Library since her freshman year.
About 1,500 Federal Work-Study positions are available each year, but between 700 and 800 are typically filled, said Melissa Van Meter, associate director of operations of Financial Aid.
Work-Study is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and supplemented by a mandatory 25 percent match from OU. Students must be eligible for Work-Study based on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid as having financial need.
Another, more-limited option, is PACE, which offers on-campus jobs to students based on family income. There are a maximum of 350 PACE positions available every year.
PACE is funded, in part, by a private donor’s endowment. Through PACE funding, a student can work 300 hours per fiscal year at minimum wage.
“It’s a lot of work in between homework and work and then how you spend your spare time,” said Austin Paulenske, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, who works at Shively Dining Hall.
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