MEDILL NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL REPORT
Florida Colleges: Federal Work-Study Spending on Community Service Above Average
By DEANNA ZAMMIT
MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - When Nova Southeastern University senior Suzanne Mastrogiovanni decided to continue working her way through college as part of the federal work-study program two years ago, she was given a choice: Earn her financial aid hosing down gym equipment at the athletic office or teach 7-year-olds to read.

As an aspiring teacher, Mastrogiovanni's choice was clear. After a three-hour tutor-training course and a police background check, she signed on as an America Reads tutor instead of spending another year working for the athletic department.

"When I worked in the athletic department I had to do cleaning and that was kind of a grub job," said Mastrogiovanni, 21. "But working with the children every day is a new adventure. Every child brings something new every day."

Tutoring elementary school children is one of the best-paying jobs offered by the university, with a starting wage of $11 an hour. Of its 600 work-study students, Nova Southeastern University pays nearly 220 students every year to lend a hand in Fort Lauderdale. It dedicates 38 percent of its federal work-study money to community service, the third highest amount in the state.

"It's real easy to get students to do the program," said Hunter Peak, the school's financial aid director. "It pays well and it's endearing because you're helping first- through third-grade kids, so it wasn't a big marketing effort for us to get these students interested."

Nova Southeastern University isn't alone. South Florida is a region rich with community service opportunities and local schools seem to be seizing them. A Medill News Service analysis revealed 30 South Florida colleges and universities spent an average of about $61,000 in work-study aid on community service in the 1999-2000 academic year, about $24,340 more than the statewide average.

Since 1965, the federal government has doled out financial aid to college and graduate students to work their way through school in school-sponsored jobs. Most students work on-campus in bookstores, cafeterias and administration offices. In 1994, Congress passed a law requiring colleges to dedicate at least 5 percent of that money to pay students to lend a hand in the areas surrounding their schools. Congress raised the minimum to 7 percent starting in the 2000-01 academic year.

South Florida schools on average spent double that rate, 14 percent. Nationally and statewide, schools spent an average 12 percent of their work-study money on community service for the 1999-2000 school year, the most recent for which statistics are available. Some fail to meet the requirement, like Florida National College in Hialeah, which spent as little as 1.5 percent of federal money on community service. Other schools fly past that minimum.

At Florida Memorial College in Fort Lauderdale, financial aid director Brian Phillips said most work-study students devote at least a portion of their time to community service. Last year, the college spent 59 percent of its budget to employ 123 students in such positions.

Students working in the athletic department's office help organize and run intramural sports leagues and summer sports camps. Those working in the financial aid office put together workshops for residents who need advice on finding the right mortgage or getting out of debt, he said.

The historically black college also runs the "Black Male Explorer" program, which pairs junior high and high school boys with male college students. The men aim to be positive role models for their younger friends, help them with their studies and encourage them to attend college, Phillips said.

But Phillips said he also counts as community service positions some clerical positions not defined by federal law as community service. The law defines community service as "a service designed to assist in the solution of community problems." Jobs that benefit only the campus community are not considered community service, the law states.

"Answering the phone is a community contact, so 100 percent of that is community service," Phillips said. "Once the student picks up that phone, that's community service, they're answering questions for students and parents, they're serving the community. You can't separate it out."

Schools that just barely met the 5 percent minimum required spending on community service and those that are struggling to meet last year's increased requirement might like to apply such a liberated definition of community service at their schools.

St. Thomas University in Miami just managed to meet the minimum requirement in the 1999-2000 school year, spending 5.1 percent of its work-study budget on community service. Work-study students are organized through the Catholic Ministry department to do secular community service at homeless shelters and to participate in outreach programs for youngsters at risk for drug addictions and teen pregnancy.

To meet its burden, St. Thomas includes students who work in the library in its tally because the building is open to the public, Do said. While the surrounding area is rich with opportunities, Do said, the university's small size does not allow large-scale community service employment.

"We're small and we need all the work-study students we can possibly get to help out with clerical duties, like running errands and filing," Do said.

Nearly 2,400 students are enrolled this year, with 130 working at on-campus work-study, she said. Twenty-five students work at community service jobs, she said.

To meet this year's 7 percent requirement, the school simply hired more students at the library, she said.

Graphics
Graphic of Best/Worst Schools

Graphic of Top 20 U.S. Schools and Their work-study percentage spent on community service

Graphic of Best States

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