Through Weber State University’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid, some students may qualify for Weber’s Work-Study or 50/50 programs. These financial programs can help students while at WSU and after graduation.
Federal Work-Study is a government program meant to help students find jobs on campus. After completing a FAFSA, students can see if they are eligible for Federal Work-Study based on their financial and economic needs. Students can apply for FWS at any time during the semester.
There are some requirements for students to be eligible for Work-Study. Students need to have financial need for the program, which is determined through the FAFSA. Students need to keep a 2.0 GPA, have a 67% percent completion rate and be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours.
Sherri Wilde has been in charge of the Federal Work-Study at WSU for almost a year now.
“Federal Work-Study helps students get experienced with the convenience of being on campus,” Wilde said. “It also helps them financially with having a job that is guaranteed to work around their class schedules.”
Students using the Work-Study program can work up to 20 hours a week. If a student has more than one Work-Study job, they will have to split up those hours between their jobs. Once the financial needs of the student have been met, the student will no longer qualify for Work-Study.
50/50 is a program that first came to campus in 2012 as a small project, but has since grown to be quite established. 50/50 is set for students to create new jobs on campus that will help get them the skills and experience to join the workforce.
The program provides half of the student wage, up to $5.50, for students who are a part of the program. This means that if a student makes $11 an hour, the program will pay $5.50 and the department that the student is working in will pay the other $5.50.
“As long as the jobs are giving student employees skills to gain that will be useful in getting them ready for their careers, we will apply the 50/50,” Jill Montgomery, student employee coordinator in Career Services, said.
To qualify for 50/50, students must be an undergraduate, have at least a 2.0 GPA and be a full-time student. Similar to the Work-Study program, students are limited to 20 hours a week.
Students who are a part of the 50/50 program can take a SkillSurvey to see what they feel their strengths and weaknesses are in the position they are working for.
50/50 also works with student internships in the same way an on-campus job would, except internships allow students to work 10-28 hours a week instead.
Students cannot have 50/50 and Work-Study at the same time. If a student qualifies for both programs, WSU encourages that students use the Work-Study program first before going to 50/50.
