One of the many aspects of campus life that remains unclear for the Fall is the status of students’ work-study jobs.
Work-study is a federally funded financial aid program that provides jobs on campus for students who need support covering educational expenses.
Boston University spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email that with some job opportunities available on campus and others fully remote, it is too soon to tell with certainty how work-study placements will be affected.
“Students have been awarded federal work-study at the same levels as past years,” Riley wrote, “but we do anticipate some differences given the changes in administrative operations, classroom instruction and campus life as a result of the pandemic.”
Mary Ann French, director of the Student Employment Office, wrote in an email that departments across BU will set their own hours and wages for students, while keeping in accordance with the University’s minimum $12.75 per hour.
“As usual,” French wrote, “it is up to a department to determine their student employment needs based on an individual department’s operational budget.”
French also wrote that each department must determine whether or not they can adequately supervise their student workers remotely.
SEO will offer guidance to any student having difficulty finding a work-study placement, French wrote, adding that new on-campus jobs — such as contact tracers and classroom moderators — have been created this semester.
A possible effect the current situation might induce, Riley wrote, is that there could be fewer departments posting job opportunities than in the past.
“We will have a better understanding of the situation after the semester begins in September,” Riley wrote.
Paula Romero, a junior in the College of Communication, has held a work-study placement as a library assistant at Mugar Memorial Library since her freshman year. Her tasks behind the circulation desk included aiding students with research projects by helping them navigate the university’s online resources, as well as helping direct students around the space.
This year will look different, Romero said, because while in past years there would be many library assistants working at once with supervisors mostly in the back, now there will be one student assistant and one supervisor working at a time.
This change resulted in a reduction of Romero’s hours. Before, she would work eight to 10 hours a week, but this semester she will work five hours per week. She said that due to her seniority, however, she is still one of the assistants to receive the most hours.
“Obviously it’s a little upsetting, [getting] less hours,” Romero said, “but I’d rather have all my coworkers be able to keep something.”
In addition to reduced hours, Mugar will also be equipped with plexiglass to protect its workers, and only library staff will be able to access the stacks.
Shazor Shahid, a senior in the College of Engineering, started his work study placement his freshman year as a web assistant in the Astronomy department. While the job initially consisted of updating the department’s website, his supervisor realized that as a computer engineering major, Shahid held the skills necessary for more complex tasks.
By the middle of his sophomore year, Shahid was fixing printers and communicating with astronomy professors, and had been given “full authority” to solve any problems they had.
However, by the end of July, Shahid was informed that his supervisor had been laid off due to the University’s austerity measures. Consequently, Shahid was laid off as well.
The University paid Shahid what he would have made during the months he would have been working if not for COVID-19, but he has yet to find a new job for the coming semester.
“If I don’t get an [Information and Technology Services] job or something relevant to my skill set, I probably won’t be working,” Shahid said, “and that will affect… my expenses in the upcoming semester, and maybe even the Spring semester if coronavirus stuff doesn’t get back to normal.”
For Shahid, his desire to work in IS&T will most likely limit his options concerning where and how he can work this semester, although he said such placements would likely be remote.
