Even in this weak economy, many students may think holding a university job is a guaranteed paycheck. Think again.
Just because there's a deficit in the state budget doesn't mean we're going to get more money to give to students. I would love to say that is the case but it just isn't true,"" Susan Fischer, director of the UW-Madison Office of Student Financial Aid, said.
Fischer added that approximately 2,000 students each year take part in a work-study program.
According to its website, the federally funded program ""provides funds that are earned through part-time employment to assist students in financing the costs of post-secondary education.""
Students accepted to the program can find jobs through the university at places like Pop's Club and the government will pay half of their salary.
Fischer said there is a chance the amount of money in the work study program fund will decrease because of Wisconsin's poor economy. However, UW-Madison has not seen program cuts from the federal government yet.
Fischer said officials expected to see a reduction in program funding last year, but the decrease never occurred.
The financial aid office said it is still waiting for next year's allocation money and it is hard to say whether there will be any decrease in funding.
According to Fischer, about 50 percent of the students at UW-Madison apply for financial aid, but less than 50 percent receive it.
""Even with federal loans, you can only borrow so much [in] a year, and even if you need more it isn't always available,"" Fischer said.
Working students said they are noticing changes in the workplace with the downturn of the economy.
Kelly Hennigan, employee of Ed's Express, said she noticed many students who work at Gordon Commons started picking up more shifts in comparison to last year.
""The bulletin boards that were full of people trying to get rid of shifts are pretty much empty these days '¦ basically everyone is trying to work as much as possible,"" Hennigan said.
Hennigan said she makes $8.75 an hour and said the university dining and culinary facilities are beginning to provide more raises. The starting wage for dining services this year is $8.35, a 10-cent increase from last year.
Delores Cooper, a UW-Madison junior and employee at Ed's said she completed her FAFSA when she was a senior in high school and received several awards, including acceptance into work study.
Cooper expressed unhappiness about the way budget cuts are dealt with at UW-Madison. ""[There have been] serious cutbacks on our shifts, which have hindered us partially because the cutbacks have been done by people who have no clue how important our labor is,"" Cooper said. ""It really brings down work morale.""
In December, the National Center for Public Policy and higher education released a college affordability study, giving Wisconsin Higher Education an ""F"" for affordability.
In recent forums, Chancellor Biddy Martin expressed the need for UW-Madison to remain competitive and affordable. The Office of the Chancellor is currently working on strategies to fulfill both goals.
