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Work colleges are colleges in the United States that require students to work and integrate that work into the college learning experience. A work college is a public or private non-profit, four-year degree-granting institution with a commitment to community service. To qualify for Federal designation as a work college, at least half of the full-time students, including all students who reside on campus, must participate in a "comprehensive work-learning-service" program as an essential and core component of their educational programs, regardless of their academic program or their financial need. [1]
Students typically work 6 to 15 hours per week while enrolled. Their compensation helps offset the cost of tuition, and student labor can lower operational costs. Work Colleges differ from need-based forms of financial support such as Federal Work Study, because students cannot "buy" their way out of the work requirement; participation is part of the educational experience. Students are regularly assessed on their work performance, and can be dismissed from the institution for non-performance. Students typically work on campus, though some work colleges allow students to work at off-campus jobs.[2]
There are ten federally recognized work colleges in the Work College Consortium, meeting the requirements for operation as overseen by the U.S. Department of Education.[3][4]
- Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky
- Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio
- Berea College in Berea, Kentucky
- Bethany Global University in Bloomington, Minnesota
- Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois
- College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri
- Kuyper College in Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas
- Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont
- Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina
There is also one two-year work college:
- Deep Springs College, California, limited to 26 students
- ^ "Title: 34 Education Subpart C-Work Colleges Program". eCFR Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. US Government Publishing Office.
- ^ The United States federal government definition of Work College, Title 34 ยง 675.41, from GPO Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- ^ Work College Consortium
- ^ Antioch College (March 14, 2024). "Antioch College Achieves Federal Work College Designation, Paving the Way for Ohio's First Work College". Retrieved May 3, 2024.