Work has been a central part of the Alice Lloyd College experience since the College’s founding in 1923 when Alice Lloyd developed her own financial aid program that required all students to work. Students worked to provide needed services for the College community and also to provide the opportunity to pay for their education. Today, the Student Work Program is intended to be not only an earning experience but a learning experience as well. It is designed to teach students the meaning of responsible leadership, self-discipline, and self-reliance. It also enhances the total educational program through the teaching of skills, responsibilities, attitudes, and habits associated with work. Requiring students to work is truly a distinctive feature of Alice Lloyd College, and so committed is the College to the concept of student labor that successful completion of the work requirement is a graduation requirement. The program requires every full-time student to work a minimum of 160 hours per semester at an on-campus or off-campus job. These jobs are varied and all students are paid at the prevailing minimum wage rate. All on-campus jobs are necessary to the normal operations of the College and the off-campus jobs help provide needed services in the surrounding communities.
Some of the areas in which students work are the Hunger Din (campus dining facility), grounds, maintenance, intramurals, library, student services, and community services. They also serve as academic and administrative assistants, public building janitors, dorm janitors, resident advisors, and lifeguards.
Students are assigned positions as freshmen, and usually serve their first year in basic services such as campus maintenance, the Hunger Din, and janitorial duties. Before their arrival on campus, new students will complete a form that provides information about their previous work experience, as well as any special skills they may possess. This information is useful in filling positions that may require prior experience. After the freshman year, students may seek positions of their choice by filling out a Job Preference Form and attracting the attention of the supervisor of the area in which they are interested. Providing there is a vacancy and not extenuating circumstances, returning students will be allowed to work at the job of their choice the following school term. Students are encouraged to seek positions that relate to their majors.
Job descriptions for all positions are available in the Student Work Office, which is in the Brown & Green Building.
For all other information about ALC’s Student Work Program, check out the current Student Work Program Handbook (pdf).
Student Work Program 2011 Survey Results
The Work Colleges Consortium (WCC) recently conducted a survey of the 7 work colleges (Alice Lloyd College, Berea College, Blackburn College, College of the Ozarks, Ecclesia College, Sterling College, and Warren Wilson College) in America that require students to participate in a work-study program. The following reports are based on the 2011 survey in which Alice Lloyd College participated. Click on the appropriate link to download a report.
WCC 2012 Brochure (pdf) – Understanding and Measuring Success of Work College graduates – an overview of the 2011 survey.
Comparison-Public-Alice Lloyd (pdf) -ALC Comparison with Public 4-Year Institutions– 9 tables comparing various benefits of the work program with public schools.
Comparison-Private-Alice Lloyd (pdf) – ALC Comparison with Private 4-Year Institutions – 9 tables comparing various benefits of the work program with private schools.
Summary-Alice Lloyd (pdf) -Summary Report of Alice Lloyd College’s Survey – 26 tables reporting survey results from Alice Lloyd College’s survey.
If you have questions, contact:
Kerry Ratliff, Director of Student Work Program
Phone: (606) 368-6063
E-mail: kerryratliff@alc.edu
