‘VCU Works’ to help students pay debts

Steven just completed his first semester at VCU and started putting together his class schedule for the next semester. After talking with his adviser, he plans to register, so he goes to the e-services Web site and puts in his student number.

Suddenly, a message appears stating his record is “on hold.”

“How can this be possible?” Steven wonders. So he looks at the reason for the hold and discovers he owes $50 on his student bill. This means he cannot register for the next semester until he pays that bill.

“I thought everything was taken care of with my financial-aid and all,” Steven muttered to himself. “Now I cannot afford to take classes next semester. There has to be a way to pay that bill.”

There will be in January 2005, when students can become part of “VCU Works”, a program that helps them work off the debts they owe on their student bills.

Designed by Randall Dahl, assistant vice provost for enrollment services, this pilot program targets student retention by helping them stay in school.

“We hope that this will be a means by which students that simply don’t have sufficient financial means to continue in enrollment,” Dahl said.

Here’s how it works.

In this program, 50 first-year students having a debt at VCU can be placed in on-campus jobs where they can work about 15 hours per week if necessary to repay their debts. The number of working hours depends on the total amount of the debt and the student’s schedule.

Dahl said this project came about via talks about student retention with Stephen Gottfredson, VCU’s interim provost and former dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences.

“Dr. Gottfredson asked me to work on the administrative details to try to make it work as a trial basis,” Dahl said. “We’re actually also going to see if we can get grant funding to support it. The university is going to take on the initial part of it to test it out, and we’re going to get grant funding to support it.”

To some people, it could sound like regular work-study employment, but Reuban Rodriguez, associate vice provost and dean of student affairs, said it differs greatly from that government program.

“The main difference is that we’re asking areas around the campus to create additional positions that may be of more interest to match the skills of the students and to have them in key areas where they feel connected to the university,” Rodriguez said. “That way, we can work more closely with them.”

This “connection to the university,” part of the mentoring process of the VCU Works program, aims at engaging students and increasing their integration into the university community. It does this by facilitating a connection with a faculty or staff mentor with whom the student interacts through the on-campus job.

“This is a program that the university is doing in addition to work-study and financial-aid,” Dahl said. “It is targeted at students with real financial need and academic performance.”

For instance, as the hypothetical Steven works at his campus job, a faculty member will mentor him to ensure he is maintaining his classwork as well as his debt payment. Steven also will receive advice on time management and money management.

Rodriguez similarly views the program as one that supports the student’s academic studies.

“Dr. Dahl has shared this proposal with other vice provosts at the institution in order to assist students who may need some extra money to help fund their education here at VCU,” Rodriguez said. “Part of that proposal is to make sure that the students are able to work off outstanding bills that they may have.”

Henry G. Rhone, vice provost for student affairs and enrollment services, sees this program as providing a financial relief for students.

“I hope that they see this as an opportunity to make some money to pay off their debts and to leave school in their new careers,” Rhone said. “I think in many ways it is simple and straightforward.

“Basically we know if a student has a debt that prevents them from registering, there will be some policies they may not want to do. There is also a process of interviewing (and) some matching of students’ skills to the kind of job that is available.”

Gaurav Agarwal, the student representative on VCU’s Board of Visitors, supports this program, saying that he hopes it goes well.

“I have always worked through college and graduate school, and I think that it wouldn’t hurt anyone to join the program,” Agarwal said. “If a student has time to be able to go to class and work at the same time, then this is a great option for them.”

Rodriguez reflects on his work-study experience as helping him when he was in college.

“I myself was a work-study student throughout my college career. If I didn’t have the opportunity to work on campus in various positions, I probably wouldn’t have been able to fund my own education,” Rodriguez said. “I know that it is difficult for some students nowadays to meet their financial obligations. This is a way for them to be able to do that while also being able to work at the institution in meaningful positions.”

Roberta Fife, director of student accounting, describes her role in implementing this project.

“Once the selection is made with the students, I would be the one to follow through with contracts and such. I deal with the payroll offices. I will most likely be the one who keeps the signed contracts and maintain the terms,” Fife said. “I would notify payroll as to how much money needs to come across. We would collect our portion of that money and apply it to the student’s account.”

Participants of the program will have to devote three to five hours per month of their total work hours to individual coaching sessions with academic advisers as well as in personal development seminars focusing on study skills, financial management, career and job effectiveness, relationships plus health and wellness.

Rhone said he hopes that this program will help students see that there is a way to eliminate their debt without dropping out of college.

“We teach students not only to work off their debt but teach them about how not to get into a financial situation where you cannot pay it off,” Rhone said. “We want students to continue with their education (while) encouraging them to stay in school.”

Rodriguez shares Rhone’s sentiments on student retention.

“This program benefits the students obviously because they are able to continue their education by way of obtaining an official degree from the university,” Rodriguez said. “In turn, the university is able to fulfill its mission by attracting students from Virginia and other states and educating them on how to be successful.”

Fife also talks about the importance of having a funded education.

“A majority of students pay their tuition fees,” Fife said. “What happens is that if a student is unable to pay or has an outstanding tuition at the end of the semester, their account will be referred to collections and an additional collection cost will be added to their account.”

Since students run the risk of dropping out of school because they cannot afford to pay their bills, Rhone predicts that the VCU Works program will help remedy that situation.

“The benefit of this program is to keep them from dropping out of school and to provide them with a good education,” said Rhone. “We try to keep students from stopping out, meaning that (when) they drop out for a certain period of time, it will be harder for them to return if they want to.”

Dahl has high hopes for this program.

“Students can be involved in this program after making good progress for a degree,” he said. “We’re trying to help remove obstacles for students to continue in enrollment. The biggest thing is that it will help students who have financial difficulty to continue in enrollment.”