University Business - December 2007 - (Page 57)

College of the Ozarks students take pride in campus upkeep. dents with productive work opportunities while celebrating the what they’ve earned and learned during their academic careers,” value of work in the educational process. Robertson points out that says Richard Dawe, dean of Work Education. By incorporating a work program into the curriculum, the colwhile a large number of undergraduate students work while going to college, most institutions don’t attempt to integrate work experi- lege attracts students who might otherwise be unable to meet the cost of education. In fact, 90 percent of each entering class must ences into the classroom setting. At Warren Wilson College, faculty often reference work in the demonstrate ﬁnancial need. Dawe says students drawn to the libclassroom. There are references to the classroom at work as well. For eral arts school are typically hard-working Christians of modest example, Robertson paints a scenario where a student is having is- ﬁnancial means. Like at traditional academic institutions, a number of factors are sues with others on the crew. “The supervisor might take the student aside and ask what kinds of questions they could ask in psychology considered during the admissions process. Students are assessed on class about interacting with individuals who think diﬀerently,” he ﬁnancial need, ACT scores, academic performance, and class standsays. “There is a lot of mutual sharing and support that can happen ing, as well as community service and extracurricular activities. Upon acceptance, each student is provided with a work data between the workplace and classroom learning.” With students engaged in a number of potentially dangerous activities—ranging Practices and procedures vary from institution to institution, from climbing trees to driving tractors to working with electricity—the issue of li- but active participation is the cornerstone of work colleges. ability must be taken seriously. Warren Wilson employs a full-time safety training oﬃcer, and supervisors are held accountable for safety training. In sheet and asked to ﬁll in work preferences, previous experience, addition, all students are covered by workers’ compensation. and major. Incoming freshmen are assigned jobs that don’t require If a student gets injured on the job, the student and the work extensive training. supervisor are interviewed and steps are taken to prevent such a According to Dawe, jobs are initially assigned based on the needs future incident from happening. Fortunately, such incidents have of the college, and as students progress, factors like major and career been rare. “We are very safety conscious, and our safety record com- objectives are taken into account. Typically, a student’s ﬁrst semester pared to industry is very good,” says Robertson. or two are spent working in the college cafeteria, at the Keeter Center—a conference center with nearly 100,000 square feet of space— or helping out with landscaping or construction projects. Hard Work U Known as “Hard Work U,” the institution has its full-time stuThe College of the Ozarks prides itself on the fact that not one of its students pays a penny for tuition. Each full-time student’s cost of dents work, on average, 15 hours per week throughout the acaeducation is met by participating in the mandatory work program demic year. They’re also required to work one 40-hour week per and a combination of private, institutional, and federal and state semester. Traditional compensation is not included. “Students are required to work 280 hours per semester,” says student aid. The only costs students are responsible for are room Dawe. Although they participate in a work education program, the and board, books, and incidental fees. “Students receive quality, cost-free education and appreciate students are not considered employees and don’t get the tradiuniversitybusiness.com December 2007 | 57 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of University Business - December 2007

University Business - December 2007 Contents College Index Company Index Advisory Board Editor's Note Behind the News Viewpoint Admissions On The Hill Marketing Future Stock Independent Outlook Technology Spending Survey '08 Conference Call A Working Education 30 Smart Business Ideas Educause in Emerald City What's New Calendar of Events End Note

University Business - December 2007

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