Editor’s note: This is the final story in a three-part series examining financial aid at NIU.

For students who do not qualify for low-interest loans, grants or scholarships, there is always one way of trying to meet college costs—employment.

About 3,500 students have on-campus jobs at NIU, said Melody Amundsen, an adviser in NIU’s Student Financial Aid Office. However, as many as 6,000 students might be employed by NIU during the year, she said.

Of the students presently employed, 500 are on the College Work-Study Program and the rest are regular student employees, Amundsen said.

In order to participate in work-study, students must be eligible for financial aid, Amundsen said. Work-study students are paid the same wages as students who are not in the program, she said.

Currently, salaries range from $3.75 to $5.40 per hour, according to the NIU Student Employment Manual.

The federal government pays for 75 percent of the salaries of those in work-study and the rest is paid by NIU, the manual states. Students who are not in work-study have their total salary paid by NIU.

Work-study workers have an advantage over ordinary workers because “work-study wages are not counted as income in evaluating the next year’s financial aid eligibility,” Amundsen said.

Student employees usually work 12 to 14 hours per week, Amundsen said. Students who want to work 20 or more hours per week must have a 2.5 grade point average and the permission of the Student Employment Office, she said.

Students working less than 20 hours per week must maintain a 2.0 grade point average, she said. In either case, students must be enrolled for at least six credit hours, she said.

There are four levels of student employment with a variety of jobs in each level, according to the employment manual.

Group I includes jobs where no previous experience or special skills are required, including residence hall desk clerk, library and laboratory aides and line servers in the cafeteria. Group I pays $3.75 to $4.35 an hour.

Group II includes jobs that require previous experience and skill. Some of these jobs are bookstore clerk, cook’s assistant, data entry clerk and assistant copy editor. These jobs pay $3.90 to $4.45 an hour.

Group III jobs require previous experience, post-high school education and a high level of job proficiency. This category includes bookkeepers, computer aides, stage managers and community service officers. This group is paid $4.00 to $4.60 an hour.

Group IV, the highest hourly wage group available to students, includes all managerial positions. It also includes positions requiring a significant skill level and responsibilities. This group includes computer programmers, editors, the Law Review editorial director and the WNIU station manager. These jobs pay $4.10 to $5.40 per hour.

According to the manual, all students must start in Group I unless they have “previous experience (that) has especially prepared the student for that particular assignment.”

In order to be approved at a level above Group I, the supervisor of the department must make a written recommendation outlining the student’s qualifications. The NIU Student Employment Office must then approve the higher classification. However, once a student has started a job, promotions and changes in job classifications can be submitted at any time.

Although a job can be a good way of meeting college costs some students think it can be a double-edged sword.

Laura, a senior speech pathology major, said she had a $2,500 low-interest loan freshman year, but has been turned down every year since. “They said I make too much money in the summertime. My parents have had to make up the difference,” she said.

David, a senior marketing major, said he worked full-time for three years before going to college. “The first two years that I was in college I was able to pay all of the expenses out of the money I had saved,” he said.

“After my savings were gone, I had to take out some federal loans. I don’t like doing that because I don’t want to be stuck paying off loans for years and years. Unfortunately, I have no choice,” David said.

Amundsen said, “It has been more difficult in recent years finding students to fill all of the jobs available on campus.”

“Nevertheless, we did have over 6,000 students who were employed by NIU last year. I think that shows that there are still some students who want to earn while they learn, ” Amundsen said.