The program has been a favorite of the Congress; the legislative record shows that clearly and it does seem to me that the program continues to offer substantial untapped potential for the future. It also offers valuable educationally related work experience to graduate and professional students which enhances their future employment prospects. Law schools and their students learned this early in the program, and law students now are the single largest group of students aided by the program among professional schools. The experience of the first 12 years clearly demonstrates that the program has an important role to play for graduate and professional students. I urge the committee to sustain your support for the program and to provide an authorization sufficient to meet the needs of both undergraduate and graduate students. I will be happy to respond to your questions. Mr. FORD. Reverend Driscoll. [Prepared statement of Reverend Driscoll follows:] PENNSYLVania Association of Colleges and UNIVERSITIES 800 NORTH THIRD STREET HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17102 William H. Fadderson, President Williamsport Area Community College Samuel A. Banks, President Dickinson College Margarse A. Waggoner, President Sr. M. Coleman Nee, President Marian Leo Shane, President Charles G. Maya, President West Chester State College We are pleased to have an opportunity to testify concerning the reauthorization of this excellent program. It proves especially valuable to students in the State of Pennsylvania. Not only are needy students able to receive excellent earnings through summer and term time employment, but also they can receive excellent career related experience in the program run cooperatively by our institutions and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. The changes we suggest to improve the College Work Study Program are as follows: Sec. 442 (a) and (b). Allotments to States. We do not believe this section detailing the State Allotment Formula can or should be changed at this time. There is widespread acceptance of the fact that the formula is not currently as equitable as it could be. We think this section should be reserved for revision in the next two or three years on the basis of documented state need based upon data accumulated from the tri-partite applications. Every institution should be required to file a complete tri-partite so the necessary data can be amassed. Sec. 444 (a) (1). Add language to this section to permit contracts with profit making business and industry as a way of expanding the employment opportunities for students. A higher rate of participation should be required from the profit making segment. (See (6) below). Sec. 444 (a) (4). Add the following language: "Further, nothing in this Act or other Acts shall prohibit or abridge a student's right to continue to serve an institution on a voluntary basis where said student chooses to do so for the benefit of experience to be gained or a desire simply to be of service." The 1978-79 Student Financial Aid Handbook, page 6-6, Section 5, Voluntary Services states: "The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, prohibits a covered employer (including educational institutions) from accepting voluntary services from any paid employee. Therefore, any student who is employed under CWS must be paid for all hours worked. (Contact the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, for information regarding voluntary services of institution employees)." We believe this to be a misapplication of the wages and hours law since students under work-study are part-time employees, limited by their need in the hours they can work, and in many cases, limited by the availability of workstudy dollars. Yet students frequently wish to continue to work for the experience to be gained and/or a sincere desire to serve their institution. It is wrong to abridge their right to exercise this option. Sec. 444 (a) (6). Change the language in this section to reflect a different percent participation by profit making business and industry: "Provide that the Federal share of the compensation of students employed in the work-study program in accordance with the agreement will not exceed 80 percentum of such compensation for students employed by governmental or private non-profit agencies; and will not exceed 50 percentum of such compensation for students employed by profit making enterprises; except that We believe the 50 percent rate to be reasonable. It should induce business and industry to offer a wide range of job opportunities to students while not overtaxing already limited funds. Sec. 444 (a) (8). Move the wording of the present (8) down to (11). Insert new language in (8) as follows: "Students shall be paid not less than the legally authorized subminimum wage for on-campus employment, and not less than the current legal minimum wage for off-campus employment." We believe this provision will eliminate some confusion that has existed concerning variations in wage rates. 2. Sec. 444 (a) (9). Add a new provision. "A11 wages earned by students under the work-study program shall be exempt from federal income tax. It is further hoped that state and local governments may follow suit and also exempt these student aid funds from taxation." We believe it to be a bit ludicrous to allocate tax dollars to help students meet their costs of education and then reduce them by taxation. Sec. 444 (a) (10). Add a new item. "Institutions may spend forward or backward across the end of the fiscal year in order to maintain the continuity of student summer employment. Each participating institution should adhere strictly to the NIH cash request procedure. drawing down their federal work-study funds one month in advance to meet their estimated needs." This procedure will greatly simplify administration of the program. It will make it possible to serve student needs far better than we are now able to do. In addition, it will allow the Commissioner to de-obligate and redistribute authorizations from those institutions not fully utilizing their authorizations to ones in need of additional funds early in the fiscal year. Sec. 444 (a) (11) previously (8). Sec. 446 (b). Add the following language: "The Commissioner shall monitor the status of the NIH authorization balances in conjunction with the Fiscal Operations Reports in order to make such reallocations at the earliest possible date. Announcements of reallocations should be made to participating institutions no later than December 31, each year." Monitoring the NIH authorizations will reveal those who do not adhere to the mandated system. It will also alert the Commissioner to potential under expenditure early in the year. The privilege of spending across the end of the fiscal year will minimize the need for after the fact de-obligations based on the fiscal operations report. Previous year under-expenditures of more than 10% can be immediately deducted from the current year allocation and reauthorized to other institutions. STATEMENT OF REV. JOHN M. DRISCOLL, O.S.A., PRESIDENT, VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY, AND PRESIDENT, PENNYLVANIA ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Reverend DRISCOLL. Thank you. I am John M. Driscoll, president of Villanova University. I am also president of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities-PACU. It is in my capacity as president of PACU that it is my privilege to appear before you to testify on behalf of the 119 public and private colleges and university presidents in the membership of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities. We are indeed pleased to have this opportunity to testify concerning the reauthorization of the college work-study program. It is excellent. Congress is to be highly commended for developing this important student aid program. The work-study program is especially valuable to needy students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Not only are needy students able to receive excellent earnings from summer and term time employment, but also they can receive valuable career related experience in the program run cooperatively by our institutions and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. The changes we have suggested in our formal testimony are keyed to the sections in the existing act. We did not address the question of authorized appropriations. We believe others will have a better handle than we on the national need for these funds. We urge, however, that careful consideration be given to adequate funding of this program and that authorized increases be keyed to expected increases in such factors as minimum wage and the rising cost of college attendance. I will refer to the sections of the act in terms of our recommendations. Section 442 (a) and (b). This section deals with the allocation of college work-study funds to each State. We believe the present formula to be unfair to some States. We urge that within the next 2 or 3 years that this section be revised to allocate funds to States in terms of their needs as established by the tripartite applications. We urge that all institutions be required to complete the entire application so adequate data can be compiled from which to devise a new and more equitable system of allocation to the States. Section 444(a)(1). We have suggested that language be added to permit placement of students in jobs with profitmaking business and industry. This should increase the number and variety of job opportunities available to students. We suggest a higher rate of financial participation by business and industry as a way of rationing limited funds. The point was made earlier that this cannot be done at the expense of existing full-time and part-time jobs on the part of nonstudents. Section 444(a)(4). We have suggested that language be added to permit students who wish to do so to continue to work voluntarily when they have exhausted their awards or the Federal funds have been used up. Section 444(a)(6). This is the part which deals with the percent of Federal dollars used in paying student wages. We have suggested |