Washington Cuts Funds For Student Employment

Harvard's work-study student employment program has gotten less than two-thirds of the money it requested from the U.S. Office of Education.

But Charles D. Ehrensperger '59, director of the two-year-old program, said Monday that by "counting pennies we will not have to fire any student already at work in the program."

The new budget -- $252,168 for the six months beginning July 1, slightly higher than last year's figure -- means that nearly all new applicants for summer work-study employment will have to be turned away. Nearly 200 students have been refused summer positions so far.

A number of students -- graduating seniors and those not interested in summer work -- naturally drop out of the program in June. Ehrensperger said he was now trying to manipulate the scant funds to assure summer jobs for the rest.

"It'll be a close squeeze, but we'll just about manage to keep everybody and possibly take on three or four more," he said.

Government Pays

The Higher Education Act of 1965 established the present College Work-Study Program. It provides colleges with federal funds to pay 90 per cent of student wages for term-time and summer employment. Employers -- usually government agencies and non-profit organizations -- pay the remaining ten per cent.

From 1964 to 1965, the Office of Economic Opportunity operated a similar program as part of the war on poverty. In this version, only students from families earning $3000 a year or less were eligible for employment.

The present program sets a less stringent standard of "financial need." Harvard, Ehrensperger said, interprets this as anyone having trouble paying tuition, opening the program to a far larger number of students.

Ehrensperger could think of two reasons for the Federal fund cutback: the general skimping on domestic welfare projects because of the Vietnam war, and the growing number of colleges applying for funds under the work-study program.