RICHMOND – The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) awarded more than $250,000 in grants to four institutions of higher education to help transform on-campus Federal Work-Study jobs to function more like internships. SCHEV awarded the grants as part of the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP).
Longwood University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech and William & Mary each received grants, whose purpose is to expand paid and credit-bearing student internships and other work-based learning opportunities.
Virginia Commonwealth University and William & Mary will receive two-year grants for $100,000 each respectively to support on-campus pilot projects. VCU’s pilot will incentivize faculty to develop work-study position descriptions that meet course learning objectives and align with its Relevant, Experiential and Applied Learning (REAL) initiative experiences. William & Mary’s pilot will focus on transforming on-campus jobs for first-generation, limited-income and underrepresented students.
One-year grants of $25,000 each to Longwood University and Virginia Tech will help them change and improve administrative functions to better support a transformed Federal Work-Study program.
“Many underrepresented and first-generation students must prioritize financial aid work-study
commitments over other experiential or work-based learning opportunities,” said Dr. Alisha Bazemore, Assistant Director of Innovative Work-Based Learning Initiatives at SCHEV. “This effort is meant to break down those barriers, transforming on-campus jobs by improving connections to coursework.”
This is the second round of the Transforming Federal Work-Study grant awards. The timeline for subsequent rounds will be released later this year. V-TOP has allocated $930,000 for FY 2024 Transforming FWS competitive grants.
V-TOP is administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in partnership with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Virginia Business Higher Education Council. It is funded by the General Assembly’s Commonwealth Innovative Internship Fund and Program.
