Posts tagged with foundation.
When working doesn't work for students
According to a study from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation released today, I might have made a huge mistake when I encouraged my two oldest kids to get part-time jobs while in university.
Although working those 10 to 15 hours each week helps pay for their higher education, and hopefully teaches them some important life lessons along the way, those part-time jobs could also be putting them at increased risk of dropping out of university.
The report claims that although working less than 10 hours per week increases the odds of a first-year student not returning to school, working more than 20 hours a week almost doubles that risk.
Today, more students are working part-time than ever before. According to the study, close to 50% of all full-time post-secondary education students have jobs during the school year.
Yet for many students, it presents a paradox: they need to work in order to get their higher education. But if they work, they can't get their higher education.
Because even if you don't drop out, trying to earn some money while in school can also have a significantly negative effect on post-secondary grades.
In other words, poor study habits and too much partying aren't the only way to fail to a course: you can also get a part-time job.
Of course, some people don't have a choice. They have to work while in school. Starting in my late teens, I lived on my own and had to work almost full-time hours throughout my own post-secondary education. But like most parents, I wanted to make things easier for my own children.
I don't want my kids to have to worry about stuff like paying the rent or buying groceries. At least not yet. I want them to see getting a higher education as their most important full-time job right now.
Working 10 to 15 hours a week seemed like the perfect compromise. Just enough to have them help pay for part of their education, while also teaching them the value of learning how to juggle and balance work with studying and class time.
But if one of the biggest risk factors for dropping out of university is a part-time job, does this mean I should now encourage my kids to quit their jobs?
Of course not.
The authors of the study weren't suggesting that any one student in particular should quit their job because working was having a negative impact on his or her grades.
"Our finding is more of a general warning signal - a warning that working among post -secondary students has increased to historically high levels and is harming the academic success of some students."
In other words, for some students, work and school don't mix very well. Yet unfortunately for most students, they often don't have a choice.
Some of us simply must work, if we want to earn a higher education.
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KATHY DOBSON 
