By: Roxanne Reeves, PhD

Work-study was the only way many people paid for college during the Great Depression (I’m not that old, just have known a few folks who lived through it). During the Depression, it may have not been called “work-study”…it was just campus jobs…food service, cleaning, maintenance, working in residence halls, campus police offices, labs, athletic departments, parking structures…you name it, people would do it (for cash and/or academic credits). It worked then when the admissions/application ratio was more reasonable. The number of universities and colleges have not changed significantly; the number of accepted applications has not kept up with the growth in the U.S. population. But online education might help with the numbers of college slots for students. Question is, can you “work-study” your way through an on-line degree program? I’d think so …j ust need to get more creative than “food service” and “residence hall” work.