The Work Program
Interact
See the Quick Reference for a list of contacts relavent to the Parent Handbook.The Work Program provides an opportunity for all community members to increase their appreciation for the privilege and dignity of work. In addition to reducing students' educational costs, the Work Program promotes the development of human relation skills (responsibility, self-discipline, leadership, and cooperation), conceptual skills (organization, problem-solving, and professional ethics) and technical skills. All residential students are required to work 15 hours per week during the semester and are covered by Workers Compensation when at work. There are established Work Program rules and regulations; students who break these may be suspended from the College. The Work Program assigns students to crews by taking College needs, individual skills, experience, and potential for learning into consideration. Work crew assignments are distributed at the end of Orientation Week.
Each student is given credit on their account balance of $1,236.00 per semester as Estimated Work Earnings. This is the gross amount expected to be earned by each student during the semester, based on fifteen hours per week for sixteen weeks at $5.15 per hour. As the semester progresses, the students turn in time cards reflecting their hours worked and a student payroll is done monthly. As part of the payroll process, federal and North Carolina withholding taxes are taken out for each student based on the information on their W-4 and NC-4 withholding forms. If a student has payroll taxes withheld from his/her earnings, it will reduce the available amount of net earnings which will be applied to his/her account. In this case, the student will be required to reimburse the College for the amount withheld for taxes at the end of each semester. At the end of each calendar year, students will need to file a tax return with the federal and North Carolina governments to obtain a refund if eligible.
The College strongly advises new students against working off campus. Classes, 15 hours of work and the service requirement is a full load for anyone. However, students who need or wish to stay on campus over breaks can apply for an on-campus work contract. During breaks, the College pays above minimum wage and charges a subsidized rate for room and board. Only those students with on-campus work contracts are permitted to stay in the dorms over term and semester breaks.
Students on work, academic, or disciplinary probation are not eligible for work during breaks.