Piedmont students returned to campus this year to discover that student worker jobs had been cut. For example, the Ipswitch, New Bedford and Plymouth dormitories no longer have desk worker positions. Students in those dorms must now operate by the honor system, signing in all visitors without student worker supervision.

Housing made cuts to their student worker staff in an effort to cut costs. As a result,other departments have waiting lists for jobs. The fitness center alone has 12 students on the waiting list.

“There were not any overall cuts made to student worker positions. However, there may have been jobs cut in certain areas in order to create jobs in other areas,” said Assistant Vice President for Student Services Cindy Peter- son.

According to Margie Means in Human Resources, there are currently 435 student workers, compared to 426 student workers at this same time last year. However, this does not represent the number of jobs available to those workers.

Additionally, some student workers do not hold full-time positions but solely cover shifts.

“I don’t have set hours that I’m required to work which is better for me because I play a sport both semesters and have an other job on campus,” said Danielle Maffett, who has been covering shifts for two years.“If someone needs a shift covered and I’m available, I can take it but it’s not required.”

According to Means, Student Affairs is the largest employer of student workers on campus.

“The majority of funding comes from the institutional annual budget. Approximately 11.5 percent is funded through the Department of Education’s Federal Work Study Program,” she said.

After hearing about the cuts in the housing department with student workers, sophomore marketing major Sam Vanover sought out a job in the athletic department.

“I was turned off from being a desk worker because of all of the cuts that they made.This is a matter of student safety, and they are cutting jobs to save money. That seems irresponsible to me,” he said.

Some students are attracted to the fact that Piedmont has promised jobs to anyone who wants them.

“We make promises to students that anyone who wants a job, we will try to provide one for them,” Peterson said.

However, students may have to look other places for jobs this year.

“More people are probably looking for jobs,” said Vanover. “It’s hard to have an off-campus job that will work with your schedule, and some people don’t have cars to get to their jobs.”

Additionally, Piedmont increased tuition by 3-4 percent following the 2012-2013 academic year. The increase in tuition was not offset by additional Financial Aid.

“I would advise students to exhaust all options for work here on campus, including going to the Human Resources Department and asking about job openings,” Peterson said. “Then, if the student feels it necessary, they can go find a job off campus.”