Stanislaus State is participating in a new statewide program that pays underrepresented students at public colleges and universities to work in qualifying part-time jobs that align with their educational and career goals.
Called the Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP), the program allows eligible students to earn up to $6,000 a year to defray their educational costs while expanding their knowledge in their field of study.
LAEP was established a year ago as part of the California State Budget and is being rolled out to campuses in the California State University, University of California and California Community College systems this fall. The program is planned to run for nine years with the state funding the first two years with $500 million.
At Stan State, the program is being administered by the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office with support from the Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) and the Division of Human Resources, Equal Opportunity, and Compliance.
Initially, the program will be limited to offering University research jobs supervised by faculty and staff members in the fall and spring semesters. In the future, employers in the community may also participate, according to Landy Gonzalez-Hernandez, interim assistant director of the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office.
“We are very excited about this program. It will really help eligible students financially and educationally,” said Gonzalez-Hernandez.
Work is underway to post qualifying jobs and identify eligible students. Once the jobs are posted, the University will begin reaching out to students who meet the requirements to participate, according to Gonzalez-Hernandez and Julie Sedlemeyer, executive director of the Career and Professional Development Center.
“Eligible students will be notified about the program and provided with instructions on how to apply,” Sedlemeyer said. “Interested students should watch their email for notices of eligibility.”
So far, it appears that as many as 300 Warriors may be eligible for the program. Eligibility requirements for students are lengthy and include that they be underrepresented, classified as California residents and eligible to work in the United States.
The program allows the employer to set pay rates so long as the rates are comparable to what the employer pays people in similar positions and no less than California’s minimum wage.
Campus coordinators and contacts for the program are Ana Contreras, a student services professional, and Landy González-Hernández, interim assistant director, in the Financial Aid Office.