Fordham student workers who receive federal work-study saw their schedules capped to a maximum of 10 hours per week on Feb. 21, costing some students hundreds of dollars every pay period.
Some students said they were not fully compensated for working over 10 hours the week before the policy was announced. Students working on theatre shows said they had to work over 10 hours a week during the final week of rehearsals without overtime pay.
Students interviewed for this story presumed the schedule cap was in response to the Trump administration’s drastic cuts to higher education funding. But Fordham administrators did not explain the reason for the cap or how long it will last in emails sent to student employees reviewed by The Observer.
Raina Williams, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’26, said they used to work up to 20 hours a week preparing electronics for Theatre Department mainstage shows. With the cap in place, Williams lost $150 of weekly income.
“I am also a little bit scared because I was going to be saving for an apartment,” Williams said. “I do not know how I am going to with 10 hours of work study.”
Williams said they had to work 25 hours during tech week for “Three Penny Opera,” but will be paid for only 10 hours. That amounts to $240 in lost wages before taxes.
“I am also a little bit scared because I was going to be saving for an apartment. I do not know how I am going to with 10 hours of work study.” Raina Williams, FCLC ’26
The policy was announced in the middle of a two-week pay period. Rooke Lewis, FCLC ’26, said they were not paid for some of the hours they worked the week before the 21st.
“A lot of us had worked 14 to 19 hours already in that week and we were not allowed to clock those hours and we were not allowed to relocate them to different times, which was very upsetting,” Lewis said. “We worked under the expectation of being paid and then lost that money.”
In an email to student workers on Feb. 21, Costume Shop Supervisor Jessica Shay wrote “a couple of you have submitted timesheets that show more than 20 hours. I have returned them for correction. Please make them equal 20 hours and re-submit.”
Shay did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lewis said he has to work more hours at his second job to make ends meet. Williams said they can afford groceries between freelancing and what work-study remains while they receive free on-campus housing through a scholarship — but may be unable to afford an apartment in the summer.
John Coburn and Francesca Streicher, both FCLC ’25, pool their income from work-study for groceries and other regular expenses. Streicher said she lost five hours weekly from her job at the Media Services Center and Coburn said he lost three hours from his job at the Learning and Innovation Technology Environment (LITE) center.
Coburn said the income they have lost makes affording essentials like groceries difficult.
“We try to split things pretty evenly, but even still losing $80 is a very significant bite out of our paycheck and it’s just like, we were not even making that much in the first place,” Coburn said.
Streicher said that she feels fortunate that she does not wholly depend on her work-study job to make ends meet. However, she added that uncertainty over their income is frustrating.
“I am not feeling the financial strain so much as other student workers might, but just what it comes down to for me is transparency,” Streicher said.
Streicher said her supervisors in the Media Services Center suggested the cap to student hours was in anticipation of larger cuts to federal funding in the near future.
“I was talking to my supervisors and they said they are preparing in a way for a full budget cut and there’s a lot of uncertainty about if they are just cutting student workers, period,” Streicher said.
“We try to split things pretty evenly, but even still losing $80 is a very significant bite out of our paycheck and it’s just like, we were not even making that much in the first place.” John Coburn, FCLC ’25
Coburn’s supervisor, Lincoln Center Learning Spaces Technician Kyle Cardona, declined to comment.
If students can only work 10 hours a week, Streicher said the Media Services Center cannot operate properly.
“Media Services is already spread thin. We run the classrooms. Any time there is an issue we are out there, and it is just frustrating that our jobs are being cut and that the university does not care,” Streicher said.
Backstage, Lewis said the students affected by the schedule cap are also some of the most dedicated and experienced students working on theatre productions.
“For the vast majority of the people who are working work study in the costume shop, those individuals are the people who have been here the longest, the people who are the most dedicated to the work that they are doing and also get the biggest jobs assigned to them as the show progresses because they are expected to be there for longer hours,” Lewis said.
For “Three Penny Opera,” Lewis said the student workers responsible for the most complex costume pieces split their attention looking for another source of income.
“The person who was on corsetry is right now looking for another job because they are unable to continue working at 10 hours minimum,” Lewis said.
He also said Fordham could have saved money by avoiding purchases of expensive hardware, such as an embroidery machine. Streicher criticized Fordham’s rising tuition, which she said has not corresponded with an improved academic experience.
Along with these hourly wage changes that impact students’ wallets, a hiring freeze was also initiated on the same date.
