Metropolitan State University of Denver has expanded a major financial aid program that provides hundreds of students with valuable work experience.

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will award work scholarships to over 800 students this fall, nearly double the number from last year. The expansion means more freshmen and transfer students will have the opportunity to earn money for college and gain work experience for their future careers.

A strategic, data-driven approach to managing the program allowed the Office of Financial Aid to offer scholarships to more students. The amount of funds available – $3.4 million – was the same as last year. However, the Financial Aid team found that very few of the 434 students who received flat $10,000 annual scholarships used the full amount.

The data showed that most students were using less than $8,000, so the Financial Aid team made the strategic decision to reduce individual grants for continuing students up to that amount, as their 2024–25 financial aid offers allow. New students will be eligible to receive up to $6,000 per academic year, as their financial aid offers allow.

The adjustment will allow MSU Denver to provide scholarships to as many eligible students as possible, said Kerline Eglaus, Ed.D., executive director of financial aid and scholarships.

It is also important for departments to ensure that they have the budget to pay students hourly if they wish to continue employment after the study and work program funds are exhausted.

“It is important to remember that the work-study program is a student financial aid program designed to provide students with hands-on learning experiences and prepare them for their future careers,” Eglaus said, adding that the program should not be used to fill staffing gaps or be viewed as a prerequisite for creating a work-study position.

The Office of Financial Aid will begin reviewing offers on September 23 to determine if the students who received scholarships have begun work and have been paid from their work-study scholarship. Scholarships will be canceled for those students who have not begun work by that date and will be redistributed to students on the work-study program waitlist.