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Brief History
Early 1970s
In the early 1970s, the individual colleges with a “Work Program” became aware of one another. The Educational Foundation of America (EFA) provided a two-year grant to the Berea College Labor Program to strengthen and refine the model. The funds allowed Bill Ramsay, Berea College Vice President for Labor, to focus on program improvements and sharing of the model. In addition, project staff visited other institutions interested in building their work programs to provide workshops and develop group connections.
1975
The first annual meeting of the National Student Employment Association (NSEA). Vice President Ramsay was a charter member and later served as the President of NSEA (1988).
1982
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation provided funds to assemble representatives from institutions that provided unique work opportunities for students. The “Student Work Programs Leadership Conference” included participants from Alice Lloyd College, Berea College, Berry College, Bethune-Cookman College, Blackburn College, Bluffton College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Oakwood College, Tuskegee Institute, and Warren Wilson College.
1987
The Ford Foundation funded a more focused study of the work colleges. The grant provided for an 18-month study of the five colleges identified as having mandatory work programs where students are required to work in every semester. The grant allowed the colleges to host conferences, sponsor exchanges among the work colleges, and self-examination. The other colleges involved were Alice Lloyd College, Berea College, Blackburn College, College of the Ozarks, and Warren Wilson College. The goal was to articulate the character of a work college and share the model with higher education.
1988
Vice President Ramsay began visiting Congressional representatives in Washington, DC in an effort to resolve an issue for Berea College regarding student earnings. He was often asked, “What is a work college?” He realized that many people had never heard of a Work College and were unfamiliar with the model. This was a concern and led to efforts to identify the common elements of a Work College.
1990
Vice President Ramsay began full-time work on legislative and policy matters. The focus was to create a definition and identify the qualifications for a Work College. William (Buddy) Blakey was retained as an advisor, a former U.S. Senate staff member and advisor to Blackburn College.
1991
The Work Colleges legislation was drafted by Bill Ramsay, Buddy Blakey, Harold McCullough and Omer Waddles (staff member for Congressman Perkins) with input from each of the five schools identified as Work Colleges: Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, KY; Berea College in Berea, KY; Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL; College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO; and Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. The provision defined Work Colleges in an amendment to the reauthorization of the 1965 Higher Education Act (HEA). As defined, the legislation is to recognize, encourage and support comprehensive work-learning programs at colleges which promote and build work/service practices into their education programs and part of a financial plan which decreases reliance on grants and loans.
1992
The provision was enacted with the 1992 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and signed into law on July 23, 1992 to formally recognize and establish a Work Colleges Program within the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Work-Study Program.
1993
Federal funding of the Work Colleges was first established. Although authorization for an appropriation was included in the Higher Education Act statute, funding was not allocated because the Federal Regulations (the guidelines for operating a Work College Program) were not completed. The Federal Regulations, based on the statute, were written in concert with the U.S. Department of Education and input from the five colleges.
1994
The final Federal Regulations were published by the U.S. Department of Education in the December 1, 1994 Federal Register, governing the Colleges Federal Work-Study Programs and the Work Colleges Program, in particular.
1995
The Work Colleges Consortium (WCC) was established.
1996
The Work Colleges Consortium was formalized and a director was hired to facilitate and enhance collaboration. The Members included Alice Lloyd College, Berea College, Blackburn College, College of the Ozarks, and Warren Wilson College.
1999
Sterling College was approved by the U.S. Department of Education as a Work College and joined the Consortium.
2002
The Lumina Foundation provided the Work Colleges Consortium with a grant to conduct a three-year national research project on the Work Colleges.
2005
Ecclesia College was approved by the U.S. Department of Education as a Work College and joined the Consortium.
2007
The Work Colleges Consortium participated in the NSSE survey which was funded by the Lumina Foundation.
2009
The Articles of Association were written for the Work Colleges Consortium and approved by the Presidents Council. The Work Directors Council and a reporting structure were established.
The Work Colleges Consortium held a symposium on “Work and Learning in Higher Education in the 21st Century. The symposium was attended by the seven Work Colleges and twelve additional colleges.
The Work Colleges Consortium participated in “negotiated rule making” for the U.S. Department of Education to add “service” to the statute thereby changing the legislative definition to “a comprehensive work-learning-service program.” There is a specific definition for service which encompasses service to both the external community and, importantly, the campus community.
A formula for the distribution of federal funding was developed and approved by the Work Colleges Presidents Council.
2010
NAICU suggested that the WCC Executive Director be more involved in government relations work and created a Work Colleges Advocacy Plan for federal funding. The Work Colleges Consortium hired Phil English and Laura Doyle (ArentFox Schiff) to assist the Consortium with advocacy efforts.
The Work Colleges Consortium began annual meetings with the U.S. Department of Education.
The Work Colleges Consortium introduced a new website and created collaborative work groups to share best practices in accordance with the federal guidelines: Research, Financial Aid, Academic, Career Services, Public Relations, and Admissions.
Working with the Research Group and ACT, the WCC conducted a survey of alumni across the seven work colleges between 1993 and 2007. The data and results were incorporated into a booklet, “An Education That Works.”
Berea College was recognized formally as the “fiscal agent” for the Work Colleges Consortium and a Fiscal Agency Agreement was approved by the Presidents Council. The Work Colleges Consortium is not recognized as a non-profit or legal entity but as a group of colleges that share a mandatory work requirement for all resident students and a “comprehensive work-learning-service” program as the core of their educational approach.
2012
The Work Colleges Consortium created the Experiential Work-Learning Grant program and the first round of grants were awarded to faculty and staff at the Work Colleges.
The WCC Fall Conference was held in Washington, D.C. and students met with their Congressional delegations. The decision was made to host the Fall Conference in Washington, D.C. every three years.
2013
The Work Colleges Consortium schools participated in the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey.
2014
The Work Colleges Consortium schools participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE).
2015
The work colleges’ tax provision passed the House on December 17, 2015 as part of Congressman Smith’s (MO) initiative, H.R. 3409, the Tax Relief for Working Students Act. It was then passed by the Senate on December 18, 2015 and signed into law.
2016
2017
Paul Quinn College was approved by the U.S. Department of Education as a Work College in March 2017 and joined the Consortium in January 2018.
2021
Kuyper College was approved by the U.S. Department of Education as a Work College in May 2021 and joined the Consortium in July 2021.
2024
Antioch College was approved by the U.S. Department of Education as a Work College in February 2024.