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Chapter 8 - How Colleges Can Support Working Students of Immigrant Origin

from Part II - Experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Janese Free  and
Katrin Križ
Edited by
Blake R. Silver  and
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron
Blake R. Silver
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron
Affiliation:
George Mason University
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Summary

This chapter aims to provide recommendations for how colleges can best support working college students of immigrant origin. It examines which challenges these students encounter when juggling full-time studies with working 20 or more hours a week during the academic year. Drawing on findings from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with twenty-four undergraduate students of immigrant origin in the northeastern United States, we show that these students face a confluence of challenges. The participants experienced academic, emotional, and social difficulties resulting from a time deficit and found the unpredictability of work hours and schedules challenging. They reported stress, anxiety, emotional depletion, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and a lack of faculty support. We offer program and policy suggestions for higher education administrations and faculty to stem this confluence of challenges. These include gathering institutional data about the labor force engagement of their student population, vetting jobs on and near campus for their “student friendliness” (set time schedules and predictable, limited hours), and educating students about which jobs are student-friendly.

Keywords

Challengescollege studentsearningemploymentfacultyhigher educationimmigrant originpoliciesprogramsworking
Type
Chapter
Information
Supporting College Students of Immigrant Origin
New Insights from Research, Policy, and Practice
 , pp. 155 - 175
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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