This semester the Swearer Center for Public Service will pay its program coordinators by the hour, rather than with a stipend, in order to bring its compensation polices in line with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Coordinators are paid not only because of their large time commitment, but also in the hope that the compensation will make community service "more financially accessible," said Roger Nozaki MAT'89, director of the Swearer Center and associate dean of the College for community and global engagement.
Affected students did not express strong opinions about the change. "I do the work that I need to do, and I happen to get paid," said Brian Lin '12, a coordinator for the Brown Language Arts Program, which works with elementary-age students in Providence schools.
Lin said he was unsure how the change would affect him.
Christine Joyce '12.5, a coordinator for the Swearer Classroom Program, said the only real change to her routine was that she would have to log her time hourly rather than weekly.
Every week, coordinators will now have to fill out a form to log their hours in order to receive payment. Last year, Lin said, "the checks just came."
The Swearer Center does not expect "a major change" in funding for the center, or in the amount of compensation students will receive, Nozaki said. "At this point it is a pretty straightforward thing," he added.
The decision is not a result of the Swearer budget cuts announced last spring, said Elizabeth Warner, director of compensation and organizational services. Instead, the change is intended to bring the University into compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, she said.
A committee convened by the Department of Human Resources, the Office of Financial Aid and the Controller's Office met at the beginning of the semester to "clarify student employment policies and procedures," Warner said. The same review led the computer science department to begin paying its teaching assistants by the hour last semester.
This committee revised the student employment handbook and standardized a time-tracking sheet that can be used by all departments. This effort will continue, Warner said, adding that the committee will work with the Dean of the College to define a new category of paid "student opportunities," which will not be subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Offering "student opportunities" in addition to student employment will hopefully provide more avenues for students to be involved in campus life, Warner said.
The review "has nothing to do with money," Warner said, and is rather in response to a need for more communication between departments regarding employment on campus. She added that the review is not likely to spur any further changes to the way money is allotted to student-run programs.
