As of April 28, student supervisors will begin to see a wage increase reflected in their paychecks as they were previously informed in an email sent on March 30. The student body received an email confirming that the increase would be implemented soon and would have a list of which on campus jobs would be included in the wage increase. According to the email, 54 student worker positions listed in the email will receive an increase in wage from $9.75 an hour to $11.

A previous email, sent on Feb. 9, informed students that supervisors and skilled positions would be receiving the increase, and in the time since, managers and supervisors recommended student positions for the raise. President Andrea Talentino and her cabinet, the vice presidents of various offices, made the final decision.

“Every boss or manager had to fill out a form,” Senior Bella Gmitrovic said. Recommendations were then sent to Careers Opportunities Research Exploration (CORE) and then finally to the president and her cabinet.

According to the school website, the cabinet includes Kirk Anderson, Kent Barnds, Wes Brooks, Sheri Curran, Wendy Hilton-Morrow, Keri Rursch and Monica Smith.

In the fall, a raise was given to all student workers. Pay increased for everyone from $9.25 to $9.75 an hour, though this was met with mixed reactions.

Gmitrovic works for admissions and is involved in Student Government Association (SGA), and was involved in the process of communicating with administration.

“I think we are taking a step in the right direction as of right now, based on what the school can afford and based on the amount of student workers,” Gmitrovic said.

Fred Kurt is director of dining services, one of the larger student employers on campus, and was also involved in the process of recommendations.

“It’s well deserved,” Kurt said. “I think with a pay increase it’ll help us retain long-term workers.”

First-Year Abby Gentry works for dining services as well as for the theater department. While the pay is low, she appreciates the way that her bosses are considerate of her schedule.

“I broke my wrist, but they’ve been really understanding,” Gentry said. “They’ve been working around that, and I’ve heard positive things from others as well.”

Employment on campus is convenient because bosses are understanding students don’t need to leave campus. However, there are also challenges to working multiple jobs.

“I feel like most of my time is split up by schoolwork or my job,” Gentry said. “I have time for myself, but I feel like I would have more if I didn’t have to split it between two jobs.”

Kurt also believes in the value of student employment. Jobs on campus provide an environment for learning and contribute to campus atmosphere.

“The job might not be directly related to their future employment, but the skills that they’re learning as a supervisor will help them in their chosen career fields and really be valuable work experience, whether it’s customer service, conflict management, time management, working with diversity,” Kurt said.

Dining services is one of the larger employers of students and relies on them heavily. According to Kurt, the raise is an incentive for students to maintain their job. 

“It makes us that much better if we have this student supervisor for three years rather than one year, you know? We want to provide the best service we can,” Kurt said.

Junior Nora Ansburg works in PepsiCo Recreation Center (PCO), while also tutoring elementary students off-campus in math.

“I enjoy working on campus a lot, just because I’m able to see people I know, and I know that the work that I do allows people to use the facilities and resources,” Ansburg said.

Many students point out that while student workers at Augustana have been given raises, minimum wage in Illinois also increases one dollar every year. Still, Ansburg views the change positively.

“With this raise, I’m hoping that there’ll be changes for other student workers, not just supervisors,” Ansburg said.