The Lack of structured support systems for working students.
Support systems, according to Sidney Cobb’s social support theory, are important to maintaining a healthy well balanced life style. However, for some working students, they don’t have many options for support. Many are alone, having to carry the challenges that come with being a working student with little to no help. There are many support systems working students need that either aren’t accessible or available. An example of this is financial support: many schools offer financial support to their students who need it, but there are working students who don’t meet the qualifications to avail of it. Some other support systems that working students lack are academic support for their studies, a community or organization, counseling services, and support from their family and friends. Support systems are important; everyone should have them, including working students. Let's look further into what support systems working students need.
Lack of Academic Support
There are working students who face difficulties with their academics, they may fall behind and struggle to catch up, and even miss deadlines due to their work. They need help with their academics or need accommodations to better balance their work and school so that they can focus on improving their academics. While there are colleges who do provide accommodations and some kind of academic support, there are working students who may not qualify for them. Working students can ask their professors and classmates for help if they are struggling to keep up with lessons; they can also try tutoring. If they cannot make a deadline they can try asking their professors for extensions or accommodations.
Lack of Financial Support
While colleges do have financial aid, a majority of them have specific and strict requirements such as the yearly salary/income of the working student and/or their parents being a specific amount, or the financial aid only applying to certain courses. There are working students who cannot qualify for financial aid in their college. allowing them to get more sleep.
Lack of Family Support
When support from schools isn't available for working college students they turn to their families for support. Their families show and try to provide as much support as they can offer, however there are families who aren’t able to provide support to their working student child. As a 2022 study from Mapua Malayan Digital College shows that 75% of working students live paycheck to paycheck and 77% work to support their families, these working students cannot rely on their family to support them financially and sometimes emotionally, thus leaving them to face the difficulties of working student life alone. While this issue is mostly an issue between working students and their families, working students can seek other support systems within their friends, mentors, and other fellow working students.
Lack of Community
While there are many working college students all around the Philippines, there are very few working student communities, such as organizations or associations. Communities are important as it gives working students opportunities to meet others who are in similar situations. They make working students feel less alone and give them opportunities to connect, network, support each other, and be able to be heard. An organization or association dedicated to working students can unite working students and build a proper community for them. With an organization/association, they would be able to access resources, search for opportunities, meet like-minded individuals, and be more recognized in their college.
Lack of Sufficient Counseling Services
Every college has readily available counseling services for their students, although due to the number of students, these services are hard to access as they can be fully booked. Even when working students are able to avail of counseling services, there are some counselors who aren’t able to give them useful advice that doesn’t involve them quitting their jobs or cutting back hours at work or school; these are things some students cannot afford to change. To some working students, counseling services may not be accessible to them.
Conclusion
While not every working student necessarily needs these kinds of support systems, they should still have access to them, or the option to utilize them. Support systems show that working students matter just as much as other students. Support systems can help a working student better improve their academic life and work life by easing some of their burdens. Working students deserve a stable and structured support system to help them get through college.