"The last I knew, we have many more jobs than there are students wanting to work," Hazen said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "[The budget reductions] might make the choice of jobs less, but in terms of students working, if they want to work and they're not fussy about where they want to work, it shouldn't be a problem."
It is too soon to know which College departments may ultimately cut jobs or reduce student wages in light of the upcoming budget cuts, Hazen said, because the Board of Trustees will not begin meeting formally about budget changes until February. It is unlikely that the number of available jobs will decrease enough to make a job deficit a real concern, she said, adding that the Financial Aid office, for example, has no plans to reduce its student workforce.
Thus far, the College's various departments have not cut student positions for the Winter term, according to Todd Kilburn, manager of the Student Employment Office. No department has expressed a need to cut a specific number of jobs, he said, although most people recognize that some departments will have to decrease employment.
"People have said things; I've sort of heard, 'Well, I'm sure departments are going to be cutting jobs,'" Kilburn said. "But as far as actually seeing that, it seems pretty standard at this point."
Some department reorganizations and budget reductions may actually lead to an increase in student positions within those departments, Hazen said, as student labor may be less expensive than hiring permanent staff members.
The economic downturn may also be affecting student demand for jobs, Kilburn said.
The first two weeks of Winter term saw an increase in the number of students contacting the employment office seeking employment or arranging paperwork for jobs they had already secured, Kilburn said.
"I don't know if it's just that we have more new students coming in, in new positions, or if it's that we have more students overall in place," he said. "I know, for the Fall term, a lot of students are involved in sports and things like that. Generally, in the Winter term we get more students, but it seems like a heavier load this year."
It may be too early to identify any trends in student hiring and employment requests, according to both Kilburn and Hazen. Kilburn said the budget cuts' full impact on student hiring may not be felt until next year, and Hazen said demand for financial aid in general may not peak until the next academic year.
"I keep waiting for families to break down my door, and it hasn't happened yet, and I'm not quite sure why," Hazen said. "I can't believe it won't -- our population isn't that different from the country's."
Although are currently enough jobs available at the College to meet student demand, this has not always been the case, Hazen said. Dartmouth has had a job deficit before, Hazen explained, and a similar deficit now could affect students who rely on having a campus job as part of their financial aid package.
"What the College did at that time was, they actually gave financial aid students top priority for jobs," she said. "We could always go back that route if we really had to. I'd rather see departments hiring the best students for the job, rather than just hiring from the financial aid students."
The Student Employment Office may also intensify its job development efforts in order to offer students new jobs both on campus and with local organizations and businesses, Hazen said. The office is currently working to find students positions with community service groups and businesses in the region, Kilburn said, adding that students had not been particularly interested in these positions until recently.
"We've been hesitant to go out into the community and try to create jobs, and then not have any students apply for those jobs," he said. "If we sense that there are students who aren't able to find jobs, then we would certainly step up those efforts and see what we could find out there."
