Organization

Work Colleges Consortium

Work Colleges Consortium

Federal legislation defines a Work College as a special type of degree-granting institution where a “comprehensive work-learning-service program” is “an integral and stated part of the institution’s educational philosophy and program”, a “valuable educational approach” and an “integral part of the institution’s educational program and part of a financial aid plan that decreases reliance on grants and loans and encourages students to participate in community service activities”. Work Colleges are defined through federal legislation as having residential campuses where all resident students are expected to work in campus-supervised, and evaluated work-learning-service positions, in every semester of the educational experience (exceptions are made for students engaged in alternate experiential learning opportunities such as internships, study abroad, and student teaching). More importantly, every Work College operates a comprehensive work-learning-service program that is an integral component of the educational experience and provides opportunities for reduced debt, practical work experience, integration of work and academics, expanded opportunities to engage in service to both the College and the broader community, and a guided and evaluated experience designed to maximize learning. Work Colleges receive additional federal funding to support these comprehensive programs.

Berea is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges in the nation and a member of the Work Colleges Consortium (WCC), a group of eight of these institutions that work together in support of the Work College model:

• Alice Lloyd College, Pippa Passes, KY

• Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH

• Berea College, Berea, KY 

• Blackburn College, Carlinville, IL

• College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO

• Kuyper College, Grand Rapids, MI

• Paul Quinn College, Dallas, TX

• Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC

The WCC supports member schools through federal compliance guidance, shared research on work-learning and service outcomes, and ongoing collaboration on best practices across the Consortium.

The WCC also offers Creative and Innovative Experiential Work-Learning Grants, awarded to full-time faculty and staff at member institutions who wish to undertake an experiential, creative, or scholarly research project. These grants are meant to enhance the learning environment, support student learning outcomes and development, and offer a model that other educators can learn from. Grant applications are accepted each spring.

To learn more about the Work Colleges Consortium, visit workcolleges.org. 

For the full history of Work Colleges and how Path to Purpose grew out of that tradition, see the History section.

Labor Program Administration

The Work College Program is centrally administered under the leadership of the Dean for the Work College Program, supported by the professional staff of the Work College Program Office. All administrative offices are located in the Stephenson Building. The team also includes a representative from the Office of Student Financial Aid Services, who oversees the integration of work-learning and financial aid and ensures compliance with federal funding requirements.

• Dr. Collis Robinson, Dean for the Work College Program
• Brittany Ash, Associate Dean of the Work College Program
• Armando Buenrostro, Assistant Director, Systems & Operations
• Nicole Fantasia, Office Manager & Work College Support Coordinator 
• Tuyet Nguyễn, Assistant Director of Training & Engagement
• Bradley Powell, Digital Badging & Career Readiness Manager 
• Kelly Fox, Operations and Systems Coordinator
• Work College Initiatives Coordinator - Search in Progress
• BereaCorps Program Associate - Search in Progress
• Andrea Spry, Director of Student Financial Aid Services

The Labor Program Council

The Council serves as the advisory and governance body for the Work College Program, ensuring the integrity, effectiveness, and educational value of the student work experience. It advises and assists the Dean for the Work College Program in interpreting and applying the vision for the program, and holds comprehensive responsibility for major programmatic changes affecting experiential, non-credit learning, with specific responsibility for evaluation, assessment of goals and outcomes, and recommendations for program improvement based on assessment data.

Addressing Workplace Concerns

When concerns arise in a student's work-learning assignment, the Associate Dean reviews and investigates the concern and makes a decision, keeping the Dean for the Work College Program informed throughout. The Work College Support Coordinator assists with this process and addresses certain routine concerns directly, working in collaboration with the Associate Dean, whose role is directly connected to this work.

Concerns related to discrimination are handled separately through the College's Title IX Coordinator and are not part of this process.

In cases involving theft or falsification of time, the matter is also submitted to Student Affairs following the program's review and decision, where it is adjudicated according to the Berea College Community Judicial Code.

Appeals

If a student disagrees with a decision or believes it to be unfair, the student may appeal in writing to the Dean for the Work College Program, as outlined in the program's appeals process.

If a student is suspended for program-related reasons and wishes to appeal that suspension, the student has two options:

• Appeal to the Dean for the Work College Program, or to another College administrator if the Dean was directly involved in the case and cannot fairly review the appeal; or
• Appeal through the Council.

The choice between these two appeal paths belongs to the student.

Membership

Council membership includes:

• A representative from the Work College Program Office responsible for training and assessment
• A representative involved in the allocation of student work positions
• A representative from Human Resources responsible for training and evaluation
• Four working supervisors from diverse work areas, elected by the General Assembly (two from the College Faculty Assembly, and two non-teaching members of the General Assembly, preferably one exempt and one non-exempt)
• A Student Director appointed by the Work College Program Team
• A representative from the Office of Internships and Career Development
• Two students, appointed by the Student Government Association, whose work experiences reflect a range of departments

The Dean for the Work College Program and the Provost or the Provost's designee serve as ex-officio members. Elected members serve three-year terms, and the Council may invite additional voices as needed.

Departments

Structure

Each department has one or more faculty/staff members who serve as supervisors. Many departments also have faculty or staff mentors who, while not formal supervisors, play an active role in student learning, training, and development. In some departments, students themselves hold supervisory/leadership positions.

The Dean for the Work College Program provides general oversight across all departments, ensuring consistency in administration, regulation enforcement, training, and assessment. Beyond this shared foundation, departments differ widely: the nature of the work, internal structure, methods of supervision, and degree of student autonomy all vary by area. This diversity is intentional. Students are encouraged to experience a range of work-learning-service environments over their four years, so they can broaden their skills, test different work styles, and discover where their interests and strengths align.

Distribution of Labor

While allocations vary slightly from year to year, student work-learning positions are generally distributed as follows*:

*These percentages reflect the allocation distribution of a typical  Academic Year per primary positions