Annie Pettycrew (The Beacon)
By Annie Pettycrew, Guest Commentary
The cost of living has increased in many ways in Oregon since 2008; however, student worker wages at the University of Portland have not increased except for state-mandated minimum wage increases.
In August 2008, the Oregon minimum wage was $7.95 and increased to $8.80 in January 2012. In Oregon in 2008, the average price of gas was $3.36 a gallon, while the average price of gas in 2011 was $3.67 a gallon. Full-time tuition (excluding room and board) for the University of Portland in 2008-2009 school year was $29,400 and for the 2011-2012 school year is $33,640.
In 2008, the average cost of renting a house for a month was $800, and now it costs $955 a month. Food prices have also risen, as you could buy a gallon of milk for $2.65 in 2008 and it tipped the scales at $3.39 in 2011. In 2008, the average cost of a movie ticket was $6.95 and in 2011 it was $8.20.
I began my freshman year on The Bluff with a student worker job that required specific computer and communication skills, qualifying it as a Level 3 on the wage scale.
The University has three different levels of wages, depending on the type of campus job you have. Level 1 is for "Entry Level" workers and has an hourly wage range of $8.80 to $9.20. Level 2 is for "Experience Preferred" workers and has a wage range of $9.20 to $9.60. Level 3 is "Specialized Skills Required" workers and has a wage range of $9.60 to $10 (for more specific information see the "Student Worker Handbook" on the UP webpage under Financial Aid).
There are many perks of working on campus that include the convenience, the relationship that you develop with the University's talented staff and the diverse skills that you can acquire. I have experienced all of these during my four years as a student worker. However, the lack of an increase in hourly wages in my student worker job, and many of those throughout campus, is an oversight that needs to be corrected.
While the minimum wage has increased by 85 cents, the hourly wages in both level 2 and level 3 have remained virtually the same. The increase in the minimum wage has simply compressed the range of wages, as the highest wage possible ($10.00) has not increased at all since 2008.
The University has failed to pay attention to all levels of wages the talented UP students receive as they work in various departments and offices across campus. I think the only reason student wages have increased is due to the state mandated minimum wage increases. Without the state-enforced minimum wage increases, I doubt the University would have initiated a wage increase in any of the levels.
While I have always felt appreciated in my student worker job and the experience and convenience it provides, I am disappointed in the stagnation of student worker wages. I'm sure I speak for other college students as well when I say that my paychecks do not go as far as they did four years ago. The University needs to reassess the three levels of student worker wages, as annual tuition and cost of living increases.
