Introduction to the Work Colleges and The Labor Program
The Berea College Labor Program originated in its earliest form in 1859 and expanded to become one of the College's Great Commitments. The Labor Program provides economic, educational, social, personal, and spiritual benefits to students and those served by their work. From its earliest days, Berea has enabled students to contribute to the cost of education while gaining valuable work experience and serving the college and surrounding communities. Historically, it also allowed the College to operate in a self-sustaining manner, with students growing their food and building their own living and learning facilities. As society has changed, the nature of the work has changed; however, the program's underlying principles have remained constant through the years.
The Labor Program originated in 1859 and was formalized into every student's educational experience in 1906 when the Berea College Catalog declared that every student must contribute at least seven hours per week to the necessary work of the College. This was raised to ten hours in 1917, a requirement that remains in effect today.
The value of student work is reinforced in our Great Commitments, first published in 1969 by the General Faculty and the Board of Trustees (revised in 1993 and most recently in 2017). This affirms Berea's commitment "To promote learning and serving in community through the student Labor Program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done." The Labor Program has long been integral to Berea's educational program and provides valuable opportunities for learning, service, and work well done.
Introduction to the Labor Program
The Student Labor Program originated in its earliest form at Berea College in 1859 and expanded to become one of the College's Great Commitments. The Labor Program provides economic, educational, social, personal, and spiritual benefits to students and those served by their work.
The Labor Program is designed to serve the following purposes:
• Support the total educational program at Berea College through experiences providing the learning of skills, responsibility, habits, attitudes, and processes associated with work;
• Provide and encourage opportunities for students to pay costs of board (meals), room, and related educational expenses;
• Provide staff for college operations;
Provide opportunities for service to the community and others through labor;
• Establish a lifestyle of doing and thinking, action, and reflection, as well as serving and learning, that carries on beyond the college years.
Designed to serve these multiple purposes, the program reflects a unified vision of labor as a student and learning-centered service to the College and broader community and, as necessary, work well done. The administration of the program is the responsibility of the Dean of Labor.
Labor assignments function very much like classes. Beginning at entry levels of work, students are expected to progress to more skilled and responsible levels. Through these experiences, it is expected that student workers will:
• develop good work habits and attitudes;
• gain an understanding of personal interests, skills, and limitations; and
• exercise creativity, problem-solving, and responsibility. Students also may learn the qualities of leadership, standard setting, and effective supervision.
The Labor Program makes it possible for students to know each other as co-workers as well as classmates. More importantly, linking the Academic and Labor programs establishes a pattern of learning through work that continues long after college.