Seizing a Disruptive Opportunity: Remote Work-Study as Anti-Oppressive Practice During COVID-19 and Beyond

In this article, the authors share how they facilitated remote work-study options during COVID-19 as a united university community following anti-oppressive practice (AOP). Work-study is a Title IV campus-based program that had been somewhat static since its inception in 1964 but now has been challenged to reignite its role in addressing social inequity and enhanced community capacity. AOP is an empowerment framework that can expand who is welcome and successful in higher education including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students and employees, first-generation students and academics, individuals from low-incomes, individuals who or whose families have immigrated, individuals who identify as transgender and non-binary or identify with additional marginalized genders (MaGes), and those who have a disability. The authors detail their AOP and the specific steps they took to illustrate the components of a successful collaboration. They invite other higher education professionals to consider instituting or expanding work-study opportunities at their institutions beyond COVID-19.