Who's working and how many hours: A 10-year analysis of working students

Thursday, May 28, 2026

2:30 PM - 3:15 PM East Coast USA Time

Location: Shaw/LeDroit Park

Institution Type: Any

Target Audience: Any

Moderator(s)

David H. Tanner, PhD, Higher Education

Associate Director
University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government
Athens, Georgia, United States

Presenter(s)

Scott J. King, MS, Statistics (he/him/his)

Data Scientist
University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government
Athens, Georgia, United States
EC

Ethan Christmas, BS, Economics

Data Analyst
University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Georgia, United States
PH

Patrick Harris, D.Sc.

Senior Associate, Digital Solutions & IPEDS
University System of Georgia
Colbert, Georgia, United States

Session Abstract: More students are working today compared to 10 years ago and students who are working are working more hours than in the past. This session will highlight research conducted by the University System of Georgia to better understand the relationship between work, cost of attendance, and student course loads. Researchers analyzed more than 4.9 million student records and analyzed working patterns from 2013 to 2023. Researchers will share their findings from this comprehensive look at working students including findings that students who worked full-time or more tended to be older, female, Black, or Hispanic as compared to students who did not work or worked 20 or fewer hours per week. Researchers in this session will explain how they used new machine learning approaches for causal inference and data from 26 colleges and universities, Unemployment Insurance wage data, and financial aid data to better understand the impact of work on students.

Keywords: Workng students, adult learners, non-traditional students, machine learning