Dea Marx Ed.D., Program Director,  Student Success and Academic Assurance, University of Missouri-Kansas City Jessica Flinkman, Graduate Assistant, Student Success and Academic Assurance, University of Missouri-Kansas City The proposed federal budget for the 2020 fiscal year includes massive cuts to the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program. President Trump’s budget proposal decreases FWS funds by 50 percent, $630 million less than 2019 (Nguyen, 2019), and restricts the disbursement of funds to only undergraduate students. While the proposed budget includes drastic cuts, the Trump Administration is also calling for the FWS program to be revamped, focusing on apprenticeships and internship opportunities for students (Busta, 2019). In support of this, Jim Blew, the Education Department’s Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy development, exhorted a new direction for FWS programs that emphasized career-building opportunities for students instead of a subsidized wo