The correlation is uncertain, but it is hard to deny the relationship between the lack of summer jobs in Muncie and Ball State University's continually decreasing summer enrollment. Over the past four years, Ball State summer session enrollment has declined - sitting as high as 6,019 in 2004 before dropping to 4,808 last year.
Career Center director Jeannine Harrold said there was no way for her office to speculate on such a link but that the trend was not evident on campus.
"I suppose there is some cause and effect, but we don't know that for sure," Harrold said. "We know on-campus that jobs have not declined, so as far as campus employment is concerned, we still have many opportunities."
The downward trend in summer enrollment has had an effect on surrounding businesses, further contributing to the city job shortage. To combat this, many shops are holding back on hiring until Fall Semester is nearly under way.
"We will begin hiring again around mid-July," Village Subway manager Dustin Lawson said.
He said one active student was currently employed there, and otherwise, Lawson works alone in the daytime - for up to four or five hours each summer afternoon, oftentime with no customers.
"With this location, students are my customers ... but with online courses now available, there is really no need for students to stay," he said.
Harrold also said the amount of increased electronic courses were a reason many students chose to go home rather than remain in Muncie.
"There's been a real growth of students that have begun taking their core classes online, so we think that contributes to the amount of students who remain," Harrold said.
Emily Hoham, senior elementary education major and Scotty's Brewhouse server, is taking one class this summer while working next door from Subway. She held an on-campus job before beginning her two years at Scotty's, where she said almost every employee (aside from managers) is a Ball State student.
"My old campus job only paid minimum wage, and I have to be able to afford rent and pay my own way (through college)," Hoham said.
Similar to Hoham, most Scotty's employees have worked there for a substantial period of time, with the last hiring process taking place in March and April. And like Subway, Starbucks and other area businesses, the majority of applicants considered were strictly those willing to work beyond the regular school year.
"It's not required you stay here for the summer, but it isn't likely you'll be hired for only two months," Hoham said.
Josh Kolbus spent his last two summers at home working construction, but this time around he is determined to find a livable income in Muncie - so far to no avail, he said.
"About a month ago I started looking into a bunch of places before I resorted to going back home," the junior business communication major said. "My lease began in May. I kept up on the first month's payment, but this month is going to be a struggle."
As companies continue to seek summer help sooner than ever, Harrold said it was imperative that students also begin their job search earlier than usual.
"We moved our Cardinals Job Fair to February, and the reason we moved it up from March is because employers are already summer hiring and make those decisions earlier," Harrold said.
Like many students, Kolbus initially held strict standards on which places to apply. In an effort to conclude his job hunt, however, Kolbus has decided to expand his options.
"I'm willing to work wherever I can right now," he said. "I avoided retail at first, but now I'll take anywhere."
Despite its limited amount of business, mt cup is one of few Village shops currently hiring.
"We used to have a younger crowd, so a lot of people living in the dorms went home for the summer," employee Emilie Frank said.
She said they were currently accepting applications, but a hire was expected to be made soon.
For those unable to land an off-campus job, Dean of Libraries Arthur Hafner said there are multiple benefits of working at on-campus locations such as Bracken Library.
"Some student employees' experiences at Bracken have motivated them to pursue a master's in library sciences degree following the duration of their undergrad," Hafner said. "We take that as a good sign that students like this place."
Also, Hafner said on-campus jobs could be equally as lucrative as working elsewhere in Muncie because of pay raises.
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