Employer FAQs

Can students work before classes officially start?

No. Students may not work and earn federal work-study wages until the first day of their academic calendar. For undergraduates, the first day to earn work-study wages is Tuesday, September 20, 2022 for the 2022-2023 academic year. Any federal work-study wages received prior to this date will be charged back 100% to your department.

Why did my student's work-study allotment change?

Although rare, changes to a student's work-study allotment or eligibility do happen. Instances that trigger changes to the work-study include:

Financial aid review for loss of income approvals,
Receipt of outside scholarship(s),
Enrollment less than full time as of the add/drop date,
Study abroad or other off-campus study program participation including co-ops
Other financial aid adjustments

Can work-study students work remotely?

We are following university guidance stating that department or school leadership may approve remote work, including for work-study student employees, according to your area’s operational needs. If the employee will be working remotely, they must receive proper supervision of their work and certification that they have worked and earned their hours, follow all applicable institutional protocols for teleworking, and follow federal, state, and local employment conditions.

Where can I find a student’s work-study allotment, paid amounts, and amount remaining?

The only way for an employer to know the total Federal Work-Study allotment is by asking the student. Our office cannot provide work-study allotment amounts unless the student is actively employed in your area. Students can locate their Federal Work-Study allotment, earnings, and remaining allotment in CAESAR > Financial Aid > Work-Study by Academic Year.

Unfortunately, there is no way to track earnings in myHR aside from recording the pre-taxed wages each payday via the paycheck distribution panel or on GL Reporting in myHR. If you or your student would like to confirm amounts, please contact our office.

If the student is within $600 of reaching their work-study allotment, we will notify the student and supervisor. Once students have reached their allotment they must be switched to regular temp student wages.

I want to re-hire my student from last year. Is there anything I need to do to make sure my student is paid under the FWS program?

Please check with Human Resources to make sure no additional hiring documents are required for their re-hire employment. Also, make sure the chartstring, account code (60122 or 60123 if JumpStart), and department ID (ends in -98) are set up in my HR.

Can an unpaid/volunteer/independent research assistant earn federal work-study?

Please review the options and information below:

The Office of Undergraduate Research sponsors the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) for professors to publish and hire students for research positions. URAP sponsors 25% of the student's wages while the remaining 75% is covered by the Federal wage subsidy. Due to limited available hours for URAP positions or due to missing the URAP deadline, you may decide or need to employ the student with a wage sharing agreement between your department and the work-study office (25%/75%).
If the student is enrolled in an independent study and looking to turn their research into a paid work-study position, federal regulations indicate that “…a student employed in an FWS job and receiving academic credit for that job may not be… paid unless the employer would normally pay a person for the same job.” If the position meets this criteria, students may not work during scheduled class or scheduled lab times.
Unpaid or volunteer positions require the department to justify and validate why the position would now necessitate paying a person. If approved, your department is responsible for 25% of the students wages and 100% responsible if the student loses federal work-study eligibility or if the department/supervisor do not abide by federal work-study program and federal regulation requirements.
All federal work-study positions must be posted on our jobs board to allow equal opportunity for all interested and qualified federal work-study eligible candidates to apply. Direct hires are not permitted.

How many hours can work-study students work per week?

Work-study students may work up to 20 hours per week. Most students work between 6-8 hours per week.

America Reads students may work a maximum of 15 hours per week.

What should I pay my student employee?

Students typically earn between $13.35 and $16.00 per hour depending on job complexity, skill(s) required to perform required tasks, experience, etc. See Wages and Hours or Job Titles section for additional wage information. Keep in mind, if your student earns their allotment and you want to continue to employ the student for the remainder of the academic year, your department will pay 100% of the student wages.

Can work-study students work during winter and spring breaks?

Yes. Students may work up to full time (37.5 hours) over winter and spring breaks on the condition that they will be enrolled at least half-time (2.0 units) the immediate following quarter. Earnings count toward a student's total work-study allotment and therefore may result in the student reaching their work-study allotment sooner than expected. Each hour exceeding 37.5 during winter and spring breaks will be charged back to your department. No special or supplemental hourly wages are assessed for holidays. If a student will be working remotely during winter or spring breaks, they must receive proper supervision of their work and certification that they have worked and earned their hours, follow all applicable institutional protocols for teleworking, and follow federal, state, and local employment conditions.

Can work-study students work over summer?

Generally no, unless the student is employed by a community service agency partner. If your student will be working for your on-campus department in summer, please update their employment in myHR in June after the last academic year pay period.

Do I have to submit a FWS Termination Form?

Anytime you are terminating a position whether for a student's performance or attendance issues, at the student's request, enrollment change including withdraws from the university, or graduation, you should submit a Termination Form. This DOES NOT terminate the student from their official employment record with Human Resources. Please be sure to update myHR and terminate the student's employment there as well.

Do I have to submit a FWS Evaluation Form if my student graduated mid-year?

Yes, please. FWS Evaluation Forms are posted to the website year-round and may be submitted for a student at any time in the academic year. We will remind you to complete an Evaluation form at the end of academic year for all students you employed.

For any reason a student leaves a work-study position, we require that you notify our office and Human Resources when a student is no longer working for your department. Terminations may be student or supervisor initiated. Please also be sure to terminate their myHR record so that they cannot enter hours and be paid under that empl record.