« Student Employment Handbook

Student Employment Handbook:

Federal Work-Study and University Funded Employees

• University Funded Student Employees

Employing departmental budgets are charged 100% of the wages for all University Funded student employees.

• Federal Work-Study Student Employees

Students who are employed under the FWS program are awarded FWS by the Student Financial Aid Office (SFAO) as part of their total financial aid package. This federal program pays 75% of the student's wage, while the employing department pays 25%. Students earning FWS funds may ONLY be paid on a hourly basis. Students may be employed on- or off-campus with FWS funds, and may also be employed in a community service position. Refer questions to the SFAO at 330-672-2972.

FWS Eligibility & Employment Requirements

FWS is available to both undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate financial need. To be considered for FWS, a student must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and answer "yes" to the question: "Are you interested in work-study employment?" The FAFSA is available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Since FWS funds are limited, students should complete the FAFSA by February 1st each year.

As a FWS recipient, students must meet the credit hour enrollment requirement and maintain satisfactory academic progress. Federal regulations mandate that no exceptions be made on the required enrollment status minimum.

Students may work in an hourly FWS AND University Funded position at the same time. In addition, students may work in more than one FWS position at a time, but should monitor earnings so that they know when they are nearing their FWS award limit.

FWS Earnings Limit

Students eligible for FWS will receive a Financial Aid Award Letter from the SFAO. The award amount listed indicates the FWS earnings limit for the award year. Earning the maximum FWS award depends upon the number of hours worked and the pay rate. Because FWS is a source of Federal Financial Aid, the total gross FWS earnings for the year cannot exceed the FWS award amount.

The SFAO monitors the earnings of each FWS student employee for each employment period to ensure that FWS wages earned are consistent with those permitted under the provisions of Federal regulations. Students receiving FWS are required to record hours worked on a paper or online timecard (Kronos). The SFAO will indicate to Career Services when a student's earnings have reached the FWS award amount, and Career Services will alert the employing department. The student's wages will be paid from University Funding unless the Career Services Center is notified by the employing department, in writing, that they wish to terminate the student's employment.

The CSC recommends that individual students monitor their earnings with each paycheck so they will know when their earnings limit is approaching. FWS money is paid as it is earned and it is not applied directly towards the tuition bill.

Adjustment of FWS Award Amounts

The SFAO may be able to adjust a FWS award amount if a student has an "unmet financial need" and funding is available. If a student falls below half-time enrollment or receives additional financial aid which changes his/her total financial aid eligibility, student's employment may be terminated, or the FWS award amount reduced. If a change in FWS occurs, the SFAO will notify the Career Services Center in writing. Career Services will then contact the employing department regarding whether it is possible to pay the student with 100% University Funding.

FWS Suggested Weekly Work Hours

Hours are based on Minimum Wage ($7.00 as of January 1, 2008) over a 32-week Academic Year. (Example: $1,800/$7.00 per hour = 257 hours, 257 hours/32 weeks = 8 hours per week.)

SEMESTER AWARD	ANNUAL AWARD	# WORK HRS/WEEK
$900	$1,800	8 hours
$1,000	$2,000	9 hours
$1,100	$2,200	10 hours
$1,200	$2,400	11 hours
$1,300	$2,600	12 hours