Hiring Procedures

• Setting Up an Account
• Interviewing Process
• Authorization Forms
• Scheduling
• Taxes
• Benefits

Job Changes

• Promotions & Reclassifications
• Termination

Job Titles

Listing a Job

• How Do I List a Job?
• How Do Students Contact Me?
• How Can I Attract Students to a Job?

Payroll

• Recording Time Worked
• Reporting Hours :On Campus
• Reporting Hours: Off Campus
• Paychecks
• Taxes
• Correcting Mistakes
• Advances

Salary Schedule

Supervision

Work-Study Forms

• Application
• Class Schedule
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Intent to Hire Form (for on-campus positions only)
• Intent to Hire Form (for off-campus positions only)
• Job Posting Form
• Timesheet

Setting Up An Account
Before hiring a work-study student, off-campus employers must first contact the Financial Aid Office to request a work-study contract. On-campus employers use their department account number and either 5400 for Federal Work Study or 5410 for Willamette Work-Study (example: 1-_ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _). Off-campus employers are billed on a monthly basis. To ensure credit to the proper account, all checks should clearly state the organization's name and invoice number. Please contact Jaime Metzker, Work-Study Coordinator, with any questions.

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Interviewing Process
Individual employers determine the manner in which they make their employment decisions; most employers conduct several interviews and select from a pool of applicants. Students should know how much, if any, Federal Work-Study they have been awarded and bring this information to the interview.

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Hiring and Payroll Forms
Since financial aid packages are revised annually, employers should remember that a student may not have the same award from year to year. Also, some students may be confused regarding work-study and may claim to be eligible when, in fact, they are not. To determine a student's eligibility and earning limit, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 503-370-6273.

First-time hires (students who have never been paid through the WU Payroll system before) are required to fill out standard hiring forms: a Federal W-4 form, and an I-9 (Employment Eligibility Form). These forms may be obtained at the Student Payroll Office or the Financial Aid Office. These forms must be submitted to the Student Payroll Office within three days of the date of hire or the student cannot continue to work. If a work-study student continues working before the Payroll forms are received, and time sheets are submitted to Payroll, his or her paycheck can be held by the Student Payroll Office.

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Scheduling
Once a student is hired, the employer and employee should determine a mutually convenient work schedule. Work-study students may generally work from the Monday of New Student Orientation Week through the last day of final examinations in May, including breaks.

In setting a schedule, employers and students should take careful consideration of not only the student's academic schedule, but also his or her earnings limit. Ideally, the student should work the number of hours necessary to reach, but not exceed, the earnings limit by the end of the year. As an example, if a student is awarded $2,000 for the academic year and is paid $7.50 an hour, the student may work approximately 8.8 hours a week and not exceed his/her earnings limit for the academic year. See the Scheduling Guide for more information.

Once a student reaches his/her earnings limit, the student may no longer be employed through the Federal Work Study Program for the remainder of the academic year. Any continued employment would be contingent upon the availability of department funding. Employers are asked to set a weekly limit of 10-15 hours of work per week for each student to ensure that students reach their earnings limit by May. Students scheduled during class breaks may work full time. Please remember that money earned during vacation periods counts towards a student's earnings limit. The Federal Work Study Program is intended to help students offset the cost of their educational program, not to replace employees in a work place.

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Summer Employment
Please see Summer Work-Study in the Student section of this website for information about hiring students for the summer. If you have questions, please contact Jaime Metzker in the Office of Financial Aid.

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Taxes
Work-Study income is taxable, and students are required to fill out Federal W-4 forms when hired. At the beginning of each calendar year, student employees will receive a W-2 form from the University, listing their work-study earnings from the previous year. Students should contact the Student Payroll Office at 503-370-6188 if no W-2 is received after February 1. For all other questions about Payroll forms please contact the Student Payroll Office.

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Benefits
Work-study students do not receive benefits such as sick or vacation leave. Employers must give student employees a minimum thirty-minute lunch/dinner break if scheduled for six or more hours.

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Work Study Handbook: Job Changes

Promotions and Reclassifications
A student's job title within a department may be changed at any point during the year if the student's duties or responsibilities change. Employers should make changes such as account and/or wage rate information on the student's time sheet. The Student Payroll Office will then take the information on the corrected time sheet and update the student's wage rate on their database. Off-campus employers must notify Jaime Metzker in the Office of Financial Aid directly of any wage rate changes.

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Termination
Although terminations are infrequent, it is vitally important that all parties follow the University’s policies when a termination occurs.

Student-initiated:
Students are expected, although not required, to work a minimum of one semester before changing jobs. A student must give the employer two weeks notice when terminating; however, it is acceptable for an employer and employee to agree upon a shorter period of notice.

Employer-initiated:
If an employer is not satisfied with a student's performance, the following steps should be taken:

1) Discuss the problem with the student;

2) if the problem continues, write the student a letter describing the problem, the previously held verbal discussion(s), and a statement of consequences if the behavior is not corrected. (You may wish to give the student a particular time frame in which to correct the problem.) A copy of this letter must be forwarded to Jaime Metzker , Work-Study Coordinator, immediately; and

3) if there is no correction of the behavior, the student's employment should be terminated. The employer should notify in writing both the student and Jaime Metzker, Work-Study Coordinator. Be sure to state the reasons that the employee was terminated.

Problems such as dishonesty or theft call for immediate dismissal from the program. Employers should contact Jaime Metzker , Work-Study Coordinator as soon as possible in such instances.

When a notice of termination is received by the Financial Aid Office, the Work-Study Coordinator will contact the student and provide counseling regarding the situation. If an employer initiates a termination for a non-negative reason, such as budgetary constraints or the completion of a project, the termination should be handled similar to a student-initiated termination with the employer giving the student at least two weeks notice. The Financial Aid Office will make every effort to assist in placing a student terminated for such reasons.

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Work Study Handbook: Job Titles

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Work Study Handbook: Listing a Job

How Do I List a Job?
In the past, employers completed a Job Description/Position Available Form with the Financial Aid Office each time a postion became avaliable. Fortunately, we have streamlined this process by eliminating this form.

Now, all you need do is contact the Work-Study Coordinator at 503-370-6273, or by e-mail at finaid@willamette.edu and we will send you a Job Posting Form. Simply fill it out and e-mail or fax it back to the Financial Aid Office at 503-370-6588. Be sure to include an e-mail address in your contact information.

All On-Campus Work-Study employees should be classified using the "Aide" titles found in the Job Titles section of this handbook. To determine a position's job title, an employer should review the job descriptions and choose the one that most closely matches the particular vacancy. Off-campus employers should contact the Work-Study Coordinator with any questions.

Forms are accepted for posting throughout the academic year. If a position has a future start date (ex: advertising for a Spring semester job during Fall semester) please make a note of the start date on the Job Posting Form.

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How Do Students Contact Me If They are Interested?
Students seeking employment look through the list of openings on the work-study Job Board for positions that attract their interest. Students then contact employers directly to set up interviews.Be sure when you are setting up an interview that the student you are interested in hiring is Work-Study eligible. To find out how much Federal Work Study a student has been awarded, please contact the Financal Aid Office, 503-370-6273, or email finaid@willamette.edu

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How Can I Attract Students to a Job?
If an employer experiences difficulty filling a position, classified ads in our weekly student newspaper Collegian (503-370-6053) are usually a successful method for attracting applicants. Employers may also consider posting ads around campus or on the bulletin board outside the Financial Aid Office. Please note that certain areas of the campus, such as the Residence Halls, may require prior approval for posting ads on their bulletin boards.

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Work Study Handbook: Payroll

How Should Students Record Their Time Worked?
Students record their hours on a Time Sheet that includes the student's Social Security Number. These forms are supplied to employers by the Financial Aid Office as needed. On each time sheet please include the position description, department and the student's social security number.

Employees should write in the actual times they arrive and leave each day; they should not wait until the end of the pay period to complete the form. Hours cannot be reported for time "on call," travel time or costs, meals, or other miscellaneous purposes, unless previously approved through Jaime Metzker, Work Study Coordinator. The total number of hours worked each pay period should be converted to tenths of an hour for payroll purposes. To convert minutes worked to a decimal amount, divide minutes worked by 60. (Example: 20 minutes divided by 60 = .33)

Employers should determine how precise they wish the recording of hours to be (e.g., exact time, rounded to nearest five minutes, or rounded to nearest fifteen minute period). Pay periods are four weeks long (12:01 AM Monday through 12:00 AM Sunday), with one time sheet filled out per pay period, regardless of the number of days worked. If a student did not work for an entire week of a pay period, that week should be left blank on the time sheet.

Please be sure to write the correct date in the "pay period" section at the top of each time sheet. Time sheets must be completed in ink and include both the employee's and the supervisor's signatures. The original copy should be forwarded to the Student Payroll Office for processing.

 

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Reporting Hours to Payroll: Off-Campus Employers
Students working for off-campus employers must turn their completed time sheets into the Student Payroll Office as indicated in the Pay Period section of this handbook.

Please make every effort to process students' hours on a timely basis. Do not collect several time sheets for one student and process them at once.

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Paychecks
Students are paid monthly on the last working day of the month. There is a two week delay between the end of a pay period and the receipt of the check for that pay period. If a student does not receive the check when expected, verify that the time sheet was forwarded on time to the Student Payroll Office. If the problem still cannot be identified, employers should contact Jaime Metzker , Work-Study Coordinator, 503-370-6273.

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Taxes
Work-study earnings are taxable by both the state and federal governments. The Student Payroll Department mails W-2 forms to students in January. The student should contact Student Payroll directly if no W-2 is received before February 1st.

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What Should AStudent Do If There Is A Change Of Address?
There are two main offices where an address change should be made: The Registrar's Office and Mail Services. Changing the address with the Registrar automatically changes it with Financial Aid and the Student Payroll Office. Students should be reminded that writing an address on their time sheets will not affect any Payroll records.

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How Can A Mistake Be Corrected On The Payroll?
If the correction involves a retroactive payment, employers should send a corrective memo to the Student Payroll Office. Please contact Charlene Bramble, Student Payroll Clerk, 503-370-6188 with any other questions.

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Pay Advances
Willamette University does not issue pay advances. No hours should be reported for a student before the work is performed.

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Work Study Handbook: Salary Schedule

How Should I Determine A Student's Wage?
On-campus work-study jobs are ranked based on the level of responsibility and skills needed. Each level is associated with a wage range, which can be found on the chart below. Additionally, each pay level corresponds to a range from 1st year to 4th year of "Aide" levels (see the Job Titles section of this Handbook for a list of all current titles). Students working on-campus are hired within this wage range based upon any prior experience. You can view the current year's Student Salary Schedule here. Please keep in mind the hourly wage should be calculated based on job responsibilities and level of experience instead of the pay grade.

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Work Study Handbook: Supervision

Per federal regulation, all work-study students must be supervised by a permanent staff member of the department or organization. This supervisor must sign all forms, including timesheets. The supervisor must also be present on a regular basis to review the performance of the students.

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Work Study Handbook: Employee Records
Students' work-study files are confidential and should not be viewed by anyone other than the individual student or the Office of Financial Aid.

Per University policy, work-study supervisors approached by outside agencies or employers for reference checks may give only the title, wage rate and dates of employment of former work-study employees. Additional information may be given out only if the inquiring agency provides the student's signature to release this information.

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