Work Study Process for 24/25 Academic Year

Work Study Process for 24/25 Academic Year

 Units hiring students under the federal work-study program requirements process: 

The work-study eligibility period for 2024/2025 Academic Year is August 4, 2024 – May 10, 2025 (unless otherwise stated on the student’s work-study authorization form).

Step 1: Job Posting

1. Determine your unit’s budget availability to hire students. In general, 25% of the student pay is paid by the hiring unit and 75% of the salary is paid by the federal work study allocation. Currently, 100% of the student salary is covered by work study, but units should make sure to set aside 25% of the salary in their unit budget. If needed, based on campus spending towards the allocation, 25% of the student pay will be retroactively moved from the unit account to a campus account. Also, there may be limits specified as the academic year progresses depending on the fund availability. Notifications will be sent accordingly, and hiring units are required to stay within the allowed limit.
   1. Note that students cannot be paid with federal work-study funds until the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (FA&S) determines their eligibility for an award. Any student who begins working prior to being approved by the office, MUST be hired and paid as a regular hourly student employee.
   2. Federal law requires that a work-study student be paid the same wage as any other person in the position, but not less than minimum wage. Minimum wage at IU South Bend is $10.15 per hour.
2. It is recommended work study positions be posted with the IUSB Career Services Office. Please work with Career Services regarding posting a position. You may reach them at  sbcareer@iu.edu
   1. The “contact person” on the form is the person you want students to contact for an interview.
3. If the unit is planning to hire for more than one work-study position with different duties, then each position must have a separate job posting.

 

Step 2: Interview and Hiring

1. Interview student applicants

Note: Some student applicants have been pre-approved by the Office of Financial Aid to seek work-study positions, other student applicants can submit a request to the office to determine their eligibility.  A valid 204/2025 FASFA must be on file prior to submitting a request work study funds.

 

Pre-approved students have been emailed three things:

1. Work Study Newsletter describing the work-study award
2. Work-Study Authorization form listing the total $ amount the student can earn. This form has additional fields that need to be filled out by the employing unit and submitted with the student’s hiring paperwork to Human Resources (HR).

Note: The Gross Limit of Earnings (LOE) referenced on the student’s approved work-study authorization form is the MAXIMUM TOTAL PAY the student can earn for the listed dates/session(s).

• Fillable Work-Study Job Description form that needs to be completed and submitted to Human Resources by the employing unit with their hiring paperwork.

2. Hiring the work-study eligible student
   1. Obtain the Work-Study Authorization form from the student. Fill the form with your unit information. Submit hiring paper work along with the student’s work-study authorization form to HR. IUSB Payroll will forward the student’s Work-Study Authorization and Position Description to the FA&S office.
      1. The IU background check policy (cost to be paid by hiring department) requires all areas of Indiana University to conduct criminal history and a sex and violent offender check on all new hourly employees, including work-study. Questions must be directed to HR.  You may view the policy here: https://hr.iu.edu/eev/background_checks.html

 

1. The following form may be submitted with the hiring paperwork to HR or directly to Office of Financial Aid after hiring. This form MUST be received by Financial Aid.
   1. Obtain, complete, and submit the Work-Study Job Description form from the student or email the financial aid office at sbfinaid@iu.edu. Federal Regulations require that the Office of Financial Aid has a position description for every student hired.

 

Step 3: Determine Work Schedule

1. Federal regulations prohibit a student from working during hours when he/she is scheduled to be attending classes. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to make certain this does not occur. Each supervisor should request a copy of the student’s class schedule each session and review this information when establishing the student’s work schedule.

 

2. It is recommended that students working part-time while attending classes full-time be limited to working an average of 20 hours per week while classes are in session. The 20-hour average is calculated over the period of enrollment for which the student has received an award. Work performed during break periods may exceed the 20 hour per week average.

 

3. Hourly students are required to stay within the 116 hour policy, however, federal work-study students are exempt from this rule.  Students and timesheet approvers are reminded on the student timesheet on the top portion in red to alert the supervisor once someone nears the 29-hour mark. The 29 hour limit is calculated by adding the total hours worked at all jobs. Learn more about the Part Time Positions policy at https://policies.iu.edu/policies/hr-01-40-temporary-positions/index.html

 

Step 4: Payroll and Timesheet

1. Hiring units are responsible for keeping track of the total student pay and, when applicable, for 25% of the Gross LOE.

 

2. Supervisors must monitor the student pay to ensure that the student does not exceed his/her work-study allotment as specified on the Work-Study Authorization form. If the student nears the total approved amount and needs to request an increase, have the student contact the Office of Financial Aid at least two weeks prior to exhausting funds, to explore the possibility of an increase.

 

 

3. Time Sheet Verification Requirement: Supervisors are required to verify and approve time sheets for all employees, including Work-Study. Allowing time sheets to ‘auto approve’ is not an acceptable practice. Departments that routinely have time sheets ‘auto approve’ may lose eligibility to employ Work-Study students.

 

 

Need Help or Have Questions?

We appreciate your continued cooperation and thank you for taking the time to become familiar with the information contained herein. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Mike Schmaltz at mschmalt@iu.edu  or  Melissa Pace at mepace@iu.edu at the IU South Bend Office of Financial Aid.