Could you use extra help in your department? Consider hiring a Federal Work-Study student employee.
Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a federal aid program that helps undergraduate and graduate students with financial need earn money to help pay education expenses.
The cost of paying a FWS student is not charged to your department. The U.S. Department of Education pays 75 percent of a FWS student?s earnings, and even the remaining 25 percent university share does not come from your department’s budget.
If you’d like to learn more about hiring, request a copy of the Student Employment Handbook from the Career Center by contacting Robyn Russell at x42730 or {rrrussell@towson.edu}. The Student Employment Handbook explains each step of the hiring process and the university guidelines for student employment.
The process for hiring a FWS student employee is simple:
1. Post the FWS job advertisement on the Career Center web page. For more information on this process, refer to the Student Employment Handbook or contact Robyn Russell at x42730.
2. Review student applications and interview candidates.
3. Contact Sarah Richardson, Financial Aid Office Federal Work-Study Coordinator, at x43890 or srichardson@towson.edu to verify the amount of the applicant?s FWS eligibility. This is very important, as a non-FWS student could apply for your position.
4. Hire an FWS student by completing a pink Special Payment Payroll Authorization (311-T Form), available from the Payroll Office. The student should present the completed 311-T form to the Payroll Office with proper identification in order to receive clearance to begin work.
More useful information about FWS:
1. Students usually receive FWS for the academic year, with the eligibility split evenly between the fall and spring semesters.
2. From July 1 until the beginning of the spring semester, a student can use the fall half of the FWS eligibility. Any unearned portion of the fall half can be earned during the spring semester. However, the student may not start earning the spring half of the award until the spring semester starts. A student may earn FWS funds through the last contingent payroll of the fiscal year.
3. A student cannot carry forward any unearned eligibility over into the next academic or fiscal year. The student must receive a new FWS eligibility order to work in the next academic or fiscal year.
4. Never allow a student to work in a new academic or fiscal year until you have confirmed that the Financial Aid Office has offered the student FWS for the new academic year, and that the student has accepted FWS.
5. Be mindful that a student may have already earned part of his or her FWS eligibility at another job, or might currently have another FWS job on-campus. When hiring the student, you should ask the following questions:
“Have you earned (or are you earning) Federal Work-Study in any other job this academic year (July 1-June 30)?” If yes, “how much have you earned?” “Who was your supervisor?” (Call the supervisor and ask how much FWS the student has already earned or expects to earn at the other job.)
Schedule your FWS student?s work hours to allow the earnings to spread over the course of the academic year. If a student?s FWS eligibility is nearly exhausted, have the student contact the Financial Aid Office to find out if an increase is possible. A student who runs out of FWS eligibility must stop working under the FWS program, and the cost of any FWS earnings that exceed the student?s eligibility will be charged to your department?s Regular Student Employment budget. If you want the student to continue working, re-clear the student through the Payroll Office to work under the Regular Student Employment Program.
Remember, working on campus gives a student a greater sense of being part of the university community. And, when you hire Federal Work-Study student, you know that you are helping a student with financial need to afford college.
For more information, contact: Sarah Richardson, Financial Aid Office, Federal Work-Study Coordinator, at x43890 or {srichardson@towson.edu}.
