Students are responsible for completing all of the requirements below:

• Student Employment Contract
• Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. (Human Resources will need to see Social Security Card to verify legal name if it was not used as identification for I-9 Form.)
• Documentation used for Identification (refer to I-9 form for list of acceptable documents)
• Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
• Direct Deposit Agreement Form
• Voided Check OR Document from Bank including Account and Routing number
• Work Study Student Training form (must be submitted to Financial Aid)

 

Hours & Pay

Federal Work Study is limited to Fall and Spring only and is not available from May 16 to August 15, during which time FWS students will be considered and treated as IWS students. Students are paid once a month (on the last business day of the month) in the form of direct deposit to the student’s bank account. The standard pay for most campus positions is $10.00 per hour. The student and supervisor should establish a work schedule within the guidelines below that is acceptable to both parties. Violation of any guidelines can result in immediate termination.

Guidelines for work hours:

• Students can work a maximum of 20 hours per week while classes are in session.
• Students can work a maximum of 27 hours per week while classes are not in session (ex. spring break).
• Overtime is not authorized for student employees under any circumstances.
• If a student works over 6 hours, they are required by federal law to take a 30 minute break.
• Falsification of reported hours will result in termination from the program.
• Federal Work Study students are prohibited from working during scheduled class times.
• Time worked should be recorded in quarter periods (15 minutes = .25, 30 minutes = .5045 minutes = .75, etc.)

 

Example Pay Period Schedule

Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semester
July 1 – July 15	December 16 – January 15	May 16 – June 15
July 16 – August 15	January 16 – February 15	June 16 – June 30
August 16 – September 15	February 16 – March 15
September 16 – October 15	March 16 – April 15
October 16 – November 15	April 16 – May 15
November 16 – December 15

Students are exempt from Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes as long as the student is enrolled in a minimum of 6 hours (half time). FICA tax is a government tax to fund Social Security and Medicare. The employee’s share is 6.2% of gross pay for Social Security and 1.45% of gross pay for Medicare. However, all students are subject to federal and state income taxes.

Federal Work Study students are eligible to earn up to the amount awarded on their student account. Any portion of the award that remains unearned will be forfeited and cannot be rolled over to a subsequent academic year. Federal Work Study funds are disbursed like all other financial aid resources. Students can view the amount they have been paid-to-date by following the tutorial below:

How to View Your Financial Aid Award

Verifying the Type of Student Worker

Supervisors are responsible for verifying if a student qualifies for Federal or Institutional Work Study prior to completing an employment contract. Supervisors can verify this information by sending an email to Karis Valentine with the student's name and A#. If a student is not eligible for Federal Work Study, yet the supervisor hires the student worker, the student will automatically be considered an Institutional Work Study student and the department will be responsible for 100% of the student’s pay.

 

Job Listing

All departments are required to publicize Work Study positions on the job listing webpage. If the positions have been filled, you may contact Financial Aid to close the job posting. Please follow the instructions below to complete the request:

1. Login to Tiger Web
2. Scroll Down to Faculty & Staff Info
3. Select Forms
4. Scroll to the Financial Aid General Forms section
5. Select Request to Post a Student Employment Vacancy (You will be redirected to the Dynamic Forms webpage - if you do not have log-in credentials, create one)
6. Populate required fields
7. Complete form
8. Click Next
9. Sign Electronically

 

Verifying Student Eligibility / Finalizing Employment

It is the student’s responsibility to search for a Work Study job on the job listing webpage. Please review the steps below on how to verify student eligibility and finalizing employment:

1. Student will contact supervisor regarding job posting
2. Upon hire, supervisor verifies student eligibility with the Work Study Coordinator (prior to creating contract)
3. Interview with potential student worker will be scheduled by the supervisor (optional)
4. If student is eligible for Work Study, the supervisor may create a Student Employment Contract
5. The supervisor will notify student to submit documents needed to secure student employment to Human Resources CBIH-222
6. Work Study Coordinator with give final authorization via email to supervisor allowing student to begin working.

 

Employment Contract & Documents

All supervisors must submit a new contract each academic year in order for a time card to be established. Students are not allowed to begin working until Financial Aid has reviewed all documents and has given the final authorization. The student will be notified via email to complete the student section of the form. To ensure faster processing time, the supervisor should advise the student when they have completed their section. Please follow the instructions below to complete the contract:

1. Login to Tiger Web
2. Click on the Faculty/Staff tab
3. Select Forms
4. Scroll to the Financial Aid General Forms section
5. Select the Student Employment Contract (You will be redirected to the Dynamic Forms webpage - if you do not have log-in credentials, create one)
6. Click Complete This Form
7. Enter the Student’s Name and Chattanooga State Email Address
8. Press Save and Continue to Form
9. Complete the Supervisor Section ONLY
10. Click Next
11. Sign Electronically

 

Monitoring Hours

All supervisors will receive a monthly report of student’s remaining award balance.  Be advised, the balance may slightly differ due to timing issues. However, it is still the supervisors’ responsibility to monitor the student hours and to ensure they do not exceed hours or award amounts and make sure the student is not working during class time. Exceptions are permitted if an individual class is canceled. If a supervisor allows a student to exceed their FWS award amount then the excess amount over the award will be charged to the department’s budget and student will be classified as an institutional worker.

 

Working During Class Time

Work Study students are prohibited from working during scheduled class times, however, exceptions are permitted if an individual class is canceled, dismissed early, or if the instructor has excused the student from attending for a particular day. In such case, the student must complete the Work Study During Class Time Exception form for EACH day this occurs. Please follow the instructions below to complete the form:

1. Login to Tiger Web from the ChattState home page
2. Under Student Info, select Financial Aid
3. From the list, choose “Work Study During Class Time Exception”
4. Student will be directed to Dynamic Forms, select “Complete This Form”
5. You will be asked to enter include the instructor's and supervisor's name and email address.
6. Click Continue. (Incorrect email address will cause form to be invalid)
7. Complete the Student Section of the form.
8. Click Next.
9. Instructor and supervisor will be notified via email to sign the form electronically. (Form is invalid if not signed by instructor and supervisor)
10. Once signed, the document should be kept on file for audit purposes.

If hours are reported during class time without this form on file, student will be immediately terminated for non-compliance with federal regulations. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to warn student of the consequences along with carefully monitoring student class and work schedules.

If a student's class is no longer required to meet and the end of the semester has not been reached, the student may complete one (1) Work Study During Class Time Exception form, however, the student must include a well-detailed description including the class name, instructor name, days/times class meets, and the final day they were required to attend class. The instructor and supervisor must sign this form before the student can return to work during scheduled class time.

 

Timesheets

Timesheets are now functioning electronically through Tiger Web. Students must submit timesheets for approval by midnight (11:59 pm) on the 15th of each month. If a timesheet is not submitted by the 15th, the system will lock the student out and earnings will be delayed to the following month. Supervisors are to approve timesheets no later than the 16th of each month.

 

Disciplinary Action

Infraction of Work Study rules and regulations shall be regarded as cause for disciplinary action.

Steps of disciplinary action:

• Warning #1: Verbal warning & email to Work-Study supervisor
• Warning #2: Final verbal warning & email to Work-Study supervisor
• Warning #3: Verbal warning & email to Supervisor's Boss

Any further non-compliance may result in that department becoming ineligible to participate in the Federal Work-Study program.

 

Important Reminders

1. Federal guidelines prohibit students from working during scheduled class periods. The department should request a copy, EACH SEMESTER, of every student's class schedule so that work schedules and class schedules do not overlap. Do not allow students to work "whenever they want." Instead, set specific hours for students to work. Exceptions are permitted if an individual class is canceled, dismissed early, or if the instructor has excused the student from attending for a particular day. In such case, students must complete the Work Study During Class Time Exception form found on Tiger Web. An electronic signature will be required from the instructor and supervisor. Any such exemptions must be kept on file for audit purposes.
2. Be sure time sheets accurately reflect the time the student has actually worked during the pay period. Time calculations should be double-checked before being submitted.
3. Monitor that your student worker does not work more than 6 consecutive hours without taking a 30 minute unpaid break.
4. Manage the student worker's earnings to assure they do not exceed the allocation specified on the Work Authorization. Your department will be charged for wages your student worker earns above their allocation.