Hiring a FWS Student (Community Partners) | WVU Hub

How to Hire FWS Students

There are different steps to hire FWS students – depending on if you are a WVU department (i.e. an “on-campus” employer) or a Community Partner (nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization). The steps on this section are for hiring a FWS student for Community Partners only.

Submit a Community Partner Agreement

New Community Partners: A Community Partner Agreement between your organization and West Virginia University will need to be completed before the hiring process begins.
Returning Community Partners: A Community Partner Agreement will need to be completed each year before the hiring process begins; contracts for returning Community Partners will be sent out before the start of the next academic year.

The Community Partner Agreement can be found on our FWS Supervisor Forms webpage.

Complete Supervisor Training

Supervisor training must be completed before supervisors will be able to hire new workers. Once completed, training will not be required in a consecutive year unless requested by the Federal Work-Study Team. For more information, visit our Supervisor Resources webpage.

Submit a Job Request Form for a New Position

Previously posted work-study positions will not be re-posted each academic year. Supervisors must request a new listing or request a previous position to be re-posted if they are interested in new or additional applicants. Each academic year, new Handshake Job IDs will be assigned and supervisors will be notified.

A Job Request Form (available on our FWS Supervisor Forms webpage under the Post a New FWS Position section) must be submitted for each position. If you are hiring more than one student for the same position, only one form is necessary.

The duties listed on the form should describe the position, not the ideal candidate to fill the position.
WVU Hub staff will review the FWS Job Request Form and enter the position information into Handshake. Once position information is entered into Handshake, a position number will automatically be assigned to your position.

Interview and Select Prospective FWS Employees

Students will apply for open positions through Handshake. If a student applies for your position you will receive an email with the student’s application.

The following information will be attached to the email:

Student's resume
Work availability and/or class schedule
Any other information you required for your position

Once you have reviewed the student's application email, you may:

Contact student to set up an in personal interview
Contact student to conduct a phone interview
Hire directly from the information contained within the student’s application

Students may apply for more than one position at a time. However, the first supervisor to submit a Federal Work-Study New Hire Form to hire a student will be the supervisor that student is assigned to. Therefore, it is important to review the job referral emails and select your desired employees in a timely manner.

Hire Your Selected FWS Employee

To hire a student, submit the Federal Work-Study New Hire Form.

Your selection will be reviewed by Student Financial Services staff to make sure that the student is eligible for work-study and that no other department/agency has already hired the student.

Wait for Confirmation from Shared Services Before Work Begins

If another department/agency has already hired the student you requested, you will be notified that the student was already selected for another position.

If no other department/agency has hired the student but the student has not processed for payroll, you and the student will receive an email confirming the assignment and next steps the student must take for payroll.

Once the student has processed for payroll, you will receive an onboarding email from Shared Services that includes the student’s start date and employee information. You MUST receive the onboarding email before the student can begin working. At no time should a student begin working in a Federal Work-Study job assignment unless the onboarding email from Shared Services containing the start date and employee information has been received. This communication will resemble the sample email below:

"Please print a copy of the on-boarding information listed below for your employee. If your employee has not already activated their account, please have them go to https://login.wvu.edu on or after the access start date provided below and follow the instructions to claim their account and create a password.

Employees must immediately enroll in two-factor authentication. After creating their password, they should return to the main screen at https://login.wvu.edu, click My Login and follow the instructions. They should be ready to install the Duo Mobile app on a smartphone.

Employee Number ----- 123456789
Employee Name ----- Man, Iron
WVUID ----- 826124748
Username ----- im40001
Email Address ----- iron.man@mix.wvu.edu
Assignment Number ----- 8675309
Employee Start Date ----- 18-MAR-2020
Position Title ----- Office Assistant
Supervisor ----- Fury, Nicholas
HR Unit ----- ANRD Animal and Nutritional Sciences L4 Access"

The department/agency will be required to pay any earnings for any student placed on FWS funding who otherwise was not eligible for FWS.

Set a Start Date and Schedule with the Student

Once you have received the official onboarding email, work with the student to determine their first day of work and their schedule for the semester. Remember, their first day of work must be on or after the official “Start Date” from the onboarding email.

Introduction to Workplace

Your student may arrive with little or no work experience. It will benefit both you and the student to take the time to introduce the student to the different aspects of the workplace.

Describe both the big picture goals and daily activities of your department.
Discuss the student's duties, responsibilities, and how they are expected to interact with other members of the department. Consider having the student sign a Federal Work-Study Agreement (click here to download a sample work-study agreement).
If a student has access to confidential records in their work-study position, they must be informed/trained on FERPA, HIPAA and any other WVU privacy policies. The student must also sign any applicable confidentiality statements.
Explain to the student how they should record their time worked. Do not permit students to enter time for other students.
Explain that payment will only be rendered for hours worked; students will not be paid for studying or completing classwork.
Outline your expectations of the student's work. Agree on a specific work schedule and on procedures for reporting absences or delays.
If applicable, assign a workstation, show the student where to find work materials, and where to secure personal belongings.

Monitor Time Worked and FWS Award Usage

You must monitor the hours students work to ensure they:

Do not go over the hours they are permitted to work per week (no more than 28 hours unless during the times they are permitted to work up to 40 hours);
Do not work during scheduled class hours. Exceptions are permitted – and must be documented – for the following reasons: an individual class is canceled, the student has been excused from attending for the day, or if the student is receiving credit for employment.
Have clocked out for at least half an hour break if they work six or more hours in a day;
Do not earn more than their Federal Work-Study offer allows (departments/agencies will be required to pay any earnings paid that go over the student’s work-study allotment).

You can use a spreadsheet to track hours worked, work-study funds used, and remaining work-study allotment (click here to download a spreadsheet with formulas already built in for these calculations).

For more information on permissible work hours - including days when students are not permitted to work - visit our Managing a FWS Student webpage.

Review or Submit Time Cards

There are different steps to review or submit time cards for FWS students – depending on if you are a WVU department (i.e. an “on-campus” employer) or a Community Partner (nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization).

Community Partners follow these steps to submit time cards to the Federal Work-Study Administrator on a weekly basis:

Click here to download a time card template spreadsheet. Community Partner supervisors are required to use this spreadsheet to submit time cards.
Time card spreadsheets must be submitted weekly by noon on Friday.
For a list of payroll deadlines, please visit the Pay Schedules website.

Tax Withholding Guidelines for Student Employees

If a student is enrolled half-time or less, this may impact tax withholdings. Their supervisor should provide the information below regarding tax withholdings. For more information on IRS student worker tax withholding guidelines, visit the IRS Student FICA website.

Questions

Question 1: Are you an International Student considered a Non-Resident Alien (NRA) for income-tax purposes?

YES: You are not subject to Social Security or Medicare tax withholding on income paid for work, regardless of the number of credit hours you are enrolled for the current semester.
NO: You are either a U.S. citizen or are considered a Resident Alien (RA) for income tax purposes therefore you are subject to Social Security and Medicare tax withholding on income paid for work unless an exemption applies under the Student FICA rules. See Question 2.
UNSURE: You are an International Student but do know if you are considered an NRA or an RA for income tax purposes. Please contact Tax Services for assistance.

Question 2: Are you a student employed by WVU in a student employee position (not a regular employee)?

YES: You are potentially exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax withholding on income paid for work depending upon the number of credit hours you are enrolled for during the current semester. See Question 3.
NO: You are employed by WVU in a non-student worker position therefore you are subject to Social Security and Medicare tax withholding on income paid for work regardless of the number of credit hours you are enrolled for during the current semester.

Question 3: Are you a student employed by WVU in a student worker position who is enrolled at least half-time or greater during the current semester?

YES: You are not subject to Social Security or Medicare tax withholding on income paid for work. You are considered exempt.
NO: You are subject to Social Security or Medicare tax withholding on income paid for work. You are considered non-exempt.

Semesters	Undergraduate Enrollment	Graduate Enrollment
Fall and Spring	6 credit hours or more = Exempt 5 credit hours or less = Non-Exempt	5 credit hours or more = Exempt 4 credit hours or less = Non-Exempt
Summer	6 credit hours or more = Exempt 5 credit hours or less = Non-Exempt	3 credit hours or more = Exempt 2 credit hours or less = Non-Exempt

Employee Benefits

A student employee is not eligible to receive other employment benefits such as paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, unemployment insurance, or permanent status.

Retirement Savings Plans

A 403(b) Tax Deferred Retirement Savings Plan is available to employees, including those employees not otherwise entitled to benefits. Should a student employee wish to enroll, an “Enrollment Form” for a selected vendor, either TIAA-CREF or Great West, is required. In addition, a “Non-Benefit Eligible Salary Reduction Agreement,” where the student employee will indicate the amount to be contributed each pay, is required. Both forms are available on the WVU Talent and Culture Forms website. If a student does not have access to a computer, they are responsible for informing the department or the Division of Human Resources so that a solution may be determined.