Federal Work-Study Processes

If you will be hiring FWS student employees, follow the Federal Work-Study Checklist below.

If your department was awarded Federal Work-Study funds and you want to restrict applicants to only FWS-eligible students, Handshake lets you set this restriction. The information on eligibility will feed from Banner each semester, starting Spring semester 2016.

New Federal Work-Study Allocations

As of fall 2016:

• 65% of students' earnings will come from the FWS program
• 35% will be paid by the department up to the eligible award amount

A template to assist departments in managing their Federal Work-Study student employee budgets.

Federal Work-Study Hiring Checklist

1. CONFIRM POSITION WITH FWS COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR
   1. Create job description and provide to Kathryn Potts via email at kpotts1@iit.edu
2. POST POSITION AND RECRUIT
   1. Post job description in Handshake
   2. Include FWS eligibility requirement in the form and in the position description
3. INTERVIEW AND OFFER POSITION
   1. Interview students and select best candidate/s
   2. Provide student a written offer of employment
4. CONFIRM CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY
   1. To confirm Federal Work-Study eligibility, send Kathryn Potts an email with the following information:
      1. the job description
      2. a list of potential or selected student/supervisor contact information organization number (from Banner FOAP)
      3. job posting ID # from Handshake
5. COMPLETE PAYROLL AUTHORIZATION
   1. Complete EPAF in IIT Portal
   2. Fill out the FWS Hiring Form below and return to Kathryn Potts
      FWS Hiring Form (38.97 KB)
6. PAPERWORK SUBMITTED BY STUDENT
   1. Students complete paperwork, including confidentiality agreement, and submit to SEO
   2. Student processes and FAQs are located here.
7. AUTHORIZATION
   1. Student and Supervisor receive "Payroll Authorization Finalized" email from Student Employment.
8. START
   1. Contact student about start date and training

Important Reminders

1. Students can have only ONE Federal Work-Study position on campus simultaneously, even if the student is working within the 20 total hours per week maximum. If a student is holding two FWS jobs, funds will only be reallocated to one department; the other will pay the full salary
2. Confirm student matriculation for semesters employed
3. The FWS program has specific terms for which reallocation is administered. FWS funds do not apply to students who work outside of this timeframe
4. Funds will be reallocated to ORG on the EPAF unless otherwise indicated
5. Student wages will be initially paid out of department funds; therefore departments should budget accordingly
6. Approvers/supervisors will receive communication when a student is near their FWS award limit
7. Scheduled work hours cannot conflict with official class time
8. During the academic year students are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week
9. Student must be making satisfactory academic progress to remain eligible to participate in the Federal Work-Study Program. This information is available on the Financial Aid Website

Hiring Process Details

1. Departments should post eligible job positions on the Handshake website under the “Hiring Students” section. Instructions for the hiring process can be found in the Career Services website . All job positions are required to be posted electronically only via the Handshake website in an attempt to give all students equal employment opportunity.
   1. In order to ensure that applicants are FWS eligible, we encourage departments to post that FWS eligibility is a requirement for the position and ensure this requirement is visible in multiple areas of the job description.
   2. Individuals who encounter issues with Handshake can contact John Engelhardt at 219.929.6048.
2. Complete the EPAF for student (instructions for adding EPAF channel) The EPAF will indicate whether or not the student has been awarded FWS funding. Instructions on how to hire students are listed in here.
   1. You must use the W code given to your department for FWS use when hiring FWS students.
   2. If the student is not eligible for FWS, the student cannot be hired for a FWS position and your department will not be reallocated the student’s earned wages.
   3. Note that funds will be reallocated to ORG on EPAF unless otherwise indicated in the email sent to the FWS representative.
3. During reallocation, Financial Aid will reallocate 65% of the student’s earnings to your departmental org (the org listed on EPAF) on a monthly basis. The department is responsible for 35% of the student’s earnings up to the eligible award amount.
4. When changes in student staff occur, in order to replace a work study student please complete steps 2-7 in process and indicate that the student is a work-study replacement for your department in the email you send.

Please note that the information listed here is subject to change as enhancements to the Federal Work-Study program continue to be made. Contact Financial Aid office with questions.