Federal Work Study

About the Federal Work-Study Program

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a federally funded program that allows students who have a demonstrated financial need to work part-time on- or off- campus. The University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) actively participates in the FWS program and provides opportunities to hundreds of students every year. The FWS funds serve as an additional source of financial aid for students who meet the eligibility.

Federal Regulations
To become eligible for FWS, student must meet the following requirements:

Complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA) by April 1st
Indicate on the FAFSA that they are interested in the FWS program. The FAFSA record must demonstrate that a student has a financial need for FWS
Be a U.S citizen or permanent resident
Enroll in at least half-time in a degree or certificate program,
Achieve satisfactory academic progress and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA for undergraduate students, and a 3.0 GPA for graduate students
Not be in default for a prior loan

Community Services
To meet with federal regulations, a percentage of students who are awarded FWS will be required to work for community-based organizations. The purpose of the program is to allow students to participate in community service based activities by providing services that help improve the community. Hence to meet with federal quota seven percent of student who are awarded FWS will be required to select off campus positions

UMSL Federal Work Study Policies and Procedures

Send emails to all FWS students reminding them that they must complete the FAFSA by April 1st to be eligible for FWS in the upcoming year
Send a rehire form via email to all FWS supervisors the 1st week of April to inquire whether or not they want to rehire current FWS students. Supervisors must return the form to the Financial Aid office by April 30th for processing.
Update and inform all supervisors about the new MO code for work study for the upcoming year
Keep a copy of “new hires” FWS application available at the front desk for new hires to complete. The form will be available the 1st Monday in April, and completed on a first come first served basis. It will be kept in numerical order at the front desk for tracking purpose
Make an Excel spreadsheet of all rehire and new hire students and keep it on file
Keep track of how many positions are open as a result of student not continuing with the program to help with projection of how many opening we might have for the upcoming year. (from the rehire list)
Check and see if students meet eligibility to work, Students have two options as it pertain to summer work study they can either choose to enroll in summer courses and work part time or work full time and not enroll in summer courses. The only way a FWS student will be allowed to work on a full time basis during the summer is if they are current FWS awardees. Also they need have a completed FAFSA for the next academic year completed(this includes verification and C-Flags completed) and fall enrollment posted on their account. GPA requirements are not required at this point for the summer. Rehire students are the only one eligible to work as part of the FWS program during the summer. If we have funding, summer work study would be available for the students who are interested and eligible for Federal Work Study. A FWS student does have a choice not to work summer, but can continue into the Fall semester if student meets eligibility requirements.
Copy of the rehire and new hires form is available in the appendix section of this document.

Award and Hiring process
The office of Student Financial Aid will review student eligibility for FWS. Once students are awarded FWS, they will receive notification via their UMSL email, and given the opportunity to accept or decline the offer. Once they accept the award they will be asked to complete the following steps.

Contact Student Financial Aid, and attend a mandatory orientation meeting.
Bring the following documentation to the orientation: their social security card, driver’s license, a copy of voided check for direct deposit for a checking account, a deposit slip for direct deposit in a saving account
Complete all the initial and required paperwork for FWS
Seek a suitable FWS position on and off campus. FWS positions are available on and off campus, students are free to apply to any FWS position posted on the UMSL career service website (https://fusion.umsl.edu/career/workstudy/list.cfm?job_type=F). Students must contact the UMSL career center about FWS open positions
Contact the FWS site or department supervisor and schedule an interview.
Inform the office of Student Financial Aid about their progress and once they have secured a position
Complete the FWS position search within a month of attending the orientation. If student fail to secure a job or are not making progressive effort to secure a job within the allocated time, their award will be cancelled and given to the next student on the list

Supervisor roles and responsibilities as it relates to FWS
Supervisors of FWS sites are responsible for providing a job orientation to FWS students who are hired to work in their departments and for going over all the department rules and regulations. They are also expected to do the following:

Create a workable schedule that would fit both their organizations and the student schedule
Provide a student with a list of their tasks and responsibilities
Provide information about how the student time and pay will be tracked and submitted to avoid any issues with Payroll
Supervisors must ensure that FWS student does not work beyond the allotted FWS budget

Work Schedule
Supervisors in each worksite are responsible for designing a work schedule that is suitable to the needs of the department and student. Students are not allowed to work during time that conflict with their classes. It is always advised that a suitable time be found among both parties. If for any reason a student must miss work, they must inform their supervisors and make up for any loss time. The maximum number of hours that students are allowed to work under FWS is 20 hours per week. During the winter, fall and spring break, when classes are not in session students may work up to 40 hours per week, if they have not exhausted their funding.

Payroll
Time Sheets

Supervisors must validate and report all student FWS hours worked to Human Resources for processing at the end of each pay period.
FWS students are paid electronically through direct deposit twice a month.
For all on campus positions, students must complete and submit their timesheet online by going to the link MyHR located on the UMSL website (https://myhr.umsystem.edu/psp/prd/?cmd=login).
Once they get to the link the student will log into the Human Resources section of the website by using their UMSL username and password.
Supervisors are responsible for explaining the completion of the timesheet process to FWS students working on campus.
Once a student reports their time, the supervisor must validate the time submitted on the system before HR pays the student for that time period. Supervisors must also ensure that the time reported is accurate and that student did not work overtime and are still within the FWS amount allocated for the academic year.
For off campus positions, students must still submit their timesheet information electronically through the UMSL Human resources website (https://myhr.umsystem.edu/psp/prd/?cmd=login).
The supervisor at the offsite location must complete a paper time sheet and fax the approval to Sherlie Wilson at 516-5408 in the Student Financial Aid Office. Students who fail to complete their time sheet electronically run the risk of missing their payment for the designated pay period.

Note
Supervisors and students alike must keep track of the earnings in order to avoid an overpayment of the student FWS budget. In case of overpayment, the department or organization will be responsible for paying the amount in excess of the budget. Once a student reaches their maximum FWS budget, Student Financial Aid will inform the supervisor. At that time the department should only allow the student to continue working if they will be paid from another source.

Paychecks
All FWS students will receive their paycheck electronically to the account of their choice and will be paid for the number of hours worked.

Separation, Job termination or Cancellation of the FWS award

Students who fail to meet the minimum requirement for FWS will be dismissed from the program.
If a student no longer wishes to participate in the FWS program we ask that they contact their immediate supervisor and Student Financial Aid as soon as possible.
In case of termination, supervisors are required to contact Student Financial Aid and complete the necessary paperwork if any.
If a student is terminated from one department, they will be reviewed by the Student Financial Aid for FWS eligibility. If they are still eligible for FWS they can find another position another position on or off campus, the old department will forward a turn around PAF form to the new department.
In the case of transfer between departments, supervisors must complete a transfer form and send it to the Human Resource for processing.

Additional Information

UMSL Financial Aid Office                                                     314-516-5526
FWS Coordinator (Vicky)                                                        314-516-6394
FAFSA Website                                                                       www.fafsa.ed.gov
Financial Aid Important Dates
January 1                                                         FAFSA become available
March 1                                                           FAFSA Priority deadline for submission and renewal
April 1                                                                                   State FAFSA priority for need based aid

Federal Work Study required forms
The following forms must be complete and submitted to the Human Resources department
Personal Action Form
Direct Deposit
I-9 Employment Verification Form
Federal Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Missouri Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Personal Data Form
Student Employee FICA checklist

If you have any questions, you can either e-mail Kristen Wilke or give us a call at 314-516-5114.