Frequently Asked Questions for Federal Work Study Timesheets
When can a student employee start working?Student employees may not start working until they have received written notification showing they have been awarded Federal Work Study and the first day of classes for the semester has arrived. Also, student employees will not receive a paycheck until all paperwork has been processed by Human Resource Services. Any student employee working prior to that time will not be paid retroactively for hours worked. As student employees must be paid for all hours worked, the work sites are responsible for paying the students out of their own funds if the student starts working prior to being awarded by Student Financial Aid.
How are hours and remaining funds calculated?
When completing a timesheet, the student employee should follow the guidelines listed on the back of the timesheet to calculate hours according to Human Resource Services policies. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that hours have been calculated properly prior to submission of the timesheet to the Student Financial Aid Office. Please remember that student employees can work up to 20 hours per week while classes are in session, including finals week. Both the student employee and the supervisor should keep a biweekly running tally of the amount of hours worked and dollars earned by the student employee to ensure that the student's Federal Work Study award will continue to cover the wages for hours worked. Financial Aid will furnish supervisors with written notification of the remaining Federal Work Study award amounts for their student employees twice a semester to verify the tally of hours that has been kept to that point.
Who must sign the student employee's timesheet?
Both the student employee and supervisor are required to sign the timesheet in order for it to be processed. The supervisor's signature must be legible in order to verify that the supervisor on record has signed the timesheet.
When should timesheets be submitted?
All timesheets must be submitted to the supervisor according to the due date for bi-weekly timesheets.
May a timesheet be submitted by a student employee?
Yes. For students who work off-campus at a community work site, timesheets may be submitted in a sealed envelope. Only timesheets submitted to Financial Aid in this format will be accepted.
Are student employees required to take lunch breaks?
All student employees are entitled to have a 30-minute lunch break if they work six to eight consecutive hours. If a student employee works the maximum of eight consecutive hours, he/she is entitled to a lunch break of one hour. The student employee should sign out on his/her timesheet for lunch and sign back in when returning from lunch.
What should a student employee do if the timesheet needs to be turned
in prior to finishing work hours for that time period?
Hours may be projected if they are to be worked after the deadline for processing timesheets. If there is a difference between the projected and actual hours worked, this difference should be reflected in hours reported on the next pay period's timesheet.
** Not following these guidelines may result in timesheets being returned to supervisors or held until the next pay period. Falsification of timesheets or continued violation of this policy may result in the student becoming ineligible to participate in the Federal Work Study program.