2013 Non Work-Study Supervisor Training
What’s New
1. Educational Stipend The purpose of an Educational Stipend is to support and enhance the overall student
educational experience. It is not the purpose of an Educational Stipend to fully compensate students for all their
contributions, and stipends are not considered wages. Students receiving stipends are not considered employees of
the University for any purpose, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, minimum wage law, or any other law or
policy. The relationship between the University and students receiving a stipend is that of school and student and
not of employer and employee.
a. What you need to know: WCU no longer accepts student contracts. You must receive the Educational
Stipend Acceptance Form and the Educational Stipend Contract form from Carrie Hachadurian.
b. If you in previous years paid your students via a contract and are not sure if their job descriptions qualify
for Educational Stipends, email me with the job description.
c. More policies and information on Educational Stipends can be found at
http://studentemployment.wcu.edu.
2. GPA requirement All Non-Work Study student workers and Educational Stipend recipients must be in good
academic standing with the university.
a. A 2.0 overall GPA requirement will be implemented starting with BW payroll #12.
b. Any student who falls below the 2.0 overall GPA requirement will be terminated.
c. Departments may increase the GPA requirement as necessary.
3. Late timesheet notification Students who turn in late timesheets must complete a paper timesheet are subject to
a late timesheet notification. (Students who fail to turn in their timesheets three times in one semester will be
terminated for the remainder of the semester. Please note if a student does not work during a pay cycle, he/she
does not need to turn in a timesheet)
a. First offense – email sent to student
b. Second offense – email sent to student and supervisor
c. Third offense – terminated from position
4. Failure to approve student timesheets Approvers who fail to approve student timesheets by the deadline are
subject to notices. Three strikes in one academic year and you lose approver privileges.
a. First offense – email sent to approver
b. Second offense – email sent to approver and budget accountable officer
c. Third offense – lose NWS approver privileges, and required to meet with me, accountable officer and
appropriate dean or vice chancellor to reinstate approver privileges.
5. Fill-able PDF forms These will look like the same forms you’ve been using, but they will be fillable PDF
instead of Word documents. These will be ready by BW #12.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many credit hours does a student need to have to work on campus? In addition to a basic 2.0 GPA,
undergraduate and graduate students must have the following required number of credit hours before being
eligible for Non Work-Study student employment and Educational Stipend recipients:
Academic
Term
Undergraduate Minimum Registered
Credit Hours
Graduate Minimum Registered
Credit Hours
Fall
6
5
Spring
6
5
Summer
3, or 0 if enrolled in fall term at above 3, or 0 if enrolled in fall term at
hours
above hours
2. How many hours can a student work during summer sessions? That depends. If the student is NOT registered
for summer classes but is registered for Fall courses, the student may work up to 40 hours a week during summer
(but will be subject to FICA tax). If a student IS registered for summer classes, he/she may work up to 20 hours a
week (or 30 with appropriate approval) during their summer sessions. If a student is registered for summer
classes but not Fall courses, he/she may work until the last day of their summer session class.
3. How can we get approval for our student workers to work more than 20 hours per week? Students other
than international students on F-1 or J-1 Visas may work up to 30 hours per week with special permission. The
supervisor must provide justification including the student’s academic standing and ability to perform additional
hours without impacting the student’s academic standing. The justification may also include special abilities to
do the job and /or the student’s need to work additional hours for pay reasons. The request is submitted to the
Dean and/or appropriate Vice Chancellor for approval and an approved copy is then sent to the Carrie
Hachadurian in Career Services prior to the student working the additional hours. The Dean of the Graduate
School must approve additional hours for any graduate student employee. During semester breaks and times
classes are not in session, students may work up to 40 hours per week with no special approval required.
A Few Reminders
1. Falsifying timesheets Having students “roll” their missed timesheet hours onto the next timesheet is illegal!
Departments must keep accurate documentation on when their students are working for auditing purposes.
Students who miss a timesheet will need to submit a paper timesheet with the correct dates shown.
2. Reporting accurate start dates It is illegal to allow your students to work before they have completed required
paperwork. Please report the correct start date on the hiring/ contract forms. Western stands the risk of being
fined between $500 and $1500 per incident, which will be handed down to the departments responsible.
3. Posting jobs online Departments are required to post jobs to Career Services website
(studentemployment.wcu.edu) for available jobs even if you know who you want to hire. Jobs must be posted a
minimum of 3 days. Please email Carrie Hachadurian (cphachadurian@email.wcu.edu) when you want the job
taken down; otherwise, it’ll be posted for 30 days.
4. Terminating students All students are automatically terminated at the end of the Spring semester. If you hire a
student who is graduating in December, please either use the December graduation date as his/her last day of
work on the hiring form, or submit a termination form.
a. Other reasons for terminating students include:
i. Student drops below required number of credit hours
ii. Student misses three timesheets in one semester
iii. Student drops below minimum required GPA
iv. Student does not work for more than 3 pay cycles (some exceptions to the rule, depending on
nature of job)
v. Student does not meet expectations of employing department
5. Posting List of Acceptable Documents The List of Acceptable Documents new hires will need to bring with
them to complete paperwork is attached to the online hiring form (studentemployment.wcu.edu). Please print this
list on the back of the hiring form (I prefer front-to-back printing rather than two pages stapled together). NOTE:
You cannot tell a student to bring a specific type of document (for example, a Social Security card and a driver’s
license). Make sure they see the List of Acceptable Documents and explain they can either bring something from
List A or something from List B AND List C.
6. Viewing all policies You can view all NWS student employment and Educational Stipend policies online at
studentemployment.wcu.edu
Questions about Non Work-Study or Educational Stipends?
Contact Carrie Hachadurian:
Phone: 828-227-3888
Email: cphachadurian@email.wcu.edu