Work-Study Hiring and Compensation

The Federal Work-study program provides opportunities for Kirkwood students to acquire real world job skills while pursuing their educational goals. Work-study students are an integral part of the College’s ability to meet operational objectives. Work-study assignments are designed to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience in their career field or to develop general work skills that are transferable to a multitude of different jobs.

The process is as follows:

1. Work-study students who are eligible for work-study dollars will receive an eligibility email from Kirkwood Community College confirming their eligibility.
2. Eligibility emails will direct students to the work-study job listing site.
3. To be considered for a position, work-study students must apply through the website. 
4. Work-study students must be enrolled in at least one Title IV class.
5. Once hired, a Financial Aid Program Manager awards the student the work-study award. 

Hiring Department Responsibilities

Qualified work-study students who apply for a work-study position will be interviewed either by phone, video chat, or in-person. All qualified work-study candidates must be interviewed, unless the pool of work-study candidates exceeds five students. In that case only the top five work-study candidates need to be interviewed. For off-campus work-study partners, Kirkwood will defer to the entity’s application review and interview process, provided the entity is not in violation of Kirkwood’s non-discrimination policy. The hiring department must verify the student’s work-study eligibility with the Financial Aid Office.

The hiring department will complete the New Hire Work-study Form indicating, the award amount they are requesting for the work-study student.

Work-study students will need to complete the new hire packet that includes: HR cover letter, ACA Disclosure, W4, I-9, and direct deposit.

1. Work-study students will not have to redo their new hire paperwork if they have worked in the last three months.
2. All student employees must complete and pass a background investigation. This includes all work-study students.  HR will cover the cost for the background checks.

To ensure that work-study students are properly compensated for the work that they perform for the College, their job responsibilities/classification will be placed into one of three pay bands.

1. Work-study students may be paid up to 10% above the minimum of their pay classification so long as it does not exceed the pay of regular part-time employees. To request a salary adjustment above the minimum, the employer/department must submit their reasons in writing to the Human Resources Department.
2. Returning work-study students who return for a second fiscal year and who have been in the position for six months or longer prior to the new fiscal year, may receive an increase equal to that of the part-time staff at Kirkwood.
3. Work-study students may not work more than 20 hours a week during the school year. Work-study students may work up to 28 hours per week during break periods and during the summer.

Hiring departments will need to notify the Financial Aid Office and the Human Resources Department when the work-study student concludes their assignment.

Financial Aid Office Responsibilities

The Financial Aid Office will manage the work-study program, providing departments with the resources needed so they can monitor their department budget.

When individual work-study funding levels fall near the $500 mark, the Financial Aid Office will verify with the department whether or not they plan to continue to employ the student. If employment will continue, Financial Aid Office will:

1. Attempt to increase the work-study award amount for the student by examining student’s need as well as the department’s budget; or
2. Notify the department that the Human Resources department will switch the student to a regular part-time employment status.

Each year in March, the Financial Aid Office will request completed "Work-study Budget Request" forms from the departments for the upcoming award year. These will typically be due in the first week of April.

Every March/April, the Financial Aid Office will verify with existing work-study employers/departments their need for work-study students for the upcoming fiscal year.

1. Employer/Departments should inform the Financial Aid Office by June 1 of any returning work-study students. Departments should encourage students to file the FAFSA as soon as possible.
2. The Financial Aid Office will confirm with the employer/department the amount of the work-study funding available for their area for the upcoming fiscal year.
3. An employer/department that is not actively looking to fill their work-study position/s and has not filled the position by November 1st will have their funding re-allocated to other departments for that fiscal year.
4. The Financial Aid Office will continually review employer/department work-study accounts to ensure they are actively being utilized. If accounts are not being fully utilized, the Financial Aid Office will review the accounts in partnership with the employer/department and reallocate the funds based on usage.
5. If the employer/department has not used a work-study in the previous two fiscal years, they will be removed from the list along with their funding and will have to reapply if they wish to hire a work-study student.
   1. Employers/Departments that reapply will need to provide a job description if a current one is not on file.
   2. Employers/Departments will need to complete the "Work-study Budget Request" form.
   3. Employers/Departments will need to provide the part-time G/L for their respective departments when completing the work-study form. This G/L code will only be used in cases where the work-study will be retained by the department on a regular part-time basis and work-study funding is no longer available.

The Financial Aid Program Manager is responsible for ensuring students are not overawarded. The Director of Financial Aid is responsible for ensuring work-study funds are appropriately utilized. The Financial Aid Office maintains a record of student eligibility for work-study funds and total amounts earned.

Human Resources Department Responsibilities

The Human Resources (HR) department is responsible for processing and issuing payments to the work-study students.

Each payment period, the HR department is responsible for sending reports to the Financial Aid Office that show the amount earned and any overawards. 

The HR department maintains records of student employment.