Student Employee Handbook

Table of Contents

Types of Student Employment
How to Find a Job
Completing the Paperwork
How Your Hourly Wage is Determined
Online Time Cards
Time Card Due Dates / Pay Dates
Your Paycheck
Frequently Asked Questions

Types of Student Employment

Lesley University has two types of student employment: Federal Work-Study and the Lesley Works Program. The difference between the two is that the federal government pays a portion of your Federal Work-Study earnings, whereas Lesley University pays your entire earnings through the Lesley Works Program.

You will know if you are eligible to apply to Federal Work-Study positions if you have a Federal Work-Study award included on your Financial Aid Award Letter. If you cannot locate a copy of your Award Letter, check your award on LOIS by logging in to www.lesley.edu/LOIS and reviewing "Financial Aid by Year." You may also contact the Office of Financial Aid to determine if you were awarded Federal Work-Study. You can stop by our offices to inquire in person (1815 Massachusetts Ave., 3^rd Floor of University Hall), you can call at 617.349.8581, or you can send an email to finaid@lesley.edu.

If you have not been awarded Federal Work-Study, you may apply for a Lesley Works Program position. The registration and application procedures for both programs are the same, but Federal Work-Study students will be given preferential consideration for available positions. It is important to know if you are eligible for Federal Work-Study because some departments only have Federal Work-Study positions available, while others have both.

How to Find a Job

Lesley does not offer job placement services for Federal Work-Study and Lesley Works Program positions. We want you to be happy in your job and believe that the best way to promote job satisfaction is for you to be proactive in choosing your job. That said, should you find that you are having trouble locating a job, feel free to contact the Office of Financial Aid.

You can explore available positions on the Lesley University Student Employment Job Postings website. The first day you are eligible to work will be the first day of class for the fall semester, or the first day of class for the spring semester. You are encouraged to complete the W-4 tax withholding form [pdf] (every student, every school year), and the I-9 employment eligibility verification form [pdf] (if needed) before applying for positions. More information on these forms are below.

When you find a position that interest you, apply online through the Lesley University Student Employment Job Postings website. You may also contact the supervisor listed to see what the hiring procedures are for that department. Some supervisors may ask that you come in for an interview.

Completing the Paperwork

When a supervisor indicates that he or she wants to hire you, you must make sure to complete the employment paperwork in order to begin working. Remember: You cannot begin working until all paperwork is completed.

The paperwork requirements differ depending on whether you are a new student, a returning student, or an international student. Please carefully review the steps outlined below. Both Federal Work-Study students and Lesley Works Program students need to complete the same paperwork.

• New Student

  A new student is defined as a student that has never worked at Lesley previously and is not an International Student. If you are a new International Student, visit the Student Employment for International Students page.

1. Complete the W-4 Form [pdf] and submit it to the Office of Financial Aid.
2. Complete the I-9 Form [pdf] and have it certified by an Office of Financial Aid member. (If you cannot bring the documentation necessary to complete the I-9, you cannot begin working. This paperwork demonstrates that you are eligible to work in the United States.)
3. Apply for positions on the Lesley University Student Employment Job Postings website.
4. Once you have been selected by a supervisor, and if all paperwork is complete, you will receive email notification from the Office of Financial Aid that you have been approved to begin working.

To complete the I-9 form, you need to provide the Office of Financial Aid with original documentation of the following:

 One item from List A   OR   One item from List B   AND   One item from List C

• Returning Student 

  A returning student is defined as a student that has worked at Lesley in a previous year and is not an International Student. If you are a returning International Student, visit the Student Employment for International Students page.

Remember, a new W-4 must be completed every school year.

1. Complete the W-4 Form [pdf] and submit it to the Office of Financial Aid.
2. Apply for positions on the Lesley University Student Employment Job Postings website.
3. Once you have been selected by a supervisor, and if all paperwork is complete, you will receive email notification from the Office of Financial Aid that you have been approved to begin working.

How Your Hourly Wage is Determined

• Undergraduate Students  

Undergraduate student pay rates are determined by the level assigned to the position and by the number of years the student has been working in student employment at Lesley University (notby the student’s grade level). Each position on campus is assigned a level (A, B, C or D) based on the skills required for the position and the degree of responsibility. Undergraduate pay rates are as follows:     

Examples:
1. A freshman at Lesley with an A level job will be paid $8.00/hour. For the second year, the same student would receive $8.50/hour in an A level job. If the same student took a B level job during the sophomore year, he or she would earn $9.00/hour.
2. A sophomore with a B level job working at Lesley for the first time would earn $8.50/hour.

•  Graduate Students*  

At the graduate level (working towards a Master’s or PhD degree), the pay rates are as follows:

*The number of years of employed as an undergraduate student will not be counted in determining the pay rate as a graduate student.

Online Time Cards

Federal Work-Study and Lesley Works student employees submit hours online using TimeSaver, an electronic time entry system. In order to be paid, you must submit an electronic time card to the Payroll Office for the hours you worked according to the schedule and instructions listed below. TimeSaver  cannot be used to submit hours after the payroll deadline has passed. You will have to contact Payroll to complete a paper time card.  

Please review this TimeSaver training video for assistance on submitting an online time card. (check that HR moves this to the new website and recreate the link)

1. In order to access TimeSaver, you will receive a Username and temporary password after your hiring information has been confirmed by the Office of Financial Aid. This information will be sent to your Lesley email address.
2. Certain internet browsers cannot be used to access the TimeSaver website. You must use either Internet Explorer or Firefox to access the site.
3. TimeSaver will not work with any Apple products (iPhone, Mac, or MacBook). You must use a PC to access the site.
4. If you have multiple on-campus jobs, you can only enter time electronically for your primary position. To determine which job is listed as your primary position in TimeSaver, you will need to know the department numbers of each office where you are employed. To submit hours for other jobs, you will need to complete a paper time card.
5. TimeSaver time cards must be completed by 9:00 A.M. of the time card due date. TimeSaver cannot accept electronic time cards after the due date. If you are late, you or your supervisor must contact Rowena Balagtas in Payroll directly (balagtas@lesley.edu). If your time card is not received by the Payroll deadline, you may not be paid until the following pay period.
6. Please note that on-campus work is limited to no more than 20 total hours per week for all students while school is in session. There is no exclusion from the overall on-campus 20 hour-per-week ceiling for work undertaken pursuant to an assistantship, scholarship, etc.

Time Card Due Dates / Pay Dates

All Federal Work-Study and Lesley Works Program student employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule as published by the Finance Office.

Your Paycheck

All Student Employee Paychecks (Federal Work-Study and Lesley Works Program) will be delivered as follows:

1. If you have an active on campus mailbox, your check will be delivered to your mailbox by the campus mailroom.
2. If you work for a department on the Cambridge campus (Doble Campus, Porter Square, or anywhere in between) and you do not have an active on campus mailbox, your paycheck will be sent directly to your department. If you work on campus in more than one department, your check will be sent to the primary department on record.
3. If you work at AIB or for an off campus agency and you do not have an active on campus mailbox, your paycheck will be mailed to you. Please contact Rowena Balagtas in Payroll (balagtas@lesley.edu) to confirm the mailing address on file or to make other arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What will my hours be? How many hours will I work?

   The answer to this question will be different for each student; however, no student may work more than 20 hours per week during school enrollment periods, and 40 hours per week during vacation periods. Your work hours will be determined by you and your Supervisor to meet your Supervisor's needs and your class schedule. Some jobs offer work hours between classes; some during the evening hours; some employ students on weekends; some offer a combination of different hours.

   If you have a Federal Work-Study allotment, the number of hours you can work in order to earn your whole allocation will depend on the amount you have been authorized to earn and the pay rate associated with the job. Review the Student Employment Hours Calculator [pdf] to determine how many hours the standard allocation will allow. If your allocation differs from the standard allocations, the example below will help you calculate your allowed hours.

   EXAMPLE: Assume you have a Federal Work-Study allocation of $1800 for the year and obtain a job paying $8.00 per hour. At $8.00 per hour, you would have to work 225 hours during the academic year to earn $1800. (1800/8.00 = 225). Since there are approximately 28 weeks in the academic year, you would have to work roughly 8 hours per week to accumulate 225 hours (225/28 = 8.04).

2. Do I have to earn my whole allocation?

   No. Your Federal Work-Study allocation represents a maximum amount that you may earn. However, Federal Work-Study allocation is made as part of a financial aid package with the assumption that you NEED these funds to attend Lesley University. If a student does not earn a significant part of her/his allocation, or if a student declines her/his allocation and does not demonstrate how the student replaced these needed funds (for example: working at an off-campus job), the Financial Aid Office will assume that the student did not need as much financial aid as was awarded. Future financial aid packages, including grant aid, may be reduced.

   Since you are not allowed to deduct any Federal Work-Study funding from your Student Account charges, any money you earn is to be used for personal expenses. If you do not earn your entire award, you simply do not receive that money. You will not owe the school any unearned money.

3. Do I have to work only one job? Can I have more than one job?

   You can have as many jobs as you want! Students are restricted to 20 hours of employment per week while school is in session, and 40 hours per week during vacation periods. (For U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents, this is a university policy. For International Students, this is a federal law.) You may not earn more money than your allocation. You may have found a job you really want, but it cannot give you enough hours to earn your total allocation. In this case you may want to look for a second position to fill your remaining hours.

   Some employers may have a need for students to work on a temporary basis for a special project or to fill a heavy work period. If you have additional hours you want to fill, you may choose to apply for these temporary jobs. New positions are posted on the Lesley University Student Employment Job Postings website throughout the year. Check the site frequently for new or part-time positions. Remember: You must apply online for each job.

4. If I report a change of name and/or address to the Registrar’s Office, does Payroll receive that information?

   NO! You must report name and/or address changes directly to the Payroll Coordinator by sending an email to Rowena Balagtas at balagtas@lesley.edu.

5. Can I earn more than my allocation?

   In most cases, NO! Your work allocation is determined as part of your financial aid package, and there is a limit to the amount of financial aid you can receive. If you earn more than your allocation without the permission of the Financial Aid Office, other aid which has been offered to you may have to be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis. In other words, you will be working for nothing!

6. How can I use my pay? Can I spend it any way I like?

   Your wages are for your expenses as a student. This includes personal expenses, books, supplies, transportation, laundry, entertainment, etc. You may also save money for future tuition payments.

   When the Office of Financial Aid determined your eligibility for aid, we understood that in addition to tuition, fees, room and board (if applicable) which are billed directly by Lesley University, that you will incur additional expenses associated with being a student. Your Federal Work-Study allocation has been awarded to assist you with these everyday personal expenses.

7. Do I have to pay taxes on my Federal Work-Study earnings?

   Federal Work-Study is taxable income, but is exempt from FICA if you are taking at least a 50% course load. You must complete a W-4 form with the Office of Financial Aid before you may begin working. The amount of taxes withheld from your pay will depend upon how many exemptions you claim on your W-4 form. The amount of income that you earn in a particular calendar year, plus the amount of your withholdings, will determine whether or not you will owe taxes at the end of the year.

8. What about confidentiality?

   Confidential information is very important and should be dealt with in the most professional manner. Breach of confidentiality will not be tolerated. Students who leak confidential information will have their employment terminated immediately.

9. When can I begin working?

   You can begin working when the online hiring process has been approved by the Office of Financial Aid. You may not begin working any earlier than the first day of the fall semester, even if your employment paperwork has been completed before that date.

10. What types of jobs are available?

    A wide variety of jobs are available on the Lesley campus. A vast majority involve office skills, but many do not require much previous experience. You are encouraged to review all positions for jobs which suit your available time, interests, and skills.

11. Can I subtract my work allocation from my bill and have my checks go directly to my billed charges?

    No. If you wish to use your work-study earnings to help pay tuition charges, you can save your money for future bill payments or join one of Lesley's monthly payment plans and contribute your monthly earnings to your monthly payment plan.

12. What are my responsibilities as a student employee?

    A Federal Work-Study job or Lesley Work Program job is no different than any other job you may have had. You are expected to work the hours you have scheduled with your employer; to be punctual; to do your job carefully, honestly, and to the best of your ability. You are expected to notify your supervisor in advance if you are unable to work your expected hours and make arrangements with your supervisor to make-up any missed hours. You are expected to notify your supervisor if you are sick or unable to work due to some emergency.

    You and your supervisor have a working relationship. Your supervisor should be notified if you are having any difficulties in your position.

13. I can't get fired............can I?

    Unfortunately, the answer to this question is "yes". You should approach your work-study job exactly the same way you would approach any job. Your supervisor is relying on you the same way he or she relies on any employee. If you are sick, you should inform your supervisor immediately. In some instances, supervisors expect you to find someone else to cover your hours for you. Excessive absences and unsatisfactory work are grounds for dismissal. Although it doesn't happen often, it can happen.

14. If I quit my job does that prevent me from being awarded Federal Work-Study in the future?

    No, however, you should not just "walk away" from a work study position. If you are unable to work, after securing a position, you should notify your supervisor as soon as you realize there may be a problem. You must notify your supervisor, as well as the Financial Aid Office of your decision. When applying for aid in future years, you may be offered work study again, regardless of what happens in a prior year.

15. When do I have to stop working?

    You must stop working as soon as you have earned your entire work-study award. It is the student's responsibility, as well as the supervisor's responsibility, to keep track of the hours and the income you are earning. The Office of Financial Aid will make its best effort to notify you when you are close to using up your award. Provided that you still have money left, you can work through the end of the school year.

16. What if I have questions about my employment?Any questions or concerns you may have should be directed to the Office of Financial Aid. Our office is located on the 3rd floor, Porter Exchange Building, Suite 380. We also can be reached at 617).349.8581 or at finaid@lesley.edu. Don't hesitate to call or stop by the office.