2009 - 2010 Student Employment Handbook

Table of Contents

• Types of Student Employment at Lesley University
• How to Find a Job
• Completing the Paperwork
• How Your Hourly Wage is Determined
• How and When Do You Get Paid?
• Completing the Timecard
• Timecard Due Date (both Programs)
• Where Is My Paycheck?
• Frequently Asked Questions

TYPES OF ON-CAMPUS STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

Lesley University has two types of student employment: Federal Work-Study and Lesley Work 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 Work 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 Award Letter from the Financial Aid Office. If you cannot locate a copy of your Award Letter, please check your award on LOIS. You may also contact the Financial Aid Office to determine if you were awarded Federal Work-Study. We are located on the 3^rd Floor of University Hall (1815 Massachusetts Ave.), by phone at 617.349.8581, or by email at finaid@lesley.edu.

If you have not been awarded Federal Work-Study, you may apply for a Lesley Work 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 Work 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, please feel free to contact the Financial Aid Office.

You can explore available positions on the Lesley Student Employment website here. 2009-2010 positions will be posted toward the end of summer. The first day students are eligible to work will be Wednesday, September 9th. Students are encouraged to complete the W-4 tax exemption form (every student, every school year), and the I-9 identification form (if needed) before they apply for positions.

When you find a position that you are interested in please apply online through the Student Employment website. You may also contact the supervisor listed to see what the hiring procedures for that department are. 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 Work 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, please see "Information for International Students".

1. Complete the W-4 Form and submit it to the Financial Aid Office.
2. Complete the I-9 Form and have it certified by the Financial Aid Office*.
3. Apply for positions on the Lesley Student Employment website.
4. Once you have been selected by a supervisor, and if all paperwork is complete, you will receive email notification from the Financial Aid Office that you have been approved to begin working.

*Please note: 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.

To Complete the I-9 form, you need to provide the Financial Aid Office 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, please see "Information for International Students".

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

Please click here for a step-by-step guide to Work Authorization for the international student.

HOW YOUR HOURLY IS WAGE DETERMINED

The current pay rates are listed below:

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(not by 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:

For Example:

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:

*Important!!! Please be advised that the number of years of employmed as an undergraduate student will not be counted in determining the pay rate as a graduate student.

HOW AND WHEN DO YOU GET PAID?

In order to be paid, you must submit a timecard to the Payroll Office for the hours you worked according to the schedule and instructions listed below. The timecards are different for the Federal Work-Study and Lesley Work Program. The timecard due date is the same for both programs. Federal Work-Study timecards are available from the Financial Aid Office; Lesley Work Program timecards are available from your Supervisor. In order to be paid on time, you must make sure that you use the correct time card.

Below are the instructions for completing the timecards.

In reviewing the instructions, please keep in mind that timecards must be complete, legible, and correct, or you will not be paid. Any timecards that are incomplete or not legible will be returned to the supervisor. No exceptions will be made.

Instructions for completing biweekly Federal Work-Study & Lesley Work Program timecards:

1. Complete the Name, Social Security Number, Department Name, and Department Budget Number fields (off-campus agencies will not have a Department Budget Number, but the agency name must be printed in the Department Name field). All fields must be filled out, and all entries must be legible in order to be processed. You must use ink, not pencil. (NOTE: On the Lesley Work Program time card there is no field for social security number, but it is helpful if you include it with your name.)
2. Complete the pay period ending dates using a mm/dd/yy format. For example, November 2, 2007 would be 11/02/07. Pay periods are 2-week periods that begin on a Monday and end a week from the following Sunday. Period ending dates must be legitimate period ending dates that correspond to the enclosed schedule. If a period ending date entry does not coincide with a legitimate period ending date, the timecard will be sent back for correction and will not be processed until the following pay period.
3. If any changes are made on the timecard, the entry to be changed must be crossed out (do not use white out) and initialed by the Supervisor signing the timecard.
4. Entries for number of hours worked on a given day must be in number of hours, not the actual time period. For example, if the time worked on a given day was from 9:15 A.M. to 12:00 noon and from 2:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M., the entry must be 5.25 hours. If this is not done correctly, the timecard will be returned to your supervisor for correction, and you will not be paid for these hours until the next pay period.
5. Total the number of hours for each week. Then total the number of hours for the timecard.
6. Please be sure to complete all fields. If you did not work on a particular day, please insert a “0” for that day.
7. The timecard must be signed by your supervisor whose name must also be printed in the space provided on the timecard. Timecards with no supervisor signature will not be paid.
8. Submit the original copy of the timecard to Payroll. The Lesley Work Program time card is tan and the Federal Work-Study time card is white. The Payroll Office will not accept the supervisor’s or the student’s carbon copy.
9. Timecards must be turned in to the Payroll Office at 815 Somerville Ave. by 9:00 A.M. of the timecard due date listed below. They may be submitted in person or through inter-office mail to Jackie Dunlap (Lesley Work Program) or JoAnn Marsh (Federal Work-Study), or fax (617-349-8112). Time cards should not be sent to the Financial Aid Office. To ensure that they are received by the due date, they should be in the Friday morning mail. Late timecards may not be paid until the following pay period.
10. 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

To view the time card due dates and pay dates for student employees, please follow the links below:

Lesley Work Program Payroll Calendar

Federal Work-Study Payroll Calendar

WHERE IS MY PAYCHECK?

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

1. If you work for a department on the Cambridge campus (Main Campus, Porter Square, or anywhere in between), your paycheck will be sent directly to your department.
2. If you work at AIB or for an off campus agency, your paycheck will be mailed to the address listed on your W-4. Please make sure that this is your local address.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Listed below are frequently asked questions. If your question does not appear or was not answered in this handbook, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 617-349-8581 or via email at finaid@lesley.edu.

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. For help calculating how many hours your allocation will allow, please see the Hours Calculator. 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 Student Employment website througout 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 and/or Student Employment Coordinator. You do this by completing a new W-4 form with your new address.

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 Financial Aid Office 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 Financial Aid Office 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 Financial Aid Office. You may not begin working any earlier than the first day of the fall semester (9-9-09), 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, and there are generally more positions than students available to fill them. 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 Financial Aid Office 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 Financial Aid Office. 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.