Student Employment Program

• A. All United States citizens and permanent resident aliens must be matriculated, degree-seeking, full-time or part-time Undergraduate or Graduate students at Montclair State University.
• B. All United States citizens and permanent resident aliens who seek FWS positions must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• C. All international students must be full-time students (for INS purposes) to be eligible for consideration for student assistant positions. Learn More about Employment options for International.
• D. Students must be in good academic standing, earning a 2.0 or higher GPA and making satisfactory progress toward a degree.
• E. Students who have been suspended (interim, academic, disciplinary, psychological) or dismissed (academic, disciplinary) from Montclair State University may not work on campus. Student Conduct manages all University suspensions and expulsions. In the event of a suspension or expulsion, notification is made by the Dean of Students Office to the Registrar’s Office and then indicated in NEST.
• F. Students who wish to work in summer positions must have proof of fall registration.
• G. International students must be full-time students (for INS purposes and may begin employment 30 days before the beginning of the semester.
  • Please Note: All international students must receive authorization to work from the Office of Global Engagement. Any questions pertaining to work authorization for international students should be directed to the Office of Global Engagement.
• H. Students are required to submit their hours on a timely basis, within a week of the end of the pay period. Time must be submitted on time prior to 7 p.m. on Friday at the end of the pay period in order to make sure there is no issue with students being paid on time. Departments are held responsible for the timely submission of timesheets.

To ensure uniformity and fairness in student pay rates, a student job classification system has been developed. The job classification system applies to any student employee (Federal Work Study and Student Assistant – see “Description of Campus Employment” for explanations of each) who will be paid on an hourly basis.

Please Note: If your student employee’s hourly rate is higher than the suggested guidelines, a justification for the higher rate is required in the comments in Workday.

Direct Deposit

It’s highly recommended that student employees take advantage of direct deposit, as the program is safe, convenient and free. In order to enroll, students must follow the process.

Please Note: Students are not eligible to enroll in direct deposit through Workday. They have to submit payment election forms directly to Payroll either online or in-person.

The following is important information regarding completion of Form I-9. All new hire employees are required to complete Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) in person.

Please Note: Form I-9 must be completed prior to the student employee’s start date or within the first three days of employment, and not more than 90 days in advance.

Scheduling an Appointment for I-9

To schedule your I-9 appointment, please click on the link and select a date/time that is convenient for you. Schedule Your I-9 Appointment.

New Hire Employees

Prior to a student’s I-9 Appointment, please direct them to complete Section 1 of Form I-9 by visiting: Complete Section One. They must complete this section with the utmost accuracy to prevent any delays with employment processing. Note: When completing the form, if they do not have a middle initial, enter N/A or if they do not have a social security number and have applied for one please place a check next to “applied for SSN”.

Section Two will be completed during the student’s I-9 appointment. Please ensure that they bring the proper documentation to the appointment. Click the link to view the I-9 List of Acceptable Documents. Please be advised that photocopies, digitals images on phones, and expired documents are NOT acceptable.

Rehires

Completion of Form I-9 is valid for three years. Therefore, previous employees who worked for Montclair State University and are rehired within three years of the date that a previous Form I-9 was completed, do not need to complete a new I9. Please let HR know if the student was previously
employed at Montclair State University.

Location to Complete I-9’s

Overlook Corporate Center, 150 Clove Road, 3rd Floor, Little Falls, NJ 07424

Parking is available in the building’s parking lot. Follow the signs for Tenant Parking. Take the elevator to the Lobby level. Once you are at the Lobby level, please stop at the Security Desk to sign-in. After you have signed in, take the elevator to the 3rd floor.

COVID-19 Precautions for Visitors

All visitors must complete the Hawk Check Self-Assessment prior to their visit. Please note face masks are required. For further details, please visit Montclair State University’s Face Mask Policy.

All student employment hires are to be processed through Workday:

• Please refer to Workday’s How to Process a New Hire.
• HR Jobs Aids/Self-Service.
• Please Note: Supervisors must enter separate positions for each job – Federal Work Study (FWS), Student Assistant (SA), Graduate Student Worker (GSW) etc. Supervisors cannot modify existing positions through a job change.

If the student’s position is currently active and the department would like the student to continue working, the department must initiate an End Date Extension in Workday.

• Confirm the student you are hiring is a student registered for classes at Montclair State University.
• If your hire is not enrolled in classes at Montclair State University, but is enrolled in classes at another college/university, they would be considered a Temporary Professional employee, not a Student employee.

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a federally funded program. Students who are United States Citizens or permanent resident aliens apply annually by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before the Montclair State University priority deadline.

If a student is offered a position on campus, their wages for any hours worked will be paid through the federal FWS funding received by the college. The offer of FWS does not guarantee the student will obtain a position on campus. Learn More about Finding an on Campus Job.

Montclair State University’s Financial Aid Office notifies students of their FWS award via NEST. Students who receive financial aid can check to see whether or not they have FWS funds through NEST. Learn More About Financial Aid.

Once the student begins working, the Financial Aid Office monitors their earnings so they do not exceed the amount on the financial aid offer for the academic year.

• If a student exceeds their allotted FWS funds, the student and department will be notified by the Financial Aid Office.
• If the department chooses to continue employing the student, departmental funds will be the source of payment.

Students cannot work on Federal Work-Study until they have completed all of the hiring documents and have been approved in Workday.

• Departments will need to confirm the student’s FWS eligibility with the Financial Aid Office before commencing the hiring process.
• If students work without being properly vetted, the department will be asked to pay them out of departmental funds.

Departments are held responsible for the timely submission of timesheets for Federal Work-Study.

• If, for example, a student submitted their Federal Work-Study time sheets for the entire semester at the end of the semester, the department will be required to pay the student out of their department budget.
• Financial Aid sends a campus-wide email stating the first and last day FWS students are allowed to work each semester.

Federal regulations prevent FWS students from working at the same time they have classes.

• It is the department’s responsibility to obtain the student’s schedule each semester and ensure students do not work during classes.
• This also applies to the time when students are taking finals.
• They may not work after the last day of classes each semester through the end of finals.

Assignments can only span from the start of the Fall semester, to the end of the spring semester.

• Assignments must include the following in Workday:
  • “FWS” must be included in the Job Title and Business Title.
  • On the Change Organizational Assignments page, the Cost Center and fund must reflect that of the student’s home account.
  • The FWS account information will be entered on the Costing Allocations page. The Grant number for the current AY must be added to the Additional Work tags section of the Costing Allocation override.
  • If you would like the FWS student to work over the mid semester break or over the summer, you must add an additional Undergraduate Student Worker job for the student.
  • Data changes from FWS to Undergraduate Student Worker are not permitted.
  • If the FWS student runs out of FWS funding, you must add an additional Undergraduate Student Worker job for the student.
• Assignments are not permitted to perform the following:
  • Work during mid-semester breaks.
  • Continue once the student’s FWS funding runs out.

Student Assistant (SA) positions are funded as part of the University’s operating budget and are based on institutional guidelines.

• Students who are United States citizens, permanent resident aliens or on F-1 visas may apply for Student Assistant positions.

Graduate Assistantships (GAs) are completely separate from student employment policy and are only mentioned here for informational purposes:

• GAs are entered into Workday by The Graduate School only.
• If you would like to add an additional job in Workday for someone with an active Graduate Assistant position, please contact The Graduate School to see if they will permit the student to hold an additional position.
• GA details, including application guidelines and appointments.

• The maximum weekly work limit is twenty (20) hours when classes are in session; thirty-five (35) hours during breaks and vacations.
• FWS Students may have less hours based on the available funds and minimum wage for their position. For example, an FWS award of $1500.00 per year allows about 5 hours per week of work.
• Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum of six (6) credits per semester.

• The maximum weekly work limit is thirty (30) hours when classes are in session; thirty-five (35) hours during breaks and vacations.
• Graduate students must maintain a minimum of six (6) credits per semester.

It is expected that all students function at a high level of performance and behavior. Failure on the part of a student employee to meet job responsibilities or abide by department rules may result in disciplinary action. In the event that disciplinary action is necessary, the following process should be followed (except in serious cases of violation requiring immediate action) to enable an orderly review of the circumstances surrounding the unacceptable behavior:

• Step 1: The supervisor should issue an oral warning for the first offense followed-up by a brief email summarizing the discussion.
• Step 2: A second offense should be documented by the supervisor in the form of a written warning provided to the student employee. The warning should include suggestions and a time period for correcting the unacceptable behavior. Follow-up is the responsibility of the supervisor.
• Step 3: A third offense may warrant a decision by the supervisor to suspend or terminate the student employee.

Please Note: Supervisors should proactively address unsatisfactory performance and/or poor behavior via oral and/or written communication to support professional growth by offering guidance, support, supervision, and resources to succeed. When adequate advance warnings have been given in writing by the supervisor for repeated tardiness, unexcused or excessive absenteeism or other forms of unacceptable behavior, termination of the student employee may take place immediately without further notice.

In addition to the guidelines for conduct and performance stated previously, the University maintains several other grounds for sanction or termination.

These may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Completing assignments unsatisfactorily.
• Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Engaging in disorderly conduct that threatens the safety of the community or other.
• Tampering with and/or falsifying timesheets and jeopardizing the University’s public image through inappropriate actions.

For all voluntary and involuntary terminations in Workday, please email WCCSupport@montclair.edu and list the following:

• If the termination was voluntary or involuntary.
• The last date the Student employee physically worked for your department.

When a position is accepted, the student makes a semester-long commitment to the hiring unit and supervisor who then depend upon the student to perform the assignment during the hours and periods mutually agreed upon. Therefore, resignation from a position should only occur for a legitimate reason such as the need for more study time or an unresolvable conflict.

Student Employees are not eligible to collect either unemployment benefits or any other institutional benefit from their campus position.

Students who are injured on the job should report immediately to University Health Services.

• Sick Leave Accrual — Hourly Basis: Sick leave accruals for employees paid on an hourly basis will be processed automatically by Workday using the rate of one-hour for every 30 hours worked and reflected in the employee’s Workday “Time off Balance.”
• Submitting Sick Leave Time Off in Workday: Beginning on Monday, October 29, 2018, any employee eligible to accrue time under the Sick Leave Law will be able to view their accrued time off under the “Time Off Balances” tab. This tab is located in the “Time” worklet on your Workday homepage.

• Once an employee has accrued earned sick time under the Sick Leave Law, the Employee must use the “NJ Sick Leave” tag in Workday to apply the earned sick time to their timesheet.
• New employees must wait to use sick time until after their 120th day of employment. Learn More about Paid Time Off.

Learn More about On-the-Job-Conduct.

In the event of an unresolvable conflict, student employees are encouraged to utilize the following offices:

• Dean of Students Office.
• Counseling and Psychological Services.