FWS Supervisor Guide

Federal Work Study allows students to earn a paycheck through a financial aid award paid by federal funds. Since it is federal money, students must receive the award from Financial Aid each academic year to work and they must be paid hourly (for actual hours worked). For our university to continue receiving funds we must follow federal rules. This means more oversight is required by supervisors than college role positions (department funded).

If you are a full-time staff/faculty and can answer yes to the following, you can request FWS workers:

• The work tasks given are appropriate for students and will not replace staff work. Must be performed in the workplace (No take home or remote work).
• I can provide supervision to the student at least 75% of the time (other staff can back up, but you are to be the primary supervisor)
• I am willing to spend time each pay period to make sure the student enters the correct hours worked on their timesheet (if you have a timesheet delegate, you must provide actual hours worked to the delegate).
• I will ensure the student is only paid up to what they have been awarded and will track and end the position when their award is fully spent (Workday will automatically charge overage hours to your department budget).

Be aware that you should only request the number of positions that you can manage while fulfilling all of the above requirements. If more workers are needed departments should consider having more staff members request positions and be responsible for supervising. Positions are open during Fall - Spring (No FWS in the summer).

Human Resources processes all hiring in Workday. If you have questions about the system or job status, contact HR: hr@fit.edu 
1. Search ‘Supervisory Org’ in Workday to ensure you have recruiting access
    a. Must have Students Hourly listed after your name
    b. If you do not have this listed, contact Human Resources
2. Create Position in Workday
    a. Only needs to be created for new positions (requisitions can be connected to the existing position numbers each year)
3. Create a Job Requisition(s)
     a. The Job Requisition will include the public posting to students, each requisition = 1 hire. If you are hiring 3 Office assistants, you will create the job requisition and then copy the requisition 2 more times to create 3 total.
     b. Job Requisition Instructions
     c. Start & End dates mirror the semester dates
     d. Put “FWS” after the job title (and number if you have multiple copies)
4. Review Candidates and send job offer to student(s)
    a. Offer must go through approvals
    b. Check Work-Study elibility to see if applicants have funds under the Candidates ‘External Student Data’ tab (if they do not, you will be paying them from your department budget)
c. Once approved, student must complete onboarding steps in WorkDay
5. Do not allow student begin working until their onboarding tasks are complete, check the Workday ‘Onboarding Status Summary’ for  progress

You are responsible to train students and complete the following actions as necessary:

• Timesheet Instructions
• Correcting Hours
• End Position or Extend Position at the end of the semester

**Track Hours: When the student has used all their award (pay rate x hours), their position must be ended or you will pay for future hours from your department budget**

*Minimum wage will be $14 on September 30, 2025. The hourly rate for any employee earning less than this amount will be updated automatically in Workday.

1. Students legally MUST be paid hourly. It is your responsibility to ensure they are paid for exact hours worked; you cannot estimate or approve whatever the student enters, you may ONLY approve worked hours. If you are using a timesheet delegate, you must provide a time log or sign in/out sheet to your delegate. Students do not receive holiday, sick, or an other fringe benefit pay.
2. Students are limited to 20 hours per week when class is in session; you may not schedule them during class times.
3. Supervision must be provided by staff; students cannot work by themselves or only under a GSA. No take home work or remote work allowed, and students cannot be paid to do their own personal projects, such as Senior Design Project or playing for their sports team.
4. Our university payroll system runs bi-weekly, and it is your responsibility to provide reminders to the students to complete their timesheets. Students must legally be paid even if they forget to complete their timesheet. It is the supervisor's responsibility to keep track of their hours every period and ensure previous period's unpaid hours are added when necessary.
5. No Political or Religious activities are allowed to be performed.
6. Students may ONLY earn up to their award. Any hours worked past their award will be charged to your department.
7. Students cannot be fired or terminated in the middle of the semester without approval from HR. If you are dealing with performance issues, provide counseling or written warnings first. If no changes are seen or the behavior is serious, contact HR. If your student voluntarily resigns or leaves the university, end the position in Workday. You  can also choose not to extend the position to another semester without the need for approval.
8. If any outside agency or individual asks to verify your student's employment or asks for your opinion of them, you must direct them to HR and cannot give out any information. You may be a reference for a student only if the student and HR has given you permission.

If you have questions about hiring of Workday, contact Human Resources

For questions about students' awards, contact Financial Aid

Reviewing your student employee's work performance is optional, but recommended to assist students with their growth in professionalism and employability. For many students, this may be their first place of employment and they may not be self-aware of their work practices. Providing feedback is a valuable way to ensure they have a clear understanding of workplace expectations, which will help them in their career journey.

It is recommended to review a student employee's performance at the end of their position, which for most is at the end of the semester. Reviews can be informal or formal meetings to review how they met expectations.

Recommended Areas to Review

While not required, we hope you take the time to tell your students how they did well or how they could improve through constructive feedback to assist them in the future employment!