Supervisor Information

Work Study Guide for Supervisors

There is a distinction between work study and student employment.

Work Study Award

Student must have been award Work-Study as part of their financial aid. Work-Study is funded by the federal government and Sacred Heart University which helps students meet educational expenses through part-time employment (on or off campus) during the academic year. Students are notified of their work-study on their award letter and through their SHU Awards account. One common misconception about this program is that students study while on the job. Legally, the federal government stipulates work-study wages are paid only for hours actually worked. Having received work-study in the past does not guarantee future funding; therefore, under no circumstances should a department hire a student or should a student accept a job and begin working until the student receives and returns a completed Referral Form to Student Financial Assistance.

Referral Form

Students are emailed a Referral Form from Student Financial Assistance when a completed Work Application is on file. This form includes the work-study award amount and the recommended hours per week to ensure the student can work until the end of the academic year. Students may work more or less than the recommended hours, but be aware working more than the recommended hours each week will cause their award to run out sooner. It is a University policy that students should not work more than 15 hours per week so their job does not interfere with their schoolwork. Students should bring their Referral Form to you and both of you complete and sign it then return it to Student Financial Assistance for processing. The student is activated in Dayforce within 2-3 days.

Instructions for Dayforce will be emailed to students and will be available in Student Financial Assistance. Once the student is activated in Dayforce, they should input their Direct Deposit information and specify income tax withholdings for federal and state income. If nothing is specified income tax will be withheld at the highest level possible. Paper paychecks will no longer be distributed on campus. If no direct deposit information is on file, the paper paycheck will be mailed to the permanent home address on file.

Job Postings

For 2024-2025 award year, update your department job descriptions by August 16, 2024. To post a job, fill out the Post a Work Study Position form. Students will be able to access a complete list of available jobs on our website. Students contact and make appointments with supervisors in areas of interest for possible employment. The 2024-2025 Work Study Job Fair is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3, 2024 from 2-4 p.m. in the Edgerton Theatre Atrium. Departments who would like to reserve a table to participate are asked to RSVP to Susan Esposito at espositos@sacredheart.edu by August 9, 2024. Students should bring their Referral Form and school schedule to interviews. If hired, the completed Referral Form is returned to Student Financial Assistance before work begins. If you have any questions, contact Student Financial Assistance at sfa@sacredheart.edu.

Approving Timecards

Students must log in and out in Dayforce each time they work. Students are paid bi-weekly on Fridays. Supervisors should approve all hours each day, but no later than Monday by 1 p.m. of a pay week in order for students to be paid that Friday. Notify Student Financial Assistance if you do not see your students in your Dayforce. If you need help with entering students' hours or approving timecards, click on the question mark in the upper right corner of the Dayforce screen then on the left click on Manager Training. If you are still having issues, contact Payroll for help.

It is very important that all student punched hours are authorized and/or modified by the supervisor for actual hours work. If a student clocks erroneous hours or hours that they did not work, and these hours are not corrected, Department of Labor regulations require that the student still be paid.

Work Study Supervisors that consistently do not review and authorize student time records by the due date, will lose the privilege of employing Work Study Students.

Supervisor Responsibilities

The University is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to hiring and retaining productive student workers. As a supervisor you are expected to:

Delegate duties for student employees in accordance with the job descriptions.
Establish a work schedule that does not interfere with student's class schedules.
Treat student employees with respect.
Refrain from having students perform your personal business on the job.
Approve students’ hours on time to avoid delays in getting paid.
Maintain your own record of days and hours worked by students.
Review earnings-to-date and available balance with student at the end of each semester.
Keep in mind, it is a University policy that students should not work more than 15 hours/per week so their job does not interfere with their schoolwork.

Confidentiality

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law, enacted in 1974, that ensures the confidentiality of student records. Student employees should become familiar with some of the basic provisions of FERPA to make certain they do not violate this federal law. FERPA violations may result in disciplinary action including, but not limited to, the loss of their job.

Students must not, under any circumstances, release student information to anyone, unless their position specifically requires them to do so. Students must refer any requests for information about a student to their supervisor to ensure they do not violate FERPA.

Students must avoid acquiring any information they do not need to do their job and they cannot exchange student information they have learned while performing their job. Even a minor disclosure of information (e.g. telling another student of someone's class schedule) may be a FERPA violation and may result in disciplinary action. Any information obtained on the job regarding students must remain in the workplace.

Termination

If you are dissatisfied with a student's performance, discuss your concerns with them. You can issue a verbal or written warning and specify a period of time in which you expect them to improve. If they are unable to meet your expectations, the student may be terminated - notify Student Financial Assistance. In extreme cases, such as gross misconduct, you may terminate the student immediately, and you may refer them to the Dean of Students for further review of the circumstances. Gross misconduct includes, but is not limited to, theft of University property, harassment, violation of computer security policies and/or fraudulent reporting of hours worked.

Worker's Compensation Policy

All student hourly employees (both Student Employment and Work-Study) are considered to be Sacred Heart University employees and, as such, are covered under the University's Worker's Compensation Policy.

Student Employment Guide for Supervisors

Employees and their dependent students who are eligible to receive the Tuition Remission Benefit, are not eligible to receive any other form of University remuneration, this includes, but is not limited to the following sources: merit/scholarship awards, CLA programs, monetary payment for conducting work as a Work-Study or Student Employment, Scribe, Tutor, Resident Assistant, Student Body, Spectrum, PULSE, IT Factory Technicians, Mascot, Student Leadership positions, Student Ambassador positions, Club Leadership positions, etc.

Departments are free to hire student workers, other than work-study, and pay them out of their departmental budgets by following these five simple steps:

Student must be at least half time in a matriculated program.
Check that there is sufficient funding within your departmental budget to hire a student employee.
Create a detailed job description that highlights all requirements and responsibilities associated with the position.
Seek and interview students—this can be done in whatever manner you see fit, including recruiting students you may already be familiar with or having the job posted through Career Development.
If hiring an International Student with a F-1 visa, follow International & Immigration Services procedures.
Complete the Student Employment Online Request Form.

Also make note of the following:

All student workers must have a completed Work Application on file with Student Financial Assistance.
No student can be paid before a valid employment/payroll authorization is submitted to Student Financial Assistance. The authorization should be done online as stated above in #5.
Students are paid every other Friday. Supervisors must approve students' hours in Dayforce by 1 p.m. on Monday of a pay week in order for students to get paid by that Friday. Failure to do so will result in students waiting another two weeks before they get paid.

It is the supervisor's responsibility to reconcile student employment transactions on their general ledger prior to the close of the fiscal year. Student Financial Assistance should be notified of any discrepancies before this time so that they can be rectified.

Termination

Issue the student a verbal warning. List specific problems, adequate solutions, and give the student the opportunity to improve their work practices.
If the student does not improve, issue them a written warning (email is perfectly acceptable). List specific problems, adequate solutions, and the ways in which the student has failed to improve since the previous warning. Issue the student a specific timeframe in which to improve. Save a copy of this correspondence for your records.
If the student still does not improve, you are free to terminate the student. They must be notified in clear terms that the position is no longer available to them and reminded of the reasons why. Student Financial Assistance must be notified of this immediately.