Student Employment Information for Students

My offer says Institutional Student Employment

This type of offer means that you are eligible to work on campus up to 20 hours per week across all actively held jobs during each semester. Employment during non-academic periods (Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving, Spring recesses, and Interterm) should not exceed 40 hours a week. 

While no student is guaranteed a job, supervisors are encouraged to prioritize students with an Institutional Student Employment award during the first 2 weeks of each semester to give students a chance to earn their need-based spending money.

My offer says Federal Work Study

This type of offer means you are eligible to work on campus as well as off-campus with a non-profit employer for up to 20 hours per week across all actively held jobs each semester. Employment during non-academic periods (Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving, Spring recesses, and Interterm) should not exceed 40 hours a week. 

No student is guaranteed a job, but supervisors are advised to prioritize students with a Federal Work Study award during the first 2 weeks of each semester to give students a chance to earn their need-based spending money. 

Work off-campus is capped at the awarded amount, but additional funding for off-campus work may be granted case-by-case.

To learn more about Off-Campus Federal Work Study, click here.

My offer says International Student Employment

This type of offer means that if you are an F-1 Visa holder, you are eligible to work at any position on campus up to 20 hours per week across all actively held jobs during each semester. 

You are NOT eligible to work at off-campus federal work-study sites (examples: America Reads or The Jones Library). Consult the Office of Immigration Services about possibly working at one of the other Five Colleges.

While no job is guaranteed to any student, managers and supervisors on campus are encouraged to prioritize students with an International Student Employment award during the first 2 weeks of each semester to give students a chance to earn their need-based spending money.

To learn more about working as an international student, click here.

I am not receiving financial aid/ my financial aid offer does not include work

That's okay! You are still eligible to work on campus up to 20 hours per week across all actively held jobs to earn spending money while a student. Employment during non-academic periods (Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving, Spring recesses, and Interterm) should not exceed 40 hours a week. 

Am I required to work if  “Work-Study” is part of  my financial aid?

No student is required to work, even if they are awarded financial aid. Student employment earnings are paid to you directly for the hours you work and are intended to cover your personal expenses during the school year (shampoo, laundry detergent, cell phone bill, movie tickets, etc.).

Will I owe the Work-Study funds to the college if I choose not to work?

Your student account will never be charged for the “work-study” funds you don’t use if you choose not to work. If you have funds from another source (personal savings) you can use those reserves to cover your own expenses. 

Verify Your Government ID

In order to properly report your earnings to the IRS and issue Form W2 at the end of the calendar year, a social security number must be provided.

International students must apply for a social security number in order to work. Instructions for this process can be found here.

Complete Form I-9

IRS Form I-9  verified employee identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

1. Section 1 is completed in Workday by the student.

2. Once section 1 is completed in Workday, students will need to schedule an in-person appointment to complete the remainder of the I-9 form, which requires them to present acceptable identification.

3. Students will need to present one document from List A OR a combination of one document from List B and one document from List C. We cannot complete an I-9 without seeing the original documents, and students cannot begin working until all sections of the I-9 are complete.

4. All sections of the I-9 are to be completed within 3 business days of the hire date.

Complete Form W-4

IRS Form W-4 is completed by employees to indicate federal tax withholding. 

Please be aware of the federal income tax withholding rules as they may apply to your situation. You may be eligible to claim exemption from Federal withholding. For additional information on this option, you can visit the IRS interactive tool .

Student employees who qualify for exempt status will have no federal income taxes withheld from their earnings as long as exemption is correctly claimed on this form.

Complete Form M-4

Massachusetts Department of Revenue Form M-4 is completed by employees to indicate state tax withholding.

Any questions on completing these forms, beyond the general instructions given, should be referred to a parent, guardian, or your tax consultant.

Student employees who qualify for exempt status will have no state income taxes withheld from their earnings as long as exemption is correctly claimed on this form.

Enter Your Direct Deposit Deposit Information

While not mandatory, students are highly encouraged to take advantage of this free service offered by the college.

Direct Deposit saves you the time and hassle of going to the bank every other week to deposit your paycheck.  You do not need to have a local bank account in order to participate in direct deposit.

Wages earned from all jobs held will be combined and electronically transferred to a bank account of your choice at the opening of business on each bi-weekly payday.

If you choose to receive a paper paycheck it will be delivered to your campus post office box on the Friday morning of payday. 

If you decline to sign-up for Direct Deposit and lose a paper paycheck, there will be a $25.00 stop payment fee imposed before the check can be reissued by the Payroll Office.

If you have more than one job on campus, your total earnings from all jobs will be combined in one payment.

For more information on payroll, visit the Student Payroll Website.

Payroll deadlines and responsibilities

In Workday, the Payroll team will lock all student timesheets at noon on Tuesday of a payroll week in order to finish processing. Once the timesheets are locked, users may not make any further changes and whatever has been entered into the timesheet will be paid. Any necessary adjustments will be made to the subsequent  payroll.

In Workday, the Payroll team has visibility to see when time is entered but not submitted and when time is submitted but not approved. An important new process for the Payroll team will be to monitor the timesheets after each pay period and communicate with users and managers when the timesheet process has not been completed properly. 

Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA)

FICA taxes are not withheld from student earnings for on-campus positions during the academic year.

However, F.I.C.A. taxes will be withheld from summer hours worked.

Sick Time

On July 1, 2015 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established a sick time law that impacts part-time employees, including student employees who work during non-academic periods (summer). For additional information, please refer to the College's Sick Time policy.

Earnings Authorization

The average number of hours recommended for student employment is 5 to 7 hours a week. 

Employment during non-academic periods (Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving, and Spring recesses and Interterm) should not exceed 40 hours a week for both domestic and international students. 

Earnings during these periods are regarded as part of your academic year earnings. With the approval of your supervisor, you can regulate your working hours so that your total earnings do not exceed the authorized earnings level.

If You Exceed the Authorized Level

You may continue to work beyond the authorized amount in your Financial Aid Award, except in the instance of an off-campus Work-Study position, where you will need to contact the office to inquire about additional eligibility. 

You should note that earnings in excess of the authorized level must be reported as "non-need-based" earnings in financial aid applications for the following academic year.

In most cases, a modest amount of earnings in excess of the authorized limit will not affect the subsequent year's financial aid. 

Larger earnings amounts may result in an expected "student income contribution" that is greater than the amount normally expected from a student's non-need-based earnings (currently $900 to $1,800 - typically derived from summer employment).