Off-Campus Work Study
- What is Work Study?
- What Type of Employers Can Participate in the Work Study Program?
- What Types of Positions can be listed through the Work Study Program?
- What Are the Responsibilities of an Off-Campus Work Study Employer?
- What is UWSP’s role in this process?
- How Can I Get More Information?
What is Work Study?
The purpose of the Federal Work Study Program is "to stimulate and promote the part-time employment of students, particularly students from low-income families, in institutions of higher education who are in need of the earnings from such employment to pursue courses of study at such institutions." Additionally, the Federal Work Study Program allows students to work for non-profit agencies in roles that are "designed to improve community services or solve particular problems in the community."
What Type of Employers Can Participate in the Work Study Program?
Local, county, state, and federal agencies are eligible as well as most public and private non-profit agencies can be considered as a work location.
What Types of Positions can be listed through the Work Study Program?
Community service is defined as including, but not limited to, "work in such fields as environmental quality, health care, education, welfare, public safety, crime prevention and control, transportation, recreation, housing and neighborhood improvement, rural development, conservation, beautification, and other fields of human betterment and community improvement."
Work may not involve the construction, operation, or maintenance of any facility used or to be used for sectarian instruction or as a place for religious worship.
What Are the Responsibilities of an Off-Campus Work Study Employer?
Participating agencies serve as the employer of record for the student. You have the ability to select the student you would like to hire, your are responsible for their work-load, their evaluation, their safety, and all other aspects of their employment. Employers pay 33% of a student’s wage up to their Work Study Award amount (all Work Study students have a limit to the amount of money they can make through this program) and are responsible for worker’s compensation coverage. The 33% cost covers a 25% match to the 75% federal match, and an 8% administrative fee.
What is UWSP’s role in this process?
The Student Involvement and Employment Office is responsible for the oversight of the community service aspect of the Federal Work Study Program. We offer contracts to eligible employers, post open positions to eligible students, process payroll paperwork on behalf of the employer, and serve as a resource for employers. UWSP also assumes the entire payroll function, billing the agency once a month for 33% of the earned wages of their Work Study student(s).
How Can I Get More Information?
Contact Susan LeBow at the Student Involvement and Employment Office, 715-346-2174 or slebow@uwsp.edu for additional information. We look forward to working with you!
