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Office of Financial Aid
University of Mississippi

Federal Work-Study Program – Supervisor’s Guide

You have made a great decision!

 
When you hire a Federal Work-Study student (FWS), you gain the benefit of a part-time worker at a minimal cost to your department. By carefully interviewing prospective workers, you can ensure that you select the right person to compliment your office staff.

Responsibilities of being an FWS Supervisor:

  • Supervisors are responsible for maintaining the Work-Study records of each student. In keeping with the University’s compliance with the Federal Affordable Care Act, you agree to ensure that the Work-Study student worker will not exceed working a total of 25 hours per week. We suggest an average of 8-12 hours per week to stay within the student’s allotted award benefit.
  • It is the responsibility of the supervisor to know each Work-Study’s class schedule and make sure that they are not working during their scheduled class time periods. We suggest that you request a copy of the student’s schedule during the hiring process.
  • As a supervisor, I approve that a work schedule has been agreed upon between the student and supervisor as well as how job performance is evaluated.
  • I understand that FWS students should not start their job without all paperwork being submitted and processed from Financial Aid as well as Human Resources.

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • What steps should you take if you want to hire a student as a Federal Work-Study but are not sure if they qualify? If the student does not know if they qualify, you can contact our office. You can send an email to finaid@olemiss.edu with the student’s name and ID number.
  • If one of my Work-Study Students quits or is let go by the department, what should I do? Contact the Office of Financial Aid so that we can begin the process of ending their employment with your department. If you chose at that time to advertise for another Work-Study student, let us know and we can update the job listings for your department.
  • How do students get paid? FWS students are paid bi-monthly (twice a month). The pay rate for campus jobs will be $9.00 or $10.00 (not in between) per hour depending on the departments budget.  Students employed through the Family Literacy or Bonner program, as reading and math tutors, will be paid $12.00 per hour. The preferred method of payment is through direct deposit to their personal checking/savings account. Paychecks do not process through the student’s Bursar account.