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Work Study

What is Work-Study?

Work-study is a federal financial aid program which subsidizes employers who hire work-study recipients. Rather than incurring the full cost of a work-study recipient's wages, the employer is typically responsible for as little as 30%.

Because of the savings to the employer, receiving work-study can significantly assist work-study recipients in securing positions that the employer might otherwise not have been able to offer or to secure a higher hourly wage than the work-study recipient might otherwise have been able to receive.

The amount of a work-study allocation reflects an earnings cap and is not a guarantee that you will receive the full amount of allocation. A typical work-study allocation would be $3,000. To utilize work-study recipients must secure a position and file their time weekly through PeopleSoft documenting the hours worked. Total earnings will be the student's hourly rate (maximum of $17.65/hour) multiplied by the hours worked per week times the number of weeks worked. Once a student reaches the total earnings cap (which is inclusive of the employer-portion of earnings--not in addition to it), the employer must begin paying 100% of the student's wages if they wish to continue the student's employment.

How do I apply?

US citizens and permanent residents with demonstrated unmet financial need are eligible to apply. Receipt of work-study will reduce the total amount you can borrow dollar-for-dollar. To apply, complete an Academic Year Work-Study Application (link to PDF) and return it to the attention of Dan Rossi. Applications can also be faxed to (617) 496-1165. Applications are considered for students who have secured--or are in the process of securing--a position that requires or encourages the use of work-study such as course assistants or students employer by the Office of Career Advancement. Funding is limited.

How do I find a job? Do you assign me one?

Students are not assigned positions and must secure a position on their own. Harvard University maintains a Student Employment Office located at 86 Brattle Street, Cambridge MA. Available positions can also be reviewed online.

What about jobs specifically at HKS?

Many of the HKS work-study positions are not advertised in the Student Employment Office and you may need to independently identify a suitable position. Some of the more common employers are:

Type of Position	Office	Contact
Career Advancement Assistant	Career Advancement	Janice Vaughn
Course Assistant	Teaching Support	Kathleen Fox
Class Advisor	Degree Programs	Debra Isaacson
Research Assistant	Various Faculty	Various Centers

 

What about off-campus positions?

Work-study recipients are eligible to work for off-campus employers under certain conditions. To be an eligible employer, it must be a non-profit or public organization and the position must be:

• Non-sectarian
• Non-political
• Not for a limited membership organization (unions, etc.)
• On US soil
• Not for a member of Congress

Some off-campus employers advertise through the Harvard Student Employment Office but typically students must identify organizations on their own.

I've secured a position. Now what?

Once you have been offered a position, you will need to complete both hiring paperwork and additional forms associated with being paid through work-study.

Your hiring paperwork is done in conjunction with your supervisor and the Office of Human Resources which is located at 124 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 240. This paperwork includes completing an I-9, W-4, and a hiring form.

Next you should ensure that Dan Rossi in the Student Financial Services Office has received your work-study application and your work-study eligibility has been confirmed. At that point you must also complete the Harvard Student Employment Office Work-study Referral Form.

You must complete these steps in order to be paid through work-study

How do I report my hours?

Students employed at Harvard report their hours through Peoplesoft. The Office of Human Resources will provide you with instructions. It is extremely important that you report your hours using the correct "type" of time when you have work-study! Make sure you choose the "FWS-Harvard" time type. Once you have reached your earnings ceiling, you must STOP using the work-study time type and must begin reporting all time as "regular".

Will I be notified when I reach my earnings ceiling?

While we make every effort to try to alert you that you are approaching your earnings ceiling, it is you and your supervisor's responsibility to monitor your total earnings to ensure that you do not exceed your earnings maximum. If you do exceed your ceiling, the finance office will have to retroactively bill your employer for 100% of the cost of the excess wages.

If you have additional questions, you may contact Dan Rossi.

Summer Work-Study

Summer work-study is available to students applying for SIF for qualifying positions and to students who obtain paid qualifying positions. Students who are not in a paid position -- and have not received SIF funding -- cannot receive work-study.

Federal work-study is a program that subsidizes public and nonprofit employers who hire work-study eligible students. Because of this subsidy, work-study recipients may be able to secure positions in organizations which would normally not be able to afford to hire them or to negotiate greater compensation than would otherwise be possible.

Please Note: to use Summer work-study you must have an organization that is capable of paying 37.5% of your summer wages (inclusive of FICA). Summer work-study cannot stand alone. Therefore, summer positions which are completely unpaid for which you have not received SIF coverage cannot be covered by work-study.

The maximum amount that of summer work-study that can be received is $5,000. The actual amount that you receive will depend upon the availability of funding, the number of applicants and the amount (if any) that you receive as a SIF allocation. Please note that you may not actually receive the total amount of your work-study allocation as your actual compensation is based on your hourly rate and the number of hours you work. For example, if you received a work-study allocation of $4,000 for a position that paid $12/hour, you would need to submit time cards reflecting 333 hours to receive the full $4,000. If you, instead, submitted only 250 hours, the total amount of compensation you would received would be 250 x $12/hour = $3,000. In this case, you would forfeit the remaining $1,000 of potential earnings.

To be eligible to be considered for Summer work-study, applicants must meet the following conditions:

• Be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident
• Have filed a 2008-2009 FAFSA
• File a 2009-2010 FAFSA
• Complete and return a Summer Work Study Application (link to PDF) which will be provided to you if you are given a SIF award
• Complete by the necessary deadlines all renewal financial aid documentation for the 2009-2010 academic year.
• Intend to be enrolled as at least a half-time student at HKS for the Fall 2009 semester and must have been enrolled at Harvard for the Spring 2009 semester.
• Demonstrate financial need as determined by the federally-mandated formula
• Be employed by an eligible US employer in work that takes place on US soil

Eligible US employers on US soil must be of a non-partisan, non-sectarian and non-profit nature. Additionally, work-study recipients cannot work for members of Congress or for limited membership organizations.

Individuals who are applying for SIF employed with eligible organizations will be contacted upon SIF approval and encouraged to complete a summer work-study application. Receipt of Summer work-study will typically increase the total amount of compensation that a student will receive. A person who might otherwise have been limited to a $1,500 SIF award can receive $4,000 with the use of work-study.

Please note that while we hope to fund all eligible applicants, Summer work-study funds are limited. Should available funds be insufficient to meet all requests, the financial aid office reserves the right to give priority to applicants based on date of application and/or to give preference to applicants who have already secured a summer position. The priority deadline for consideration is May 1, 2009 but applications will be considered after this date on a funds-available basis. No applications can be considered after June 1, 2009.