Federal Work Study

Federal work study (FWS) provides employment opportunities to eligible matriculated students through the federal campus-based aid program. Students who are hired for federal work study receive 100% compensation from their financial aid package. In other words, if you hire a student with FWS funding, your department will not have to pay the student out of the departmental budget.

To have federal work study (FWS) funding, students would have:
- Selected interest for work study on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Been notified of their federal work study award from the Financial Aid Office
- Accepted the FWS award in SOLAR
- Actively have FWS funding to apply to work study positions on Handshake
Priority consideration is given to students who file a FAFSA by the respective deadline designations (listed below). The award amount is based on the student's financial need, the availability of campus funds, the number of weekly hours the student can work, and the current pay rate. Students receive federal work study funds in the form of a bi-weekly paycheck. For more information, please view Office of Financial Aid webpage on Federal Work Study.

Hiring Students with Federal Work Study

When hiring students in SOLAR, please remember to select a correct Job Code in the assignment:

Select 1721 if the assignment must be filled with a Student with Federal Work Study
Select 1971 if the assignment must be filled with a Student Assistant

If you create an assignment with the job code 1721, this will guarantee that no money will come from your department's budget.

View Guides on Hiring Students

The total number of hours a student with federal work study (FWS) funding may work during the academic year is determined by the amount of their FWS award, the hourly wage paid to the student, and the number of weeks the student intends to work. Supervisors can view a student's federal work study balance in SOLAR.

Total federal work study award/ hourly pay rate = Total hours with funding

Total hours/Total weeks in academic semester or student will be working = Hours per week

For example, a student with a $4,000 FWS award earning $16.00 per hour and working a full academic year (approximately 31 weeks) may aim to work on average 8 hours per week.

A student choosing to work a greater number of hours per week will exhaust their award before the end of the academic year and will not be able to work thereafter through the FWS Program. Students with federal work study funding may not work more than 40 hours per week.

Both the student and the supervisor should closely monitor the FWS student’s award balance to ensure that the student does not work beyond their eligibility. Students who exceed their allocated awards must be compensated through departmental funds.