Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a program which provides part-time employment opportunities to eligible students to assist with the non-billable costs of post-secondary education. Based on the results of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), eligible students are awarded an amount which may be earned through part-time employment in Federal Work-Study approved positions either on or off-campus. The program is designed to provide students with an opportunity for employment arranged around class schedules. The Cleveland Institute of Art offers Federal Work-Study jobs on-campus or off-campus at non-profit organizations. The Federal Work-Study program requires that positions serve the larger community. Off-campus positions must be approved by the Financial Aid Office.

To be eligible for the Federal Work-Study program students must demonstrate financial need (determined by the Department of Education) by completing the FAFSA at www.studentaid.gov, and all other required financial aid forms. Students must also meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.

Eligibility is determined each year. There is no guarantee that a student who received Federal Work-Study the year prior will be eligible each year.

There is limited funding for this program; therefore, students are advised to complete the FAFSA as early as possible for each academic year. Priority will be given to students who demonstrate the most need and complete their FAFSA and all other required financial aid forms for the new academic year prior to the March 15 priority deadline.

Students are eligible for a Federal Work Study position if a Federal Work-Study award is indicated on the list of financial aid offered within their NetPartner (CIAs Financial Aid Online Portal) accounts. The list indicates the types of financial assistance a student is eligible to receive including a Federal Work-Study award when applicable.

Students who are awarded Federal Work-Study and wish to work a Federal Work-Study position must notify the Financial Aid Office by accessing their NetPartner Account and noting “accept” accordingly, as well as submit all required Financial Aid documents to the Financial Aid Office or they will not be permitted to work.

Students who do not wish to hold a position as a Federal Work-Study employee, but have been awarded Federal Work-Study funds, must notify the Financial Aid Office by accessing their NetPartner Account and noting “decline” accordingly.

To access NetPartner for the first time, do the following:

1. Go to https://netpartner.cia.edu/
2. Enter the CIA Student ID (found on a financial aid offer) as the NetPartner User Name
3. Click on ‘First Time User’ link (small print at the bottom of the Log In Box)
4. Afterwards, students will be prompted to submit answers to security questions and create their own password. Once completed, click on 'Submit' to enter NetPartner.

Upon entering NetPartner, click on the tabs at the top of the home page to Accept/Decline aid offered, see what documents are needed to complete their financial aid file, and review messages related to the aid awarded.

 If a student has already accessed NetPartner:

1. Login to https://netpartner.cia.edu/
2. From the Home page, click on the Menu in the upper left corner.
3. Select the Accept/Decline Aid Offered from the dropdown.
4. Update the Pending Status for the “Federal Work Study” to Accept or Decline offering.
5. Click Submit to save and update.

The “Click to View Message” link provides more details on the requirements to receive this aid.  If a student has additional questions regarding Federal Work-Study eligibility, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Federal Work-Study employment is obtained by the completion of Financial Aid requirements and via accessing the CIA College Central database. Our Career Services Center helps students with accessing and applying for jobs on College Central.

New Federal Work-Study Employees

Once a new Federal Work-Study recipient confirms eligibility for the Federal Work-Study program, via logging into the NetPartner account, the student must:

1. Obtain, from the Career Service Center, a Handshake (CIA job search database) account
2. Search Handshake for a Federal Work-Study position
3. Determine the position/s of interest
4. Set up interviews within the departments wherein the positions are available
5. Complete the Federal Work-Study Experiential Learning Agreement (ELA/FWS agreement).

Once a supervisor decides to hire a student, the student will be sent updates on the progress of their Experience Request for hiring, via email.

Once the student receives those emails, it is the student’s responsibility to follow the directives in the emails which include completing federal documents necessary for payroll.

During the hiring process, the Payroll Department will require Paycor (Payroll Administration System) Registration be completed. The following documents must be submitted during the Paycor Registration, prior to the student working:

1.      Form W-4: Federal IRS Employee’s Tax Withholding Allowance Certificate

2.      Form IT 4: State of Ohio Employee’s Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate

3.      Form I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification for Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

4.      Paycheck Direct Deposit Authorization Form: Allows CIA to electronically deposit FWS monthly pay into a personal checking or savings account (Note: For direct deposit, students also must submit a voided check, which is a blank check on which "VOID" is written across.)

If the student does not do so, the student will forfeit their chances to get hired for the position.

Students may not begin working until all the before mentioned is complete AND they receive an email with the Finalized Experiential Learning Agreement (ELA/FWS agreement).

Returning Federal Work-Study Employees

Once a returning Federal Work-Study recipient confirms their eligibility for the Federal Work-Study program, via logging into their NetPartner account, they must:

1. Search Handshake for a Federal Work-Study position
2. Determine the position/s of interest
3. Set up interviews within the departments wherein the positions are available
4. Complete the Experiential Learning Agreement (ELA/FWS agreement). Once a supervisor determines he/she wants to hire a student, the supervisor will begins the Experience process for hiring.  Email updates will be sent to the student.

Once the student receives those emails, it is the student’s responsibility to follow the directives in the email. If the student does not do so, the student will forfeit their chances to get hired for the position.

If students have any questions about the hiring process, please contact Career Services or the Financial Aid Office.

FWS employees may work during the summer/winter/spring breaks, if their job requires.

If FWS employees work during the winter and spring breaks, no additional paperwork must be submitted. The FWS employee must merely continue to work scheduled hours as directed by their supervisor.

The financial aid award year begins July 1 of each year and ends June 30 of each year. Therefore, all FWS ELA/Agreements expire and students are automatically terminated from their Federal Work-Study positions effective June 30 each year. Consequently, no later than June 30 of each year, the process to obtain FWS employment must be completed again.

If FWS employees work during the Summer break beyond June 30, students must:

• have the next academic year’s FAFSA on file with the Financial Aid Office
• submit all required financial aid documents to the Financial Aid Office
• be re-hired by the department for which they are intended to work, even if they are returning to a position worked in the preceded award year

Federal Work-Study employees are eligible to work until their Federal Work-Study funds, for the current academic year, are exhausted for that academic year. Once the Federal Work-Study funds are exhausted, the student must stop working immediately.

If students have any questions about the working during the academic breaks, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Some Federal Work-Study positions may require an employee have access to files and personal information. If students obtain positions wherein this is the case, they must under no circumstance share any information read and/or heard with persons outside of the office. Students in information sensitive positions will be required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement.

Violation of confidentiality is grounds for immediate termination and/or further legal actions.

If a student has a question regarding Federal Work-Study confidentiality, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Upon completion of all the necessary paperwork, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to define a work schedule that fits with Federal Work-Study students’ class schedules and the department’s needs. Federal guidelines prohibit students from working during scheduled class periods. In addition, a student:

• is not allowed to work more than 20 hours a week when classes are in session.
• is not allowed to work more than 30 hours a week when classes are not in session.
• is not allowed to have more than 2 Federal Work-Study positions at one time.
• is not allowed to exceed the amount of total Federal Work-Study awarded in hours worked.
• is not allowed to work an 8-hour shift without a 1-hour break. The 1-hour break must be recorded on the student’s timesheet.

Make up time for missed time during the pay period will be worked out between students and their supervisors.

If a student has a question regarding Federal Work-Study guidelines, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Starting in academic year 2026-2027, all timesheets should be submitted electronically via Paycor.  Students are responsible for submitting an original copy of their timesheet to their supervisor before the 1st of each month. Students must also ensure that the hours indicated on the timesheet reflect the actual hours worked (this may not always reflect the actual scheduled hours).

Failure to submit a timesheet without the supervisor’s signature/approval or in a timely manner will result in not receiving pay on time.  If a student fails to turn in their timesheet for the current month, the student is not allowed to work until the previous month’s timesheet is submitted to their supervisor.

It is a supervisor’s responsibility to validate and account for Federal Work-Study employees’ hours worked via submission of the student’s timesheet. The supervisor’s signature validates that all information on the timesheet is correct. Supervisors are responsible for submitting Federal Work-Study employees' timesheets to the Financial Aid Office on or before the 1st of each month. Students are not permitted to submit timesheets to the Financial Aid Office.

If a student has a question regarding Federal Work-Study timesheets, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

The Federal Work-Study award is not applied to a student’s billing statement of charges for tuition and fees (room, board, and departmental fees). A Federal Work-Study employee earns income by working an hourly wage position wherein the student is employed in one of the Cleveland Institute of Arts’ departments or at one of the approved Federal Work-Study community service jobs off-campus.

Federal Work-Study employees work the hours that are mutually agreed upon between them and their supervisors, not to exceed 20 hours a week (30 hours a week when classes are not in session) and will receive a monthly paycheck that is deposited into their checking account. Federal Work-Study employees must submit their timesheets for hours worked to their supervisors no later than the first of each month and are paid on the fifteenth of each month. Timesheets received after the first of the month will not be paid until the following month.

Students are paid monthly on the 15^th of each month unless the 15^th fall on an observed holiday. Paychecks are deposited electronically into students’ checking accounts. Please note that there may be a lag time for processing pay due to the processing protocols of bank institutions. If there is a discrepancy on a paycheck, please contact the supervisor immediately.

It is the responsibility of the Federal Work-Study employees and their supervisors to monitor the students’ earnings to ensure that the amount earned does not exceed the amount of the total Federal Work-Study award. As a best practice, it is recommended that students and their supervisors schedule hours worked during the semester such that the amount of the Federal Work-Study award will not be exhausted until the end of the semester. If students have more than one Federal Work-Study position, the students must ensure that each supervisor is aware.

Payroll and the Financial Aid Office will assist with monitoring students’ earnings to ensure that the amount earned does not exceed the amount of total Federal Work-Study award.

Upon request, the Federal Work-Study Coordinator will notify students and their supervisors when students are in danger of reaching their Federal Work-Study award.

Upon request, the Federal Work-Study Coordinator will inform students and their supervisors’ of how many hours are remaining to work and any other information deemed necessary.

If a student has a question regarding Federal Work-Study earnings, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

No Longer Interested in Federal Work-Study

A student may voluntarily resign from a Federal Work-Study position at any time. However, it is asked the student provide the department at least a 2-week notice, unless the circumstance is beyond the student’s control and prevents the student from providing a 2-week notice. The student must notify the Financial Aid Office in writing via email at [email protected].

If a student resigns from a position, it does not prevent that student from obtaining the same or different position later.

Termination by Supervisor

A supervisor may terminate a student at any time for unsatisfactory job performance and/or insubordination. Reasons for termination can include, but are not limited to the following:

• Repeated failure to arrive to work on time
• Repeated failure to attend work
• Failure to complete assigned tasks
• Disruption of the department
• Breaching confidentiality of sensitive information
• Falsely completing/altering timesheet

Termination by Federal Work-Study Coordinator

The Federal Work-Study Coordinator may terminate a Federal Work-Study employee at any time if the student no longer meets the Federal Work-Study requirements and is therefore no longer eligible to utilize Federal Work-Study funds. The Federal Work-Study Coordinator will attempt to give supervisors as much notice as possible, but this may not always be possible. Examples of changes in eligibility include, but are not limited to the following:

• Failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards
• Changes in enrollment status/cost of attendance
• Additional aid awarded making the student ineligible for the Federal Work-Study program
• Failure to submit pertinent documents
• Allotted Federal Work-Study funds exhausted
• A student falsely completing/altering timesheet
• Working during unauthorized times (during scheduled classes)
• Breaching confidentiality of sensitive information