Overview
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.
Finding a Work-Study Student
One way to show prospective employees you’re looking for someone is to send a Work-Study Job Posting to the Financial Aid Office. This posting should have in detail the qualifications and the responsibilities for your position. It will be posted outside of the Financial Aid Office on the Work-Study Job Board.
Another place you should post job opportunities is in any high traffic area. High traffic and high visibility can lead to finding the perfect work-study employee
I Have Found a Work-Study Student, Now What?
First and foremost, make sure that the student is eligible for work-study. While most students are eligible, some are not. Please be sure to check with the Financial Aid Office to make sure the student, you want to hire is eligible for work-study.
Next, make sure your department has enough money in its work-study budget to pay the student worker. Every year your department gets a certain amount of work-study money it can use. Your department can not exceed that amount. Check with the Business Office to find out how much work-study money your department has been allotted.
You should also confirm if your new hire is working at any other office or department under the work-study program.
WORK-STUDY STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO WORK ONLY TWO JOBS AT THE SAME TIME DURING THE YEAR. Also, make sure the student is enrolled at least half- time.
Now comes the paperwork. BEFORE A STUDENT CAN BEGIN WORKING, THE STUDENT MUST FIRST COMPLETE AND RETURN A REFERRAL FORM TO THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE. ONCE THE REFERRAL FORM HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND IS ON FILE THE STUDENT CAN THEN BEGIN TO WORK.
The student must come to the Financial Aid Office to pick up the referral form. The referral will indicate the amount of work-study money the student is eligible to earn for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Onboarding Details for Payroll
If the student is a new participant in the work-study program, he or she must complete tax forms, I-9 forms, and direct deposit forms. The student must also bring to the Financial Aid Office two forms of identification, preferably a driver’s license and social security card (see the appendix, table 1 for other acceptable forms of identification).
If the student is a returning student to the work-study program, a referral form for the current academic year must be obtained from the Financial Aid Office to be completed in your department.
Once a supervisor decides to hire a student, the student will be sent an “Work Study - New Intent to Hire” email, with directions to create an experience record in Handshake.
Once the student receives the “Work Study – New Intent to Hire” email, it is the student’s responsibility to follow the directives in the email 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:
- Form W-4: Federal IRS Employee’s Tax Withholding Allowance Certificate
- Form IT 4: State of Ohio Employee’s Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate
- Form I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification for Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- 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)
NOTE: Remember that it is the supervisor’s responsibility to make sure that all paperwork is complete before students begin working and that timesheets are turned in on time. Do not shift the responsibility of the paperwork completion to the student. It is the supervisor’s responsibility. Supervisors cannot accumulate monthly time-sheets. All time-sheets must be turned in each month no matter how few hours. No more than 1 month behind (63 days).
How Do Work-Study Students Get Paid?
The supervisor is responsible for keeping track of the hours the student works on timesheets, which are available in the Financial Aid Office. THESE TIMESHEETS ARE TO BE TURNED INTO THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE BY THE SUPERVISOR BY THE THIRD OF EVERY MONTH (PLEASE NOTE: THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE WILL NOT ACCEPT TIMESHEETS FROM STUDENTS). If for any reason the Financial Aid Office receives a late timesheet the student will not be paid until the next pay period. A note will be put in the student’s mailbox informing them to contact you, the supervisor. It is not the responsibility of the Payroll Office or the Financial Aid Office to inform students that they will not be paid due to late submission of their timesheet. A copy of the letter that will be given to the student is provided in the Appendix.
The Financial Aid Office strongly recommends that work-study student’s sign up for direct deposit. Please encourage your work-study employees to take advantage of the direct deposit option. Students that do not sign up for direct deposit will be able to pick up their paychecks at the Mail Center, on the 15th of the month after they have worked. If students do not pick up their check within ten business days their check will be mailed to their permanent address.
Pay Scale
There are four levels to the work-study pay rate: $11.50, $12.00, $12.50 and $13.50 based on the duties. These duties are summarized in the following paragraph and are shown in the Appendix, Table 2.
FWS employees may work during the summer/winter/spring breaks, if their job requires.
- Please cautiously watch your work-study students’ hours because with the higher pay-rates equals less hours available for the student to work. This is important to keep in mind because if your work-study student(s) uses all of the money allotted to them for the fiscal school year and they continue to work then your department will need to pay the students out of your department’s budget.
- Also please monitor your work-study students’ hours carefully and your department’s budget carefully to ensure that your department does not allow your students to go over their individual limit and that all of their combined limits do not exceed your departmental budget for the academic year.
Level 1: $11.50 – Moderate supervision; beginning training; Working with both the public and non-public
Level 2: $12.00 – High degree of training; High degree of experience; Little-no supervision; Supervises other work-study students
Level 3: $12.50 – High degree of proficiency in an area of specialized knowledge/skill; Supervise other work-study students; Facilitates planned educational activities with children or CIA students such as tutoring or assisting with teaching
Level 4: $13.50 – High degree of proficiency in an area of specialized knowledge/skill; Supervise other work-study students; Oversee/Administer workshops; Supervise facility; Perform advanced equipment maintenance and troubleshooting; Inventory/Sale product; Create user documents
REMEMBER, YOU MUST MEET WITH THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE TO SET UP THE PAYSCALE FOR ALL NEW WORK-STUDY POSITIONS AND JOB TITLES. Please note: no student will get paid unless we have met and mutually agreed upon the job title and the pay rate for that particular position. Do not assume sending it to the office will automatically approve the pay rate. A timesheet received with an unapproved position pay rate will be returned to you and the student will not be paid until we meet and discuss the appropriate pay rate for the particular job.
Re-Hiring for The Following Year
There is little to do except for asking the student to stay on another year in your department. Remember that if they have done a good job in your department, they will be eligible for a one-time merit increase of $.50 (nice retention too!!). This one-time merit increase is not an option for students already at the maximum hourly pay rate. PLEASE NOTE ALL MERIT INCREASES MUST TAKE PLACE AT THE BEIGINNING OF EACH SEMESTER! If you are increasing the pay rate, please complete the form in the Appendix (copy as many as needed) and return it to the Financial Aid Office.
Here is what your student needs to do: They must re-file for financial aid. They can do this by completing a renewal FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. THE INSTITUTE’S PRIORITY DEADLINE FOR REFILING FOR FINANCIAL AID IS MARCH 15TH.
IMPORTANT!!!
JUST BECAUSE A STUDENT IS ELIGIBLE FOR WORK-STUDY ONE YEAR, IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY ENSURE ELIGIBILITY FOR WORK-STUDY FOR THE NEXT YEAR. ALSO, REMEMBER YOU MUST FILL OUT NEW PAPERWORK EVERY YEAR IN ORDER FOR YOUR STUDENT TO GET PAID.
Supervisor Responsibility Checklist
The following checklist can guide you through all required steps, which will ensure that your work-study student will be paid promptly.
REMEMBER THAT TIMESHEETS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FROM STUDENTS.
It is important to track the amount of money your work-study employee earns in your department and to track the amount remaining in your department’s budget. Eligible students are awarded a maximum amount, which is noted on their award letter and on their referral form (usually $2,000 per year). The Financial Aid Office will also keep track of the money earned and will make an effort to keep you informed when students are reaching their work-study money limit.
SUPERVISORS WILL NEED TO DETERMINE WHAT THE RESPONSIBLITIES AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE WORK-STUDY STUDENTS SHOULD BE. YOU MAY WANT TO UTILIZE THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW FORM INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX TO PERIODICALLY REVIEW STUDENTS’ WORK. A STUDENT GUIDE TO WORK-STUDY IS AVAILABLE IN THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE OR ON THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE’S WEBSITE. THE PAMPHLET EXPLAINS THE GUIDELINES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF WORK-STUDY STUDENTS.
Summer Work-Study
The majority of your work-study students will be working for you throughout the academic year and then head home for the summer. But some of those students may want to stay in the area and continue working for you. Students may continue to do so as long as they meet the following requirement: THEY WILL CONTINUE TO BE WORKSTUDY STUDENTS IN THE FALL SEMESTER.
If the student is a fifth year, who will be graduating, he or she must cease working the last day of classes. Remember the fiscal year ends on June 30th, of every year and new paperwork must be completed in order for students to receive their paycheck after that date. This means that the student has completed all financial aid paperwork and has been awarded work-study for the upcoming academic year.
Timesheets
Starting in academic year 2026-2027, the majority of timesheets should be submitted electronically. 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 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.
What If My Work-Study Student Is Not Working Out?
Of course, in an ideal world, every student is perfect for any work-study job. However, sometimes things just do not work out. If you are having a problem with a student, try explaining the problem to the student. Sometimes students are unaware and do not realize they are not completing their responsibilities.
Reviewing your students’ work at the end of the semester (or throughout the semester) will help students understand what they are required to do in their position and what they might need to do to improve their work performance. If the student is still not working out, you have the option of termination. In that case, please send a memo to the Financial Aid Office, attention Assistant Director, indicating the student’s last day of employment in your office. The student will remain eligible to work under the federal work-study program.
Separation
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
Falsifying Timesheets
If it comes to the attention, and verified from the supervisor, that if a student has intentionally lied and added hours on their work-study timesheet, the following actions should be taken at the Supervisor’s discretion:
- The student should be terminated from the position
- The student should not be paid for that Month in question
- The student should have to repay the school for any hours found to be falsified
- The student’s action should be reported to the Dean of Admissions & Student Affairs
- In addition, according to The Cleveland Institute of Art Student Handbook Rules of Conduct: Furnishing false information to the college, including forgery, alteration or misuse of college documents, records or identification will lead to Disciplinary Sanctions including one or more of the following:
Disciplinary Warning
Oral warning to the student that identifies the violation of specified conduct rules and notifies the student of the consequences of any repeated occurrence.
Disciplinary Probation
Written statement to the student that identifies his or her violation of specified conduct rules and notifies the student that he or she will be placed on probationary status for a specified period of time to demonstrate acceptable behavior.
Suspension
Written notice excluding the student from classes or other Institute privileges and activities for a specified period of time.
Disciplinary Expulsion
Written notice to the student terminating his or her status at the Institute for a specified period of time. The conditions of readmission, if permitted, will be stated in the expulsion letter.
Restitution
Reimbursement for damage to or misappropriation of property. Reimbursement also may take the form of appropriate service or repair.
If you would like to know more about Disciplinary Sanctions and the Hearing Process, please refer your Student Handbook.
Confidentiality
In some jobs, students may be asked to work with other students’ files, and students’ personal information or other information that should be kept confidential. These students need to understand that what they are viewing is confidential information and must remain so. Under no circumstances should students discuss confidential information with other students, faculty, or staff.
One way to heighten awareness of confidential matters is to require that the work-study student sign a “CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT”, whereby the student acknowledges that the information that he or she comes in contact with is confidential and will not be discussed outside of the job. A sample of the confidentiality agreement is included in the appendix.
Skills for Students to Develop and/or Strengthen with The Work-Study Position
- Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
- Written Communication
- Oral Communication
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Using/Learning Technology
- Leadership
- Professionalism
- Work Ethic
- Self-Awareness
- Respect/Awareness for others and their beliefs/culture
Supervisor Acknowledgements and Agreements
- I agree to monitor the work study student's hours so as not to exceed my departmental budget for the academic year.
- I agree to record the total number of monthly hours for the work study student on a time sheet and return it to the Office of Financial Aid by the 3rd day of each month to ensure the student will be paid on time. I am aware that if the time sheet from the previous month is not received, the student will not be permitted to continue working.
- I agree to require my work study employee to take at least a half hour break if working four or more consecutive hours and at least an hour break if working 8 or more consecutive hours.
- I acknowledge that this agreement is only valid until June 30th of the selected academic year or until the student's work study funds for the selected academic year are exhausted, whichever occurs first. If I plan to have the student work in the same position past June 30th of the selected academic year, I agree to require them to submit an additional agreement and not allow them to work during the new academic year until it has been approved and finalized.
Additional Information
Additional questions regarding the Federal Work-Study program can be directed to the Federal Work-Study Coordinator and the Director of the CIA Career Services Center.
Elton Lytle Assistant Director of Financial Aid 216.421.7423 | Lauren Conway Director, Career Services 216.421.8073 |
Sample Work-Study Employee Performance Review
Sample Confidentiality Agreement
Sample Federal Work-Study Merit Increase
Sample Work-Study Job Description Building Form
Sample Email to Student on Lack of Work-Study Referral Form or Late Timesheet
DATE:
TO:
FROM: FWS COORDINATOR / FINANCIAL AID
RE: YOUR WORK-STUDY PAYCHECK
________________________________________________________
The financial aid office has either received your timesheet and does not have a work–study referral form on file or received your timesheet late from your supervisor. In either case, you run the risk of not getting paid this month.
Please note that if your supervisor corrects the problem, you will be paid, you may not get paid this month but you will get paid next month if everything is in order.
It is your supervisor’s responsibility to make sure that all paperwork is completed and submitted on time to the financial aid office before you begin working. Furthermore, your supervisor is responsible for turning in your timesheets before the beginning of every month.
Please contact me, if you have any questions regarding this matter.
____________________________________________________
Appendix
Table 1. Correct Identification
**Must have a passport or one form of identification from both columns**
| LIST A | LIST B |
| U.S. Social Security Card | Driver’s License or State I.D. |
| Copy of Birth Certificate | School I.D. with photograph |
| Native American Tribal Document | Voter’s Registration Card |
| U.S. Citizen I.D. Card | U.S. Military Card or Draft Card |
| I.D. Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States | Driver’s License issued by a Canadian government authority |
| Unexpired employment authorization document issued by the INS |
Table 2. Pay Scale Criteria
| Level 1: $11.50 | Moderate supervision; beginning training; Working with both the public and non-public |
| Level 2: $12.00 | High degree of training; High degree of experience; Little-no supervision; Supervises other work-study students |
Level 3: $12.50
| High degree of proficiency in an area of specialized knowledge/skill; Supervise other work-study students; Facilitates planned educational activities with children or CIA students such as tutoring or assisting with teaching |
Level 4: $13.50
| High degree of proficiency in an area of specialized knowledge/skill; Supervise other work-study students; Oversee/Administer workshops; Supervise facility; Perform advanced equipment maintenance and troubleshooting; Inventory/Sale product; Create user documents |
You are done. Great job!