Departments are encouraged to develop training procedures that best fit needs of position. Review is encouraged.
Another resource is our Sample Orientation Checklist. You may have to make some adjustments to cater to the policies and procedures of your department.
Please refer to the HR Web site for complete instruction on how to complete the proper on-line forms to hire, change or terminate a student employee’s employment with the university. The online Work Flow Process found under GoWMU is where you can do this.
Because the process for getting the student paid varies depending on where the department a student employee works, there may be a few time-keeping choices. They include: time sheet, time clock, card swipe. Each department may have their own methodology to complete a time record. The important part is for a student to accurately record their hours and for a supervisor to verify and sign off on those hours. All hours are entered into Kronos by a timekeeper for each department.
Students who are employed off-campus at a Community Service site are paid by the site. Students who are employed off-campus through the America Reads program will submit timesheets to Career and Student Employment Services. For more payroll details, please visit here.
See Employee Self Service through GoWMU for W-2 information.
Generally, a student employed at the university at which he/she is enrolled at least half-time is excluded from Social Security/Medicare coverage. If an undergraduate student employee is enrolled for 6 or more credits (Fall/Spring) or 3 or more credits (Summer I/Summer II) he/she is considered exempt from Social Security/Medicare withholding. If he/she is enrolled for less than the required credits, Social Security/Medicare taxes will be withheld.
A graduate student employee will be considered exempt from Social Security/Medicare withholding if he/she is enrolled for 3 or more credits during a Fall or Spring Semester or 2 or more credits during a Summer I or Summer II session.
A student employee that is not a resident of the United States and is temporarily present in this country on an F-1 Visa is, generally, exempt from Social Security/Medicare withholding for the first five calendar years he/she is this country.
Please refer specific questions to the Payroll Department.
For forms of instructions, please refer to our Payroll Department.
In order to encourage consistent, equitable compensation campus-wide for student employees, C&SES has developed guidelines, which you may use in determining wage rates and recommending increases. Adherence to these guidelines will ensure that your student employees are compensated in a like manner to employees with comparable skills and experience in other departments or on other payrolls.
Refer to this link for job classifications and pay rates. Each of the four job classifications carries with it a different pay rate. You may slide a student employee within their job classification based on semesters worked or merit increase with permission from the appropriate supervisor, manager or chair. The Board of Trustees issues across the board pay rate increases at their discretion and budgetary guidelines.
We hope that minor disagreements between student employees and their employers can be worked out without resorting to the formal grievance procedures described below. However, these procedures should be followed if there is a serious problem associated with part-time employment.
Normal review requires students with employment problems to bring them to the attention of their immediate supervisors in order to seek mutually satisfactory solutions. When problems cannot be resolved in this manner, students should discuss their problems with the heads of the employing departments. If this also fails, students should bring their grievances to the CSES Office, (269)387-2745
Depending on the nature of grievances, the C&SES Office will refer students to the Office of Student Conduct.
Once a student has been selected for a job, continued employment is contingent upon satisfactory performance. If the employer decides performance is not satisfactory, the student may be terminated. Employment law endorses the concept of "employment at will." This means that the University reserves the right to terminate an employee at any time for any or no cause and that the Unversity is under no obligation to specify a cause of termination. (This does not supercede federal and state discrimination statutes, or existing labor contracts). If a student is terminated eligibility for future employment on campus will depend on the reason for dismissal. However, since our mission is to educate students consultation with C&SES is advised before termination.
If a student should wish to terminate employment, the student should give at least two weeks notice to the employer. In addition, the student should discuss the reason for termination with the supervisor. You may also wish to refer the terminated student to the C&SES Office for assistance in any job search he/she might conduct.
Student Employment is recognized as a developmental and educational process on Western’s campus. As a supervisor, your primary goal should be to get the best performance possible from your employees by:
Information on these and other strategies is available from C&SES.
However, other options may be necessary as an incentive to performance, and, if the positive strategies prove unsuccessful, you may wish to terminate and replace an employee. A recommended progression of options is discussed in the following sections.
Verbal Warning
Students who are failing to meet performance expectations should be given a verbal warning. Supervisors are encouraged to keep notes of dates verbal warnings are given, and items discussed.Written Warning
Students who continue to fail to meet performance expectations should be given a written warning. Supervisors are encouraged to keep notes of dates and items discussed. Document these things in memo to the student employeeProbation
If an employee's work performance and/or attendance is still unsatisfactory, the supervisor may place that person on probation. Notice of probation should be given in writing to the student (or sent if the student's attendance is the problem) and should explain the reasons for placing the student on probation. A copy of the memo to the student should be kept on file. The period of probation could normally run to the end of the semester or academic period, regardless of whether or not the student returns to that department. For example, if a student is placed on probation during summer session, it could last throughout fall semester. If the student goes to a new department for fall, he or she will be on probation there.The memo to the student should include:
- Reason for probation;
- period of probation; and
- consequences of further unsatisfactory performance.
Termination
This, of course, is the consequence of further unsatisfactory performance. If the student fails to correct the deficiencies which caused the probation, or if other deficiencies occur, the supervisor may terminate the employee. Again, it is necessary to communicate the termination in writing to the student and you may want to consult with C&SES before doing so.There may be cases in which immediate termination, without a period of probation, is necessary. The decision to immediately terminate an employee is the supervisor's. Cause for immediate termination might include, but is not limited to:
- Physical or verbal abuse, threatening behavior
- Theft
- Falsely reporting time worked
If a student is terminated from his/her position for any of the behaviors listed above, please also consult with staff in the Office of Student Conduct.
Appeal
Grounds for appeal are limited to issues related to the student's employment situation and job performance. An appeal for loss of an employment position may initially be heard by a staff member in C&SES. A final review may need to be conducted by the Office of Student Conduct.The C&SES staff member may discuss the situation with the supervisor or other appropriate persons and decide whether or not to reinstate the student’s position or the need for further review.
Reassigning a Student
There may be situations in which the supervisor does not wish to exercise the probation/termination/replacement option. For example, a student may be a poor match for a particular job and could, in the supervisor's judgment, work out well elsewhere. As always, the supervisor can work with C&SES to help a student find
work elsewhere through BroncoJOBS.Students Who Resign
Of course, some students quit. For whatever reason, they choose not to work any longer. If this is the case and you would like a replacement, please contact us to re-post your job at (269)387-2745.Hiring Replacements
If a department has terminated a student, or a student has left your employ for any reason, please call C&SES to request your position be reposted if you don’t have a sufficient applicant pool. You can repost your position or have C&SES re-post the positionMost WS students seek employment at the start of an academic period. During the semester, only WS students who have been unsuccessful in their job search, or who have left another department, are available. This is usually a small number and the ability to fill open jobs with WS in the middle of a semester may be limited.