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Work Study

Federal Work-Study Program Overview

The Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program encourages and provides part-time employment for students to help meet their indirect cost of attending college. The program should not be used to pay tuition and other charges.Students may be employed by: the institution itself; a federal, state, or local public agency; a private nonprofit organization; or a private for-profit organization. 

Steps to Apply

  1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  
  2. Visit the Delgado Community College Job Board
  3. Contact the supervisor listed for the position and arrange an interview.
  4. FWS Coordinator will inform supervisor if student is eligible.
  5. If student is eligible, student and supervisor must complete the Work Study Application Packet:  
  6. Supervisor submits completed forms to the Work-Study Coordinator for processing. 
    • Background check is conducted. 
    • Student is assigned a start date.

Video Resources for Federal Work-Study Student Basics

 

Guidelines

Student Eligibility
  • Students must meet the eligibility requirements for student aid.  There is no restriction for students who have previously earned a Bachelor's Degree; unlike the Federal Supplemental Equal Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Pell programs.
  • Students must be enrolled in at least six credit hours to be eligible for Federal Study.
  • The student must be approved for a Federal Work-Study position by the FWS Coordinator before beginning employment.
Work Hours
  • The maximum number of hours is 20 per week; however, any special allowances must be approved by a Financial Aid Office Administrator.
  • Students are not allowed to work during their scheduled class time.  When a scheduled class has been changed, they must submit a new schedule to the supervisor. 
  • If a class or classes are cancelled, students are not allowed to work. 
  • Student must sign-in and sign-out in addition to submitting timesheets via their LoLA (Delgado’s online student portal) account.
  • The Supervisor will review the student's time sheet to ensure that the student is not working while they should be in class.
  • Additionally, Delgado Community College staff will counsel students if they appear to be working too many hours which could adversely affect their educational studies. 
  • A Non-Enrollment Employment Form must be submitted to the Student Financial Assistance Office for each student working the non-enrollment (between semesters) period.  Otherwise, the student will not be allowed to work.
  • Only during periods of non-enrollment and between semester breaks are students allowed to work over 20 hours per week as identified by the Work-Study Coordinator.
  • Although there is no prohibition on paying overtime in the FWS program (for example, someone working on a stage crew may have to work overtime during a production), FWS is a program designed to provide part-time employment and students whould not oftern work in excess of 40 hours in a single week. Overtime and payment for overtime hours may not be used in a way that would create an overaward in student's financial aid package. More information 
Wage and Payroll Processing
  • The wage to be paid under the FWS/CMS program is $10.00 per hour.  No maximum wage rate is set under the Federal Work-Study/ Community Service program.  It is up to the school to determine a reasonable pay rate for the duties performed.
  • Compensation under the program must be computed on an hourly wage rate basis. No compensation will be given for holidays not worked, vacation pay, sick leave, lunch breaks, etc. 
  • Any problems concerning student(s) not receiving their payroll check should be directed to Payroll.
  • Students working off campus should have their supervisors FAX copies of their timesheet and deliver original timesheets to FWS Coordinator/ Student Financial Assistance Office. Failure to submit time sheets on time (noon on the Wednesday following payday unless specified otherwise) to the Student Financial Assistance Office will cause a delay in processing.
  • Any student desiring to participate in the college Work-Study program must submit a copy of their Social Security Card with their Student Employee Action Request Packet and a current Picture ID.
Expectations
  • All students must conduct themselves in a professional manner.  Be respectful and polite to all students, employees and visitors.
  • Appropriate attire is required at all times. No hats, head scarves, stocking caps, hoods, do-rags, skull caps, head wraps, ear phone/plugs, or clothing revealing inappropriate body parts can be worn in the office.
  • All cell phones must be placed on vibrate and not to be used during working hours unless it is an emergency!  All office phones are for official business, not personal use!
  • All office computers are for office work. No homework, studying, downloading music, entertaining friends/family or surfing the web are allowed during working hours. No iPods, personal laptop computers, etc. can be used during working hours.
  • If students are unable to report to work at their scheduled time they must contact their respective supervisors. Therefore, supervisors should provide all student employees with a phone number to contact the appropriate person(s). Continued absenteeism can result in termination.