UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls

Types of Aid

Student Employment

What is Work Study?

  • Work study is a financial aid award.
  • If you have submitted a FAFSA and "Federal Work Study" is listed on your award letter, you have the opportunity to apply for work study employment and earn up to the amount of work study awarded.
  • The work study award is not a guarantee of a job; you need to apply for jobs and complete any hiring processes that may be involved.
  • Once you are hired, a work schedule is developed with your employer to best fit your class schedule, possibly including nights and weekends.
  • A paycheck is disbursed (by direct deposit) every two weeks for the hours you work. You will receive bi-weekly electronic earnings statements via your UW-River Falls e-mail account.

What is Student Assistance?

  • Student Assistance is the other form of on-campus employment.
  • Any enrolled, degree-seeking student can work in a student assistant position, even if not awarded financial aid. The FAFSA submittal is not required to pursue this type of position.
  • Once you are hired, a work schedule is developed with your employer to best fit your class schedule, possibly including nights and weekends.
  • A paycheck is disbursed (by direct deposit) every two weeks for the hours you work. You will receive bi-weekly electronic earnings statements via your UW-River Falls e-mail account.

 

Tips for Obtaining an On-Campus Job

 

Welcome to UWRF! There are some great advantages to working on-campus, such as:
Accessibility: Getting to work is just a short distance, you won't need a car, unless you work at the Mann Valley Farm.
Flexibility:
Campus employers understand your first priority is being a student and will usually work around your class schedule and breaks, and may give you time off for class projects or trips with enough advance notice.
Connection: Campus employment can help with the adjustment to campus life by enabling you to make connections with other students/staff/faculty and boost your overall campus knowledge.
 

How do You Obtain an On-campus Position?

 

Find Out if You Qualify for Work Study
Work study dollars are awarded through a federal employment program on the basis of financial need. The first step to see if you will be awarded work study dollars is to complete and submit the FAFSA. The campus has a limited number of work study positions; therefore, receiving a work study award DOES NOT guarantee that you will have an on-campus job to earn the amount of money that you were awarded. However, having a work study award can be beneficial since some departments only hire students who have been approved for work study.

What if You Don't Qualify for Work Study?
Many UWRF departments are able to hire student employees who are not awarded work study by hiring them as "Student Assistants." Both work study and student assistant jobs generally pay the same and require the same skill set; the difference is how the positions are funded - for student assistance jobs, the departments pays all of a student's wage, meanwhile for work study jobs, the federal government pays a portion of the student's wage.

When Should I Begin Looking?
Start NOW. Do not wait until classes are in session since many positions will be filled by that time. If you don't get a position for the fall, don't give up. Many departments will also hire for spring semester or summer employment.

How Do I find Openings?
Handshake is our campus-wide electronic job posting system. It lists many on-campus student employment positions. Check the system daily for new job postings.

First Year Students: You can access the Handshake system 24 hours after enrolling in classes using your university W# and password to view employment opportunities. Please DO NOT attempt to create an account before this time as it creates issues with the technology. You can also visit the Career Services booth during the Resource Fair at New Student Registration to see a spreadsheet of available opportunities.

Additional Tips to Find On-campus Employment
Network: Do you know anyone who currently holds an on-campus job? Ask them if their department is hiring.
Conduct Department Search: Call departments you are interested in applying to. Ask who hires students for that department and follow-up via email inquiring about openings.
Visit Departments in Person: Locate and stop into each department you are considering. Introduce yourself to the office manager and inquire about open positions.

Students:

Search for on-campus jobs (work study and student assistance) and off-campus jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities in Handshake.

Please note: Work study eligibilty is not uploaded into Handshake. If you have work study, please apply for positions despite your profile stating that you are not work study eliigible.

Each position posted will specify work study or student assistance funding (typically next to the job title or in the position description). If you qualify for work study, you can apply for work study positions or student assistant positions. If you do not qualify for work study, you can apply for student assistant positions.

When hired, your employer will provide any necessary employment documents.

Employers & UWRF Departments:

To post an on-campus (work study or student assistance) or off-campus job, or to get more information on recruitment, click here.

 

Student Employment: When hired, your employer will provide any necessary employment documents.