Federal Work-Study is a financial aid program which offers eligible students part-time employment. The student must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine eligibility and complete all hiring paperwork before starting employment. The federal government funds 100% of the student’s wages; there is no cost to the hiring department unless the student works more that the allowable hours per day/week.

If you already have a job description on file from the 2023-2024 year, it will be rolled over to the 2024-2025 year. If you do not want the job to roll over, notify Adriana Sanchez, FWS coordinator, at ext. 2213 or e-mail asanchez@palomar.edu. If you want to make changes to the job description or list a new job, complete the attached Federal Work-Study (FWS) job request form and send it to the Financial Aid Office.

Job listings are posted on the Palomar Financial Aid website in July 2024. The Financial Aid office does not act as a placement service. Students are directed to contact the supervisor listed in the job posting to express interest in the job and arrange an interview. The student should complete the Student and Temporary Application Form (unless he/she already has one on file with Human Resources Services) before meeting with the supervisor. The decision to hire or not hire the student rests with the supervisor; there is no guaranteed work-study placement. If you decide to hire the student, you will need to obtain all the required signatures on the Student Employment Action Form. Send a copy of the completed Student Action Form to the work-study coordinator in the Financial Aid Office. After the required signatures have been obtained, please submit the Student Action Form & Student Application to the Human Resources office. The Human Resources Office will contact the student to complete the hiring packet/requirements. The cost of the Live Scan will be paid by the District for student employees. If the student has already been Live Scan for the District, he/she will not need to complete this requirement again. Once the Live Scan results are received and reviewed by Human Resources, the employment process may continue. Once all paperwork is completed and approval to work has been received from Human Resources, the student can begin working no sooner than the first day of the semester. Federal Work Study students do not have to be confirmed by the Board of Governors before they begin work.

Fall 2024: August 26, 2024 thru December 23, 2024 Spring 2025: February 3, 2024 thru May 30, 2025 Some students may be able to work during Winter break upon written request of the supervisor and student. Approval of the winter break period will depend upon the balance of the federal allocation remaining after the Fall 2024 semester. The request form will be sent to supervisors in December 2024 and May 2025. Please keep in mind that how long the student can actually work is contingent upon the individual student’s work-study award, the hourly rate, and the hours worked each week. Summer Federal Work Study is not guaranteed, it is dependent on funding after Spring.

All employment paperwork, including the Live Scan and the TB skin test, must be completed before the student begins employment. Students must not be permitted to work during scheduled class time or during scheduled exam times. Departments will be responsible for keeping a record of the actual times that a student worked. This time card is separate from the timesheet which is submitted to Payroll via the Financial Aid Office. A suggested format is available on the Financial Aid website. The time card must be retained by the department for at least three years after the end of the academic year and made available for auditors upon request. Students must be supervised while performing work-study job duties. Students working on weekends, or on days when the College is closed, do not meet the supervision requirements and cannot be paid from work-study funds. An exception will be made for departments that routinely operate on weekends. Student timesheets are DUE in the Financial Aid Office on the 16th of each month (at noon) unless notified by the Federal Work-Study Coordinator. Timesheets will not be accepted from the student; they must be delivered to the Financial Aid office or submitted electronically via Adobe Sign by the supervisor or a staff member from the department. Late submission of timesheets will result in the student not being paid until the following month. Students and supervisors are responsible for monitoring the hours worked for each payroll period. Any hours worked in excess of a student’s award offer must be paid from the departmental budget. FWS Students can work up to fifteen hours per week and no more than eight hours per day. Replacing a full-time employee whose position was eliminated (for any reason) with a student employee paid with FWS funds is prohibited. Moreover, this prohibition extends to instances where a school first replaces the full-time employee with a student position paid for with college funds.

The supervisor sets the wage; however, the starting wage for work-study students is $16.30, $17.00, or $18.00/hr. depending on experience. The salary guidelines may be found on the Human Resource Services website at http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/hr/employees/personnel/students/ Keep in mind the higher the hourly wage, the faster the student will go through their award. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE Adriana Sanchez, Ext. 2213 or email asanchez@palomar.edu