Please refer to the communication archive for important updates and program announcements.
The Work-Study Program is a financial aid program that promotes part-time employment for undergraduate and graduate students to help finance their education. By participating in the Work-Study Program, your department can hire student workers and obtain a subsidy for a portion of the student’s wages.
The Work-Study Program subsidizes 70% of the students wages and the department pays for the remaining 30% of the wages. In addition, there is a 20% administrative surcharge* that departments pay to the Work-Study Program office; therefore, the net cost to the department is 50%.
Breakdown of the Work-Study Subsidy and Department Costs
70% Work-Study Subsidy
30% Department Share
20% Administrative Surcharge*
The Department’s Net Cost is 50%
* If the source of the Department’s share is a federal grant, as classified in Cal Planning, the administrative charge is waived, which means the net cost to the Department can be as low as 30%.
Benefits of the Work-Study Program
Benefits to the Student
By participating in the Work-Study Program, you can help students avoid increasing their student loans by earning part of their college costs. In addition to the financial benefits, students gain valuable work experience and develop transferable skills while in school, putting them in a stronger position to pursue graduate school and/or employment opportunities when they graduate.
Benefits to the Employer
Departments can employ UC Berkeley students for half the cost with the work-study subsidy! As an on-campus employer, you have access to a talented pool of job applicants that bring with them diverse personal, academic and career interests that can meaningfully contribute to meeting your department’s business needs.
Work-Study Eligibility
Undergraduate students must apply to be considered for work-study by submitting the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act. If the student has financial need, as reflected in the FAFSA or CA Dream Act application, then the student will be considered for work-study. An eligible undergraduate student with sufficient financial need can receive a work-study award up to $6,000.
Graduate students must must apply to be considered for work-study by submitting the FAFSA or the CA Dream Act. If the student has financial need, as reflected in the FAFSA or CA Dream Act, the student can request to convert up to $10,000 in loans to work-study, depending on financial need-based eligibility.
Work-Study and DACA
The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office remains committed to ensuring that undocumented students have access to the work-study program. DACA students may participate in the work-study program provided they applied and are eligible for financial aid under the CA Dream Act and have a valid work permit. DACA students can request a work-study award by contacting the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and opening a case.
Utilize the Work-Study Employer Guide for a summary on how to get started with the Work-Study Program. For more information about getting started, please review the additional details provided below.
Student and Employer Work-Study Eligibility
Students must have a work-study award as part of their financial aid to be hired as a work-study employee, and departments must register the job on the work-study Management System (WSMS) and complete the referral process in order to receive the subsidy. Any wages earned by the student before registering the work-study job and completing all steps of the referral process are not subsidized by work-study; the department will be responsible for 100% of the wages during this period.
Students who graduate, withdraw, are academically dismissed, or are otherwise no longer enrolled are no longer eligible for work-study. The student's last day of enrollment is their last day of work-study eligibility.
Registering a Job and the Referral Process
In order to connect a student’s work-study award to a specific job to receive the subsidy, you must first register a job on the Work-Study Management System (WSMS) and complete the referral process as detailed below.
1. Register a job on the Work-Study Management System (WSMS)
Complete the job request form. All fields are required
When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page
Reminders:
The department ID used when creating a job in WSMS must match the department ID in the UCPath position number.
Jobs must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates new job requests within 2-3 business days.
Jobs registered within WSMS are for advertisement purposes; this does not replace the campus HR hiring process
Jobs must be re-registered within WSMS each program year, they do not roll over from one year to the next.
Locate the job and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
Select "Offer Job"
Enter the Student ID (SID) and the UCPath Position number and follow the instructions displayed on the page
Once you receive the confirmation message of a successful offer, proceed to part 2 of the referral process below
Reminders:
To offer the job to your selected student through WSMS, you will need the student ID (SID) and the UCPath position number.
Individual, single-headcount positions in UCPath are required for positions utilizing work-study.
The UCPath position must be fully funded (i.e. tied to position funding that is not a default chartstring or expired).
This process is directly linked to student eligibility. If a student is confirmed eligible at the time you attempt the offer, you’ll receive a confirmation message. If the student is not work-study eligible, you will receive an error message, as an offer cannot be processed for anyone who is not eligible.
If you proceed with hiring a student who is not eligible (as determined by an unsuccessful offer), the department is responsible for 100% of the earnings and will not receive the subsidy; this is not a work-study job.
The referral process must be completed each year, even if the same student will be working in the same position. A student’s eligibility is subject to change each year, so job referrals do not roll over from year-to-year.
Unearned work-study awards do not carry forward to the next year.
3. The Referral Process Part 2: Confirm Student Accepted Job Offer/Referral
Steps:
Log in to the Employer Portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
Select "Students" from the menu bar
Select "Job Offer Status"
Enter the Student ID (SID) in the SID field and click search
Review the search results and locate the correct student record based on the department name and job number (students can have more than one work-study job)
Review the “Status” column for the current job offer status.
Pending: The job has been offered and neither accepted nor declined by the student
Accepted: The job has been accepted by the student
Declined: The job has been declined by the student
The work-study referral is complete once the status column reflects an accepted status
Reminders:
Once you’ve successfully offered a job to your selected candidate, the student will then need to log in to the student portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS) where they can accept or decline the job offered.
The process is complete only after the student accepts the job offer. This step officially links a student’s work-study award to a specific job.
The Pool ID (work-study alpha code) drives the work-study subsidy; the Pool ID is assigned exclusively by the Financial Aid And Scholarships Office once the student accepts the referral.
WSMS will generate an email to notify the three contacts (payroll representative, general contact, supervisor) listed on the work-study job that the job was accepted. This email contains important information such as the students earnings limit for the academic year and the work-study referral effective date. This same information can be viewed on the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
Earnings prior to a student’s work-study referral effective date are not eligible for the subsidy. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Earnings Limits
A student’s work-study award/earnings limit is the maximum gross amount of potential work-study earnings. It takes into account both the department share and the work-study share. If the student earns more than this amount, the department is responsible for paying 100% of additional costs.
Work-study award/earnings limit can increase or decrease at any time during the award year based on changes to a student’s financial aid. It is not a guaranteed amount for the award year.
Think of the earnings limit as a snapshot of the current work-study award based on the student's financial aid package and eligibility at the time of referral.
Any updates that change the work-study award will trigger an auto-generated email notification to the three contacts, that includes the updated earnings limit.
Examples of why a work-study award can change include:
Student receives additional financial aid which reduces work-study eligibility
Student has an incomplete financial aid task
Student accepts another work-study job
Student converts loans to work-study or work-study (unearned) to loans
Student is no longer enrolled
Students should be directed to log in to CalCentral for award and task review and should be advised to contact Cal Student Central if they have any questions regarding their awards or eligibility.
Department Responsibilities
In addition to creating a job and completing the referral process in WSMS, departments are also responsible for working directly with HR/Berkeley Regional Service (formerly CSS) for the hiring and onboarding of all student workers. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office is not part of this process.
Further, departments are responsible for tracking a student's work-study earnings, both to confirm that the subsidy is being applied as expected, and to monitor the award limit as it approaches. If a student is permitted to earn more than the work-study earnings limit, departments are responsible for 100% of student earnings exceeding this limit. Departments are also encouraged to consider other potential costs, e.g., fringe benefits which are not subsidized by work-study funds. If such costs are incurred, the department must cover 100% of the cost.
Remote work from outside of the US is not permitted due to tax and labor law implications.
Payroll and Financial Transactions
add
2024-25 Work-Study/Learning Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) Program Year
7/1/2024 - 5/16/2025 is the Work-Study/Learning Aligned Employment program year. Wages earned outside these dates are 100% the department’s responsibility.
Referral Effective Date
The referral effective date is the date in which the student become eligible for the subsidy and is assigned once the referral process has been completed.
Work-Study Referral Effective Date
If the student is not yet hired into UCPath at the time of referral in WSMS, the referral effective date will become the hire date in UCPath (if hired within the work-study program year: between 7/1/2024 - 5/16/2025).
If the student is already hired into UCPath at the time of referral in WSMS, the referral effective date will be the hire date in UCPath or July 1, 2024 if the student was hired prior to the start of the work-study program year.
LAEP Referral Effective Date
The LAEP referral effective date will be assigned based on the date the student accepts the job offer in WSMS.
Confirm Your Department is Receiving the Subsidy
It is recommended that department’s perform a monthly reconciliation and review of the CalAnswers General Ledger Compensation by Accounting Period Report to ensure that your department is receiving the subsidy--do not risk losing the subsidy by waiting until June to reconcile your funds.
If you do not have access to CalAnswers General Ledger, but have access to WSMS, you can confirm that your department is receiving the work-study/LAEP subsidy in WSMS.
Navigate to WSMS > Students > Student Earnings Report
Direct Retro/Salary Cost Transactions on Work-Study Funds
Before initiating a Direct Retro or Salary Cost Transfer transaction that impacts work-study funds, verify and confirm that a current year Pool ID has been added to position data with an effective date that falls within or prior to the pay period that needs adjustment. A direct retro/salary cost transfer will not split if no Pool ID has been added to the position.
The last day in which student workers on work-study/LAEP are eligible for the subsidy is 5/16/2025. To ensure that your department can receive the subsidy for the last pay period of the program year, whether biweekly or monthly, we recommend reviewing the following information and best practices below.
Appointment End Dates - Biweekly*
The last day a student worker on work-study can earn work-study/LAEP is 5/16/2025. Any earnings after 5/16/2025 will be 100% the responsibility of the department.
Appointment End Dates - Monthly*
For the 2024-25 program year, monthly employees can receive the subsidy for May 2025 if the job end date in UCPath is no later than 5/16/2025. For example, jobs that end on 5/16/2025 will receive the subsidy. Earnings for monthly employees with a job end date between 5/17/2025 - 5/31/2025 will not receive the subsidy.
*Consult your BRS-HR Partner for assistance in determining appointment end dates for student workers with a work-study/LAEP referral based on your unit’s unique labor and budget situation, and based on the student's unique academic personnel requirements, if applicable.
Maintain Compliance of Work-Study Employment
add
In accordance with Federal Regulations, employment under the Work-Study Program must follow the specific guidelines and conditions as outlined below.
Undergraduate students must be paid hourly wages; however, graduate students can be paid hourly or on a salary.
Work must be regulated by employment conditions, including wages that are appropriate for the type of work, the geographic location, and proficiency of the employee.
Students must be paid at least the federal, state, or local minimum wage, whichever is higher.
Work-study employment must not displace employees and must not impair any existing service contracts. This includes filling jobs that are vacant because employees are on strike.
Replacement is interpreted as displacement- You cannot replace a full-time employee, whose position was eliminated, with a student who is paid work-study funds.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, prohibits employers (including schools) from accepting voluntary services from any paid employee. Any student employed under the work-study Program must be paid for all hours worked.
Volunteer work is not permitted. Work without pay is in direct violation of the conditions of work-study employment.
Students are not permitted to work during scheduled class times. Exceptions include:
When a class is cancelled
An Instructor has excused the student from attending during a particular day
The student is receiving credit for their employment in an internship or externship
Any exceptions must be documented
A student may earn academic credit as well as compensation for work-study jobs. However, a student employed in a work-study job and receiving academic credit for that job may not be paid less than he or she would be if no academic credit were given.
Work-study does not subsidize fringe benefits such as sick leave, vacation pay, holiday pay, or employer’s contributions to Social Security, workers’ compensation, retirement, any kind of leave or any other welfare or insurance program. Please note that students may be eligible for these types of benefits; however, they are disallowed benefits under the Work-Study Program. If such costs are incurred, the department covers 100% of the cost.
There are no statutory or regulatory limits on the number of hours per week a student may work.Consideration of the impact of combined work and study hours on the student’s health and academic progress is encouraged when assigning hours.Departments are also encouraged to consider other potential costs, e.g., fringe benefits which are not subsidized by work-study funds.
You must maintain timesheet records of all hours worked by student workers.
Timesheets must:
Be certified by the supervisor/ school official
Show the hours a student worked during each day and the total worked during each pay cycle
Match the hours for which the student is paid
Solicitation or acceptance of gifts, fees, or commissions as a condition for a student’s work-study employment is prohibited.
How to Use the Work-Study Management System (WSMS)
add
Gaining Access to WSMS:
Effective October 1, 2021, all new and existing WSMS users will be required to complete FERPA: Privacy of Student Records training - Code: BERIG003 within the UCLearning Center. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. All WSMS users are required to complete FERPA training as WSMS contains confidential, privileged, and/or FERPA-protected information.
Someone in my department has access:
The person in your department can grant you access by following these steps:
Select "Employer Account" from the menu bar.
Select "Create New User Account" and complete the new user profile information requested.
When finished, select "Create My Account" at the bottom of the page.
No one in my department is available to grant access:
Contact wsp@berkeley.edu and provide your department name and 5 letter department ID. If you are unsure of the department ID, contact your department's Human Resources representative. Once we have the department name and ID, the Work-Study Office will provide the next steps in creating an account.
* When requesting or being granted access to WSMS, please ensure that the information listed within the campus directory is up to date.
Complete the job request form. All fields are required
When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page
** Jobs must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates new job requests within two-three business days.
Locate the job you want to use as the template and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
Select "Use the current job listing as a template for a NEW job"
Enter a job begin date and complete the “Posting Information” section, these fields will not auto populate form the previous job
Review all other fields for accuracy and make any updates as needed
When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page
* Jobs must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates new job requests within two-three business days.
Locate the job number you’re looking to modify and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
Select “Modify and Re-submit Listing”
Make your desired changes to the job
When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page
* If you modified the description or qualifications, the job must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates job requests within two-three business days.
Delete a Job
You can only delete a job if you haven't yet offered the job to any students.
