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On Campus Employer

Hiring Process Overview

Welcome to the FSU Student Employment Website. Ferris students make up a pool of workers 10,000 strong! Our student employees have a reputation of being excellent, responsible, dedicated workers and will prove to be an asset in your part time labor needs.

Identifying a Need for Student Employees

Student employees are an important part of the FSU community. There are typically more than 2000 student workers employed on campus every year. If you have a need for part time help ranging from entry level to jobs requiring extensive knowledge and experience Ferris students are an excellent resource to meet your employment needs.

Job Title/Descriptions

If you are considering hiring an FSU student employee you must first decide what position title you are in need of hiring. Here is a list of all current student job titles as well as their position description. If you do not find a job that matches your needs please contact student employment at [email protected] to develop a new job title/description.

Deciding Who You Want to View Your Job Posting

After you have determined the job title you must decide if you will be posting the position to all students or only work study students. If you post only to work study students you will be assured only those students with a work study award will be able to apply for your position. Posting jobs to work study students only will allow a fairly small portion of the FSU student labor pool to view your job. If you choose to post the position to both work study and non work study students the posting can be seen by all Ferris students and you will have access to a much larger applicant pool. If your departmental budget allows for it, we recommend posting jobs to all students whenever possible.

Work Study vs. Non Work Study

Some students may be hired through the work study program. Work study is a type of financial aid that is awarded to students who have demonstrated need via their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In addition to having need they must also complete their application process for financial aid in a timely manner because work study funds are limited. Work Study is awarded on a first come, first served basis. The goal of financial aid is to award those students who have need and have applied early. In some cases there may be additional work study that can be awarded on a case by case basis depending on availability of funds. You may contact the Manager of Student Employment directly with those requests as needed. Hiring work study students allows you to not have student wages be deducted from your departmental budget but rather, the student is paid by Ferris State University institutional funds or the federal government. Non work study means that wages do come from your budget. Because of this, work study students are at a premium resulting in little or no expense of the department in most cases. While work study seems to be the most cost effective method to hire students, funding is very limited and most students are hired through the non work study program. All students are eligible to be hired through the non work study program as long as they are enrolled at least half time at Ferris. We encourage you to post jobs as non work study because it makes the jobs available to many more students and opens up a much larger applicant pool for you to select your employees.

Posting Your job

When you are ready to post your job you may go directly to the job posting area OR  go into Ferris360, search for "Post a job for student employees" and choose that entry from the results. Either location will allow you to post jobs. When you click on the “Submit Vacancy” button your job posting will be sent to the Student Employment office to be reviewed and made available for students to see.

Reviewing Applications

Students who are interested in applying for the job you posted will print off a referral form and a resume like profile. These forms will give you information on the student that will help you decide who to hire. The students are directed to complete their class schedule on the referral form as well. When interviewing students it is always best to ask the same questions of all candidates and it is extremely important to notify students as soon as possible whether they will be offered the job or not. It is imperative that students find out that they were unsuccessful so they can continue their job search as soon as possible.

Hiring Students

After you have made your selection you are ready to "hire" the student by processing his /her payroll information. You will need to go into Ferris360, search for "Student Intent Hiring Form" and choose that from the results list. Be prepared to complete several questions such as semester/year you are hiring for, job title, wage rate, FOAP number, start date etc. You will be asked for your departmental FOAP even if hiring a work study student. This is done so your account can be charged if a student exceeds his or her work study allotment. When you submit this form it will indicate if this is a new student employee or a returning student. New students will have to have additional information collected and forwarded to Student Employment.

Required Paperwork

When hiring a new student or a student who has not worked in the last 12 months you will need to have the student complete an I–9 form. This form certifies the student’s identity and their eligibility to work in the United States. It is necessary for the student to present ORIGINAL documents to the supervisor. There is a list on the I-9 form of acceptable documents. The supervisor must review them and write the information on the I–9 form. Do Not Make Copies of these Documents. Regardless of what documents are presented for the I–9, the student must also present their Social Security card for the employer to confirm the name and number.


The W–4 forms must also be completed by new students. The name should appear on the W–4 forms exactly as it does on the student’s social security card. Instructions for completing the W–4s can be found by clicking here. The Student Intent to Hire , I–9 and W–4 forms must be submitted to the Student Employment Office prior to the student beginning work.

Work Rules

There are many work rules specific to student employees at Ferris. Students may not drop below half time enrollment, they cannot exceed 24 hours per week for US citizens and 20 hours per week for International students. You may wish to consult the Student Employment Handbook for a complete list of rules and regulations.

Volunteering

We have had several situations where students have volunteered to work for departments with the expectation of eventually being hired as "paid" student employees. Apparently the students, or at least their parents, are under the impression that they were hired as student employees and should be paid for their efforts.

Volunteering can be very beneficial. Although students are not being compensated financially, they often gain valuable knowledge and experience that will help them in the future. To the departments, volunteers are a valuable resource when budgets don't allow any additional hiring. It is critical however, that it be made clear to these students that they are volunteers and will not be compensated for their time. This will eliminate students coming in later asking to be paid for the time worked.

Of course, we recommend that students be hired through work study funds or through your departmental budget whenever possible. However, if you come across students that express an interest in being part of a project, whether it be for their personal or academic knowledge, desire to be involved or looking to add something to their resume; the fact that they will not be compensated needs to be clearly stated. An excellent way to handle this situation is to send the student the attached letter of understanding that clearly defines their role and thanks them for their efforts