About Student Employment
About Student Employment
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Student Employment questions:
Introduction
Western Washington University offers a wide range of employment opportunities to students that allows students to learn skills, discover new interests, and make connections while building their resumes.
Types of Student Employees
Educational Student Employee (ESE)
Educational Student Employees work in roles bound to the Western Washington University and Western Academic Workers Union (WAWU) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
ESEs work in various roles such as research and teaching assistants, laboratory assistants, tutors, peer advisors, etc. For a full list of ESE job titles, please go to:
Operational Student Employee (OSE)
Operational Student Employees support operations by working in positions such as program support, media assistants, recreation assistants, laborers, clerks, and any other job not bound to the WWU-WAWU CBA.
Letter to OSE from President Randhawa
Graduate Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants School Employees
Western Washington University Graduate School offers teaching and research assistantships to qualified graduate students. For more information regarding assistantships:
Note that all graduate school roles are salaried ESE-type and are bound by that designation in the WWU-WAWU CBA. Graduate students can accept ESE or OSE roles that fall under an undergraduate designation.
International Students
Please refer to the overview provided by International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) or information regarding employment as an international student:
International Student & Scholar Services: Employment Overview
Types of Student Employment
There are two basic types of student employment at Western Washington University: Work Study and Non-Work Study.
Work Study
Work Study is a type of financial aid; therefore, student employees utilizing Work Study funds are limited to the amount they can earn, depending on their award. This earnings limit is determined by the Financial Aid office and is dependent upon the student’s financial aid eligibility and allocation of funds.
Non-Work Study
Departments may have funds through grants or allocated to their operational budgets for hiring student employees in roles throughout the University. These roles are available to all students enrolled at least half-time. In addition to regular hourly positions, salaried and non-uniform rate (per-job basis) positions are included in this category of student employment.
Other Types of Student Work Opportunities
Internship/Cooperative Education opportunities, either for pay, academic credit or on a volunteer basis, offer supervised work experiences relevant to a student's academic or career goals. The Career Services Center serves as a liaison between faculty, students and employers in coordinating and disseminating information regarding
Utilization of Student Hourly Employees
Departments may hire student hourly employees only to the extent that they supplement, not to displace or replace, classified non-union or bargaining unit employees. Student hourly employees should not supervise bargaining unit employees but may supervise other student hourly employees.
Student employment must not displace employees, including those on strike, or impair existing service contracts. Replacement is interpreted as displacement. Additionally, if the University has an employment agreement with an organization in the private sector, the organization’s employees must not be replaced with student employees.
Replacing a full-time employee whose position was eliminated, regardless of reason, with a student employee is prohibited.
Student Employment Eligibility
All new employees must show employment eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service before beginning work at WWU. For more information regarding employment eligibility:
Enrollment Eligibility
Undergraduate and post baccalaureate student employees must be enrolled for a minimum academic load of six credit hours, or half-time, and must be accepted for admission in a degree or certificate granting program.
Work Study student employees must meet financial aid eligibility enrollment criteria.
Exemptions to Enrollment Eligibility
Break Period Eligibility
Break period employment eligibility requires that the student be accepted in a degree or certificate granting program during the prior quarter and plans to enroll as a matriculated student the following quarter. Work Study student employees who graduate are not eligible to work after their last final exam or during break periods.
Enrollment break periods begin after a student’s last final exam, scheduled last class or last assignment submission, whichever is later. Students who do not have final exams, scheduled class or a last assignment due during finals week, their break period begins on Monday of finals week. Break Periods end the first day of classes of the following term.
Student employment during enrollment breaks, such as summer break, is excluded in the 516-hour limit to maintain the exemption from civil service rules.
Graduate Student Exception
Graduate student employees who have completed all coursework on their approved Plan of Study and are enrolled in at least two credit hours of thesis or non-thesis work such as research or field project required for program completion, are eligible for student employment. Graduate students enrolled for a minimum of two credit hours of departmental 699 coursework (for example, GEOL 699) are also eligible for student employment. GRAD 699 continuous enrollment credits do not count toward enrollment level for student employment purposes.
Credit Load Waiver
A waiver of the credit load requirement may be provided once each academic year for one quarter for matriculated students enrolled in less than half-time (the student needs to be enrolled in at least 1 credit for the quarter they are using the credit load waiver), with the understanding that either the student will enroll for the full credit requirement in succeeding quarters, or the student is currently enrolled in a terminal or graduating quarter.
The credit load waiver does not extend to Work Study students. To remain eligible for Work Study employment students must be enrolled at least half time.
Grad TAs and RAs need to be enrolled in 8 credits (grad full time load) during the academic year unless they meet the criteria for the 690 exception. During the summer, continuing students can be employed as RAs without being registered for coursework (as long as they are expected to be continuing as a student and taking regular coursework in the Fall).
Unemployment Compensation
Student positions do not pay into the unemployment benefit via their paychecks. Therefore, student positions are exempt from unemployment compensation under RCW 50.44.040 subsection 7(a).
Background Check
A student must successfully pass a background check for employment in certain positions that are deemed security sensitive. Department hiring officials determine which positions require background checks.
POL-U5315.01 Conducting Background Checks
Washington State law (RCW 49.60 and WAC 162-12) prohibits pre-employment inquiries that unnecessarily reveal protected status. For more information:
Student Employees Under the Age of 18
WWU may hire students under the age of 18, but must follow specific regulations outlined by Washington State's Labor and Industries (L&I) Department:
Eligibility Determination and Monitoring
It is the responsibility of the employing department to confirm an individual’s eligibility for a position as an hourly student employee by verifying enrollment with the appropriate registrar’s office. Student hourly employees are responsible for notifying their manager if they no longer meet minimum enrollment requirements.
Students whose enrollment no longer meets the requirements for student hourly employment must be immediately terminated from their student position. Depending on the circumstances, even if a student no longer meets the requirements for student hourly employment, it may be possible to appoint the individual as a nonpermanent employee.