Walking the Work-Study Tightrope Spring 2012 IASFAA Conference

The Juggling Act of Awarding Dollar amount of individual awards Differing or same awards by year in college Preference for award by student Additional review of expenditures and awards throughout the year

The Juggling Continues Federal Reimbursement Rates Standard Federal Share - 75% Family Literacy Reimbursement – 100% Nonprofits unable to pay 25% - reimburse 90% Private for-private positions – 50% Other Schools can choose to reimburse at a lesser amount in order to make funds go farther.

Looking into the WS Crystal Ball Work-Study expenditures How far beyond your campus allocation do you need to award in order to spend the funds How will differing reimbursement rates impact your program

Mastering the WS Big Top Regulatory Flexibility Carry forward/Carry Back 10% Transfer of WS funds to SEOG & Perkins – 25% Transfer of SEOG to WS – 25% Job Location & Development – 10%

Jumping Through Regulatory Hoops Community Service Use at least 7% of the allocation On or off campus Nonprofit qualifies IF meeting community service definition Private for profit off campus Do Not Qualify Schools must inform students of these options

Community Service Definition: Services that are designed to improve the quality of life for community residents, particularly low-income individuals, or to solve particular problems related to their needs. To qualify, the service provided must be open & accessible to the community. The school is not a community.

Community Service Statutory exception to this regulation is for support services to disabled students at the institution. If supplemental WS funds are received by the school, they must be spent to support community service. Examples of community service positions

Jumping Through Regulatory Hoops At least ONE Work-Study employee must perform family literacy activities or serve as a reading tutor Students may also be math tutors

General Restrictions Work-Study employees may NOT displace other employees (including those on strike) or impair existing contracts. may NOT involve constructing, operating, maintaining any part of a building used for religious worship

Who Can Employ WS Campus Employers Employment with the following employers must be in the public interest: Federal, state or local public agencies Private Nonprofit Employment with the following employer must be academically relevant, when possible For-Profit Organizations -

Off-Campus Employment Issues to consider for the off-campus agreement Written agreement Who manages the payroll? school or employer Who gets billed for their portion? School or employer Who handles worker’s compensation Site visits Training issues unique to off campus employers

Payroll Issues Paid at least minimum wage. Paid for all hours worked. Who sets the WS Wage? Individual employers Campus coordination of wages

Payroll Issues Schools may use any type of payroll period as long as students are paid at least monthly. WS may not be used for fringe benefits. Payroll records must be reconciled once/month. Schools may make payments to students for a period of time (not to exceed the award period) in which the student was prevented from working by the major disaster.

Enrollment Issues Half-time enrollment must be met If a student withdraws & does not plan to return then WS funds cannot be used to pay for work after the student withdrew.

Work-Study & Modules Series of modules can be combined into 1 term. Students attending any of the modules can earn Work-Study throughout the entire term. The student’s financial need must be based on the actual enrollment period.

Work-Study & Periods of Nonattendance Students may be employed during periods of nonattendance. Must plan to enroll & demonstrate need for the upcoming period of enrollment. Net earnings (earnings minus taxes minus job- related costs) apply to next period of enrollment. Must verify intent to enroll if student later does not enroll.

Taming the Job Search for the Student Student Assigned to Job Insures “hard-to-fill” jobs are covered Insures students start working & earning funds quickly Student Job Search Communication to Student Advertisement process Job fair Skill building Student preference

Benefits of Student Employment The Obvious Financial resources Work experience Resume builder References The Not-So Obvious Enrollment Retention “Soft” Skills conflict resolution team-building time management organizational skills problem-solving Development of mentor relationships

Support for Supervisors Be the “Circus Strongman” by providing support to your supervisors through communication to supervisor listserv Training Web resources Resources on dealing with difficult situations in the workplace – progressive discipline and termination

Session Ringmasters Delores Hawkins – Des Moines Area Community College go.dmacc.edu/fin_aid/blog Cindy Seyfer University of Iowa Sue Stevens Morningside College