Federal Work-Study
The Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) is a federal program that provides part-time employment opportunities for undergraduate and graduate matriculated students.
Overview
Unlike other forms of federal aid, FWS is not automatically applied to a student's bill, as it is earned through hours worked rather than a guaranteed static amount of direct aid or loans. FWS allows funding from which eligible students are paid for their hours worked, meaning the amount earned each federal aid year is determined on how many hours the student works. For this reason, the amount of FWS offered is meant to reflect a maximum amount a student might be eligible to earn, depending on the institutional needs of the office in which the student is employed.
Example:
If a student is offered $4,000 in Federal Work-Study, that’s the maximum they can earn through an approved campus job. Actual earnings depend on how many hours they work and the hourly wage. At the current rate of $16.35 per hour, a student would need to work about 244 hours to earn the full $4,000. Students are not guaranteed that their employer can or will offer them the full hours, as scheduling depends on the staffing needs of the department. Students are only paid for the hours they actually work up to the amount they are offered, so if they work 132 hours out of 244, they would earn $2,158.20 out of $4,000.
Last Day of 2025-2026 FWS Employment at SCSU:
Friday, May 15, 2026
Students
Eligibility
Both undergraduate and graduate students may be eligible for FWS. Eligibility is based on need as determined by information on the most recent FAFSA received by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS). If a student makes changes to their FAFSA, changes their number of credits enrolled, receives a scholarship, or reports other information that impacts their overall unmet need for the federal aid year, it may either change the maximum amount for which they may be eligible or disqualify them for eligibility in the program.
Eligibility one year does not necessarily mean a student is eligible every year, so you may be eligible for FWS one year and not the next.
For the 2025-2026 federal aid year, the following eligibility requirements are in place:
- Full-time students: If you meet the federal designation of having "unmet need" in an amount of at least $4,000, you may be eligible for a $4,000 FWS offer. You will receive your FWS Eligibility Notice by email, which will outline the items that can change your eligibility and the steps to acquire a job and secure your offer of FWS funds. An FWS offer will not appear on your Banner Student Portal until all steps in the eligibility email are completed, including working with your supervisor to complete and submit the 2025-2026 FWS Hiring Packet using the secure document upload portal.
- Part-time students: If you meet the federal designation of having "unmet need" in an amount of at least $2,000, you may be eligible for a $2,000 FWS offer. You may not receive an email of eligibility, as your offers of federal financial aid may not be finalized until after mid-to-late September for Fall semesters / mid-to-late February for Spring semesters when accounts freeze. An FWS offer will not appear on your Banner Student Portal until you have secured an FWS job offer and worked with your supervisor to complete and submit the 2025-2026 FWS Hiring Packet using the secure document upload portal.
Student are permitted only one (1) FWS student worker position at a time and cannot work multiple FWS positions simultaneously.
Employment Opportunities
Employment opportunities are numerous and intended to provide career-related experience. Employment options exist on campus in a variety of campus departments, offices, and programs that have been approved for FWS budgets, such as the university library, laboratories, facility operations, health services, and more. In certain situations, and as long as there is a non-OFAS on-campus supervisor to supplement the on-site supervisor, Southern may also award FWS funding to students working for local, off-campus nonprofit agencies as related to their role as a student at the university.
Students employed using FWS funds may work up to 20 hours a week while classes are in session and 35 hours a week during holiday breaks and vacation periods. Students are not to serve as personal assistants. Students are paid bi-weekly at an hourly wage for work performed but should not begin working until cleared by Human Resources.
Please see the JOBSS link below for current job listings through the Office of Career & Professional Development (OCPD). Once a job is secured, students are required to complete the current federal aid year's FWS Hiring Packet for processing, as found on the Financial Aid section of Southern's One Stop Forms page.
Student are permitted only one (1) FWS student worker position at a time and cannot work multiple FWS positions simultaneously.
Please note: We will only accept 2025-2026 FWS Hiring Packets via the secure document upload portal. Forms will not be accepted in-person or via email.
Supervisors
2025-2026 Updates
Budgets: Beginning with the 2025-2026 federal aid year, departments/offices/programs must be approved for a FWS budget allotment in order to hire FWS-eligible students to be paid from FWS funding. Departments/offices/programs eligible for FWS budget allotments were notified by email on July 1, 2025. If your department/office/program did not receive a budget email, you do not currently have access to FWS funding for employing students. An opportunity to apply for a FWS Budget allotment will be made available at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester. Decisions will be made in partnership with division leadership and released beginning mid-October.
Hiring: All new positions (defined as either a brand-new position or a pre-existing position for which you are not re-hiring the same individual to fill) should be posted on the Office of Career & Professional Development's (OCPD) JOBSs Portal. You should mark positions that are intended for FWS applicants as being "Federal Work-Study / FWS" to make clear the audience for which it is intended. This change provides students fairness and equity in the FWS job search process. Please contact OCPD with questions about using JOBSs.
If you wish to rehire a student, you do not need to post or interview for the position and can instead move to completing and submitting the 2025-2026 FWS Hiring Packet using the secure document upload portal. Students or supervisors can submit documents using the portal.
Supervising: The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships (OFAS) will no longer serve as supervisors for off-campus FWS students. Students must have an on-campus supervisor/time sheet supervisor assigned within the department through which they work. This also applies to students placed in internships/field placements/similar positions or whose work is coordinated and supervised off-campus. Please note that no FWS allocations, jobs, or students will be approved for an office/department until a supervisor within the coordinating department is identified.
Reminders
Students are not to begin working until you receive a message from Human Resources clearing the student for work. If you schedule a student to work prior to this approval, they will be paid from your departmental discretionary budget.
Students hired as FWS must be entered into the Student Worker Authorization (SWA) system by the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships to ensure they are paid from the FWS budget. Supervisors are not to enter students hired for FWS positions into SWA or the student will instead be paid from your discretionary departmental budget rather than FWS budget. Students must not begin working until HR clears them for work, which is to be verified directly with HR.
Supervisors are responsible for monitoring the time they are scheduling their FWS employees. If a student is scheduled in excess of their FWS funding ($4,000 for full-time students, $2,000 for part-time students), they will be paid from your departmental discretionary budget.
Supervisors are responsible for ensuring their FWS Student Workers are submitting time under the correct index. If there are questions about payroll, submitting/approving time, or the index from which a student is paid, please contact Payroll.
Last Day of 2025-2026 FWS Employment at SCSU will be Friday, May 15, 2026. Availability of use for the period between May 15 and June 30 will be determined based on remaining FWS budget for the university as we approach the end of the Spring semester.