What is FWS, would this be a good fit for my department?
Check out the
Federal Work-Study Overview for Employers to get a sense of what the program is from an employer's perspective and whether participation would be a good fit for your area.
How do I create a work-study position? Can a position be both work-study and regular wage?
First, discuss your proposed student position with your Human Resources Consultant (HRC). They will be able to review the various student Job Profiles (Student Assistant 1 - 3) as they relate to different target hiring ranges for the duties in your proposed position. The target hiring ranges for work-study positions are assigned by work-study administrators during the requisition review process, and require that
job descriptions and qualifications be clearly represented on the job post.
Once you have clarified these details with your HRC, you will
create your work-study job requisition in Workday. Be sure to check the first work-study box in the Costing section on the requisition, as regular wage student positions created in error cannot be transitioned into work-study after the fact if this step is missed. You may choose to create your position to include both work-study and regular wage students if your budget can accommodate wage earners. While not mandatory, it is best practice to have a back up plan for paying your work-study student employees should they exhaust their funding, or fall out of eligibility.
I just submitted my job requisition for a Federal Work-Study position. May I have it reviewed right away?
FWS job requisitions are reviewed daily. Due to volume of submissions, please allow 1 – 2 business days for our office to review your requisition. If a requisition pends longer than this timeframe, please feel free to contact
sfa-jobs@osu.edu.
How do I confirm work-study eligibility of a potential hire?
FWS data is FERPA protected, only the student can share a FWS amount with a potential employer at the pre-hire stage. However, Talent Acquisition staff and Hiring Managers/Supervisors do have access to see a
FWS Eligibility indicator in on the Candidate Grid in Workday to help them determine which candidates could be contacted for FWS-only positions. While this indicator will not contain award information, it will confirm the student has an accepted FWS offer for the current academic year.
Hiring Managers/Supervisors can find the FWS Eligibility indicator in their own view of the candidate grid during the recruitment process. Navigate to the Recruit Application > choose the job requisition > Candidates > External Student Data. The column containing this data is all the way to the right. If the column is blank, then the student does not have an accepted FWS offer.
Because detailed FWS award data is FERPA protected, during the pre-hire stage it is necessary to obtain that information directly from the student. You may ask the student to provide the following:
- Proof of the presence of an accepted 2026 FWS offer, including the amount.
- Class schedule for the term you are hiring the student. This will confirm hours of availability and enrollment criteria.
How do I confirm the available work-study balance after the hiring/rehiring process is complete?
Once the student is hired, Manager/Manager Liaisons and some fiscal staff are permitted to have access to the FWS offer and usage data of the students working directly within their units. Eligibility can be checked individually by navigating to the student's worker profile, choosing the Overview section, and clicking the Student Information tab. Running the
Federal Work Study Status Report will list the students who have FWS offers in your unit, as well as their most recent balance. If students are missing, or the student is present but the award data is blank, this is an indicator that the student does not have a FWS offer. However, there can be timing issues with this report when used to make these determinations prior to the student having earned their first paycheck. If your student cannot confirm the presence of an accepted FWS offer or the student is missing from your report, please contact us at sfa-jobs@osu.edu for review.
What is the first/last day my student(s) can work for the semester?
We keep a toolbox of helpful resources available in the
Employer Services section of this website. The Federal Work Study Calendar lists the first/last days students can work per semester.
How are students made aware of my job post, and how can I reach more students?
Students find positions that might interest them by using the keyword search function on the job board. Be sure that you have included references to work-study on the post, and that your Talent Acquisitions support know to post your opportunity in the FWS section of the Workday job board. We recommend reviewing Federal Work-Study
Recruitment Tips for more ideas on how to reach work-study students.
How will I be informed of important updates to the program that might be time sensitive?
We keep a listserv of individuals associated with the program and send communications out periodically. You do not need to be an official contact for your department in order to be on the listserv. Simply email
sfa-jobs@osu.edu, include what role you play in working with FWS students or the program, and we will add you to the listserv. When turnover occurs in departments, we try to be proactive and update the listserv accordingly, however your help in that endeavor is appreciated.
How can I monitor the FWS balances of my students?
This information is available by running the Federal Work Study Status report in Workday and requires users obtain the FWS Specialist security role. Please note, FWS balances and award amounts are FERPA protected data. Only those with the Workday Manager, Manager Liaison (both initiator and approver), and Fiscal support staff roles that have completed Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) online training in BuckeyeLearn are eligible to request the FWS Specialist security role required to view the Federal Work Study Status Report.
More detailed information about the report and obtaining access can be found in the Federal Work Study Status Report job aid.
What is the FWS Specialist security role?
This additional Workday security role is for Managers, Manager Liaisons, and fiscal staff tasked with monitoring FWS balances of the eligible student employees in their unit. The role provides access to FWS Remaining Balance, the Award Amount, Aid Year and First Term Eligible data that populate in the Federal Work-Study Status Report and certain fields in the student's Workday profile.
Those without the security role can still submit FWS job requisitions, see the FWS Eligible Flag in Workday, and download the Federal Work-Study Status Report. However, key information on the report will be missing without the role.
Because not all Managers/Liaisons or fiscal staff require access to this FERPA protected data, the FWS Specialist security role must be requested by the user's supervisor, and user-initiated GLBA Training would need to be completed prior to access being granted. More information on requesting access can be found in the Federal Work Study Status Report job aid.
Why was my FWS student paid with departmental funds?
Using FWS balance information in Workday will allow fiscal staff to see when a student has exhausted their work-study funds, and cases where the overall FWS award amount was reduced/cancelled. During the timesheet approval process, supervisors will also be able to see when all or a portion of the hours submitted were not FWS eligible due to being more than two pay periods behind, or exceeding the 20 hour per week limits. Other eligibility factors, such as under-enrollment, SAP suspension, or outstanding To Do List items will not be communicated in Workday. Per FERPA we are limited in terms of what we can share, but questions regarding eligibility can be directed to us at sfa-jobs@osu.edu.
How far back in time can a department request FWS funding for a student?
The payroll system will automatically use the FWS fund for eligible students one pay period back in time. Anything more than this would require an exception request to our office. Permitting the student to work prior to the completion of the hiring process, hiring the student as a wage earner in error, or submitting multiple timesheets all in one pay period are not considered exceptions.
I just had a FWS job requisition approved, but I don't agree with the target hire range it was assigned. Why can't I change the target hire range on a FWS position?
Per FWS regulations, work-study program administrators are responsible for ensuring the target hiring ranges for work-study positions are consistent across the university, and are otherwise meeting criteria for the program. This is one of many reasons why only work-study administrators can assign target hiring ranges for work-study positions.
To fulfill this task, the Compensation Grade Profile report in Workday is used to determine student target hiring ranges in relationship to the proposed job description and qualifications for the position. Your Human Resources Consultant can go over these ranges with you and help you choose which Job Profile to use prior to submitting your
job requisition for work-study consideration. More information can be found in the
FWS On-Campus Manual.
Can I provide my work-study student with a merit increase?
From a work-study perspective, yes! Colleges and units may give a merit increase and/or title changes to students at the discretion of the college/unit. As long as the new pay rate is within the pay range for the job profile the student is holding, there is no need to alert the work-study office when providing merit increases. Please work with your HR department to walk you through this process.
I would like to give my work-study student a promotion. What work-study related considerations do I need to take into account?
Students move to the next title level and salary range at the discretion of the college/unit when the requirements of the job have changed. Units are responsible for identifying the level of work and assigning the most appropriate title level and pay to each student.
However, because work-study regulations state that a student should not be performing work outside of their job description, and we are tasked with assigning target hire ranges to work-study positions, cases where the requirements or duties of the job have changed may require that a new work-study position be created to accommodate this promotion.
Start this process by discussing the proposed change with your HRC. They will help you determine if a new position is truly required or not. If questions still remain, you and your HRC may reach out to
sfa-jobs@osu.edu for further input.
Federal Work-Study usage in Summer
At Ohio State, FWS eligibility is tied to a student’s current enrollment for that term, and summer is the start of our academic year. A student can use FWS during the summer term provided that they are offered FWS for the new academic year, and are fulfilling the same financial aid and enrollment eligibility criteria as they would during autumn or spring semesters. Similarly, the maximum hours permitted is also still 20 hour per week.
Any combination of Summer Term, 8-Week, 6-Week, or 4-Week Sessions can be used to meet the 6 credit hour minimum enrollment requirement during summer. A student can begin earning FWS in summer when all HR steps for hire/rehire have been completed (if required by your HR department). Students that drop below half time at any point in a term immediately cease to be eligible to earn work-study funds. It's a good idea to discuss ahead of time with your student whether your department has the funding to support them if they find they cannot successfully carry a half time summer course load.
Enrolling in summer classes can sometimes impact a student's overall financial aid package that leaves them short on funding in autumn and spring. In cases when taking classes in summer is not a good option for your student from a financial aid standpoint, you may pay them on wages for summer, and transition them back into work-study in autumn. You will need to ask your student for confirmation that they have a new, accepted work-study offer and confirm their enrollment for the term.
Please also be aware, using FWS during the summer can result in a student exhausting their offer sooner than anticipated. While we are always happy to review student accounts when they have reached a FWS balance of $500 or less, we cannot promise that we will be able to increase existing offers. We also cannot consider increasing existing offers until financial aid packaging and appeals for students returning in autumn has been completed, which is usually mid-September.
To earn FWS funding in summer 2025, students must:
Be packaged with financial aid for 2025-26
Have accepted their 2026 FWS offer
Be enrolled any combination of sessions a total of 6 credit hours
Be meeting all financial aid criteria
No outstanding verification items on To Do List