Work-Study Information for On-Campus Employers

Utilize the Work-Study Employer Guide for a summary on how to get started with the Work-Study Program. To receive the subsidy, follow the steps below to create a job and complete the referral process for your selected student.

1. Register a job on the Work-Study Management System (WSMS)

Steps:

• Log in to the employer portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
• Select "Jobs" from the menu bar
• Select "New Job"
• Complete the job request form. All fields are required
• When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page

Reminders:

• The department ID used when creating a job in WSMS must match the department ID in the UCPath position number.
• Jobs must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates new job requests within 2-3 business days.
• Jobs registered within WSMS are for advertisement purposes; this does not replace the campus HR hiring process
• Jobs must be re-registered within WSMS each program year, they do not roll over from one year to the next.

2. The Referral Process

Steps

• Log in to the Employer Portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
• Select "Jobs" from the menu bar
• Select "Current Jobs"
• Locate the job and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
• Enter the Student ID (SID) and the UCPath Position number and follow the instructions displayed on the page
• Select "Submit a Referral"
• If successful, you will receive a confirmation message to confirm the completion of the referral for your student

Reminders:

• To refer your selected student through WSMS, you will need the students ID (SID) and the UCPath position number that they're hired into or will be hired into in UCPath.
  • Individual, single-headcount positions in UCPath are required for positions utilizing work-study.
  • The UCPath position must be fully funded for the current fiscal year (i.e. tied to position funding that is not a default chartstring or expired).
• This process is directly linked to student eligibility. If a student is confirmed eligible at the time you attempt the referral, you’ll receive a confirmation message. If the student is not work-study eligible, you will receive an error message, as an offer cannot be processed for anyone who is not eligible. View the Referral Error Message Guide for support in resolving the error.
• If you proceed with hiring a student who is not eligible (as determined by an unsuccessful offer), the department is responsible for 100% of the earnings and will not receive the subsidy; this is not a work-study job.
• The referral process must be completed every year, even if the same student will be working in the same position. A student’s work-study eligibility is subject to change each year, so referrals do not roll over from year-to-year.
• Unearned work-study awards do not carry forward to the next year.
• WSMS will generate an email to notify the three contacts (payroll representative, general contact, supervisor) listed on the work-study job to confirm the completion of the referral. This email contains important information such as the students earnings limit for the academic year and the work-study referral effective date. This same information can be viewed on the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).

Earnings Limits

A student’s work-study award/earnings limit is the maximum gross amount of potential work-study earnings. It takes into account both the department share and the work-study share. If the student earns more than this amount, the department is responsible for paying 100% of additional costs.

Work-study award/earnings limit can increase or decrease at any time during the award year based on changes to a student’s financial aid. It is not a guaranteed amount for the award year.

• Think of the earnings limit as a snapshot of the current work-study award based on the student's financial aid package and eligibility at the time of referral.
• Any updates that change the work-study award will trigger an auto-generated email notification to the three contacts, that includes the updated earnings limit.

Examples of why a work-study award can change include:

• Student receives additional financial aid which reduces work-study eligibility
• Student has an incomplete financial aid task
• Student accepts another work-study job
• Student converts loans to work-study or work-study (unearned) to loans
• Student is no longer enrolled

Students should be directed to log in to CalCentral for award and task review and should be advised to contact Cal Student Central if they have any questions regarding their awards or eligibility.

Department Responsibilities

In addition to creating a job and completing the referral process in WSMS, departments are also responsible for working directly with HR/Berkeley Regional Service (formerly CSS) for the hiring and onboarding of all student workers. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office is not part of this process.

Further, departments are responsible for tracking a student's work-study earnings, both to confirm that the subsidy is being applied as expected, and to monitor the award limit as it approaches. If a student is permitted to earn more than the work-study earnings limit, departments are responsible for 100% of student earnings exceeding this limit. Departments are also encouraged to consider other potential costs, e.g., fringe benefits which are not subsidized by work-study funds. If such costs are incurred, the department must cover 100% of the cost.

Remote work from outside of the US is not permitted due to tax and labor law implications.

• 7/1/2025 - 5/15/2026 is the Work-Study/Learning Aligned Employment program year.

Referral Effective Date

The referral effective date is the date in which the student become eligible for the subsidy and is assigned once the referral process has been completed.

Work-Study Referral Effective Date

A referral effective is assigned based on students' hire date in UCPath, or 7/1/2025 if the students hire date in UCPath is prior to program start date.

LAEP Referral Effective Date

In 2025-26, the LAEP referral effective date will be assigned based on the students hire date in UCPath, or 7/1/2025 if the students hire date is prior to the program start date.

Confirm Your Department is Receiving the Subsidy

It is recommended that department’s perform a monthly reconciliation and review of the CalAnswers General Ledger Compensation by Accounting Period Report to ensure that your department is receiving the subsidy--do not risk losing the subsidy by waiting until June to reconcile your funds.

If you do not have access to CalAnswers General Ledger, but have access to WSMS, you can confirm that your department is receiving the work-study/LAEP subsidy in WSMS.

Navigate to WSMS > Students > Student Earnings Report

Direct Retro/Salary Cost Transactions on Work-Study Funds

Before initiating a Direct Retro or Salary Cost Transfer transaction that impacts work-study funds, verify and confirm that a current year Pool ID has been added to position data with an effective date that falls within or prior to the pay period that needs adjustment. A direct retro/salary cost transfer will not split if no Pool ID has been added to the position.

Always consult the appropriate job aid:

Salary Cost Transfer Transaction – Work Study

Appointment End Dates

The last day in which student workers on work-study/LAEP are eligible for the subsidy is 5/16/2025. To ensure that your department can receive the subsidy for the last pay period of the program year, whether biweekly or monthly, we recommend reviewing the following information and best practices below.

Appointment End Dates - Biweekly*

The last day a student worker on work-study can earn work-study/LAEP is 5/16/2025. Any earnings after 5/16/2025 will be 100% the responsibility of the department.

Appointment End Dates - Monthly*

For the 2024-25 program year, monthly employees can receive the subsidy for May 2025 if the job end date in UCPath is no later than 5/16/2025. For example, jobs that end on 5/16/2025 will receive the subsidy. Earnings for monthly employees with a job end date between 5/17/2025 - 5/31/2025 will not receive the subsidy.

*Consult your BRS-HR Partner for assistance in determining appointment end dates for student workers with a work-study/LAEP referral based on your unit’s unique labor and budget situation, and based on the student's unique academic personnel requirements, if applicable.
If you are unsure who your HR or Financial Analyst is, you can use the Berkeley Region Finder to identify the appropriate contact.

In accordance with Federal Regulations, employment under the Work-Study Program must follow the specific guidelines and conditions as outlined below.

1. Undergraduate students must be paid hourly wages; however, graduate students can be paid hourly or on a salary.
2. Work must be regulated by employment conditions, including wages that are appropriate for the type of work, the geographic location, and proficiency of the employee.
3. Students must be paid at least the federal, state, or local minimum wage, whichever is higher.
4. Work-study employment must not displace employees and must not impair any existing service contracts. This includes filling jobs that are vacant because employees are on strike.
   Replacement is interpreted as displacement- You cannot replace a full-time employee, whose position was eliminated, with a student who is paid work-study funds.
5. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, prohibits employers (including schools) from accepting voluntary services from any paid employee. Any student employed under the work-study Program must be paid for all hours worked.
   Volunteer work is not permitted. Work without pay is in direct violation of the conditions of work-study employment.
6. Students are not permitted to work during scheduled class times. Exceptions include:
   When a class is cancelled
   1. An Instructor has excused the student from attending during a particular day
   2. The student is receiving credit for their employment in an internship or externship
   3. Any exceptions must be documented
7. A student may earn academic credit as well as compensation for work-study jobs. However, a student employed in a work-study job and receiving academic credit for that job may not be paid less than he or she would be if no academic credit were given.
8. Work-study does not subsidize fringe benefits such as sick leave, vacation pay, holiday pay, or employer’s contributions to Social Security, workers’ compensation, retirement, any kind of leave or any other welfare or insurance program. Please note that students may be eligible for these types of benefits; however, they are disallowed benefits under the Work-Study Program. If such costs are incurred, the department covers 100% of the cost.
9. There are no statutory or regulatory limits on the number of hours per week a student may work.Consideration of the impact of combined work and study hours on the student’s health and academic progress is encouraged when assigning hours.Departments are also encouraged to consider other potential costs, e.g., fringe benefits which are not subsidized by work-study funds.
10. You must maintain timesheet records of all hours worked by student workers.
    Timesheets must:
    1. Be certified by the supervisor/ school official
    2. Show the hours a student worked during each day and the total worked during each pay cycle
    3. Match the hours for which the student is paid
11. Solicitation or acceptance of gifts, fees, or commissions as a condition for a student’s work-study employment is prohibited.

Gaining Access to WSMS:

All new and existing WSMS users will be required to complete FERPA: Privacy of Student Records training - Code: BERIG003 within the UCLearning Center. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. All WSMS users are required to complete FERPA training as WSMS contains confidential, privileged, and/or FERPA-protected information.

Someone in my department has access:

The person in your department can grant you access by following these steps:

1. Select "Employer Account" from the menu bar.
2. Select "Create New User Account" and complete the new user profile information requested.
3. When finished, select "Create My Account" at the bottom of the page.

No one in my department is available to grant access:

Contact wsp@berkeley.edu and provide your department name and 5 letter department ID. If you are unsure of the department ID, contact your department's Human Resources representative. Once we have the department name and ID, the Work-Study Office will provide the next steps in creating an account.

* When requesting or being granted access to WSMS, please ensure that the information listed within the campus directory is up to date.

Register/Create a New Job

1. Log in to the Employer Portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
2. Select "Jobs" from the menu bar
3. Select "New Job"
4. Complete the job request form. All fields are required
5. When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page

** Jobs must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates new job requests within two-three business days.

Use Existing Job as a Template for a New Job

1. Log in to the Employer Portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
2. Select "Jobs" from the menu bar
3. Select "Current Jobs"
4. Locate the job you want to use as the template and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
5. Select "Use the current job listing as a template for a NEW job"
6. Enter a job begin date and complete the “Posting Information” section, these fields will not auto populate form the previous job
7. Review all other fields for accuracy and make any updates as needed
8. When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page

* Jobs must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates new job requests within two-three business days.

Modify an Existing Job

1. Log in to the Employer Portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
2. Select “Jobs” from the menu bar
3. Select “Current Jobs”
4. Locate the job number you’re looking to modify and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
5. Select “Modify and Re-submit Listing”
6. Make your desired changes to the job
7. When finished, select "Process Job Request" at the bottom of the page

* If you modified the description or qualifications, the job must be reviewed and validated by the work-study staff for approval. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office validates job requests within two-three business days.

Delete a Job

You can only delete a job if you haven't yet offered the job to any students.

1. Log in to the Employer Portal of the Work-Study Management System (WSMS).
2. Select “Jobs” from the menu bar
3. Select “Current Jobs”
4. Locate the job number you’re looking to modify and click on the 10-digit job number in the left column
5. Select "Delete Job"

* The “Delete Job” link will only appear if the job has not yet been offered to any students.

• Find answers to On-Campus Employers Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Work-Study Program.
• Review the WSMS Referral Error Message Guide for common Work-Study Management System (WSMS) errors you may encounter when processing job referrals.
• Work-Study Program Guide for Employers for essential information for employers participating in the Work-Study Program.
• Hiring Process Guide for Work-Study for key steps for Work-Study employees to follow for a successful work-study hiring process.