Information for Interested Departments

FWS Mission

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a program for eligible students which is jointly-funded by federal and departmental contributions. Although FWS students may not replace full-time employees, they can provide valuable work support. Our mission is to provide students with opportunities for on-campus employment in part-time positions which match their interests and skills and which may help them to grow personally and professionally. The FWS program offers departments the opportunity to hire qualified students at a low cost. FWS student-workers are UGA employees and held to the same standards as non-FWS student workers.

Departmental Cost

Any University department may apply to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) to request participation in the FWS program.

OSFA determines student eligibility for the FWS program once the student completes the Financial Aid Application Process. To be considered for FWS, a student must indicate his or her interest in work on the FAFSA, qualify for FWS and FWS funds must still be available at the time the student completes the Financial Aid Application Process. The maximum FWS annual award for which a student may qualify is $3,000 and the minimum is $1500. The rate of pay for FWS students is $7.25 per hour.

Departments approved to participate will pay 25 percent of the FWS earnings of each FWS awarded student they hire and the FWS program will fund 75 percent of the earnings. The cost share occurs during the bi-weekly payroll process. The 25 percent departmental match cannot come from a federally-funded account.

Requesting Departmental Participation and Designating an FWS Liaison

To request departmental participation in the FWS program please e-mail our FWS Program Coordinator, Ms. Elaina Cochran at ugafws@uga.edu. Include the name of your department, your name and title, the number of FWS positions you wish to be considered for approval and a brief job description for each position.

The individual who will serve as the department's FWS Liaison must complete the Liaison Information form. Once we receive and review the Liaison Information form, we will contact the Liaison with instructions regarding the next steps in the process.

If approved by OSFA, participating departments will post their position(s) to the FWS Job Site and will screen any applications and make the hiring decision.

A new Liaison Information form must be completed any time there are any changes to the designated Liaison. June 1st is the deadline to apply to participate in the FWS program each year. After this date, departments must wait until the next academic year to seek FWS student-employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are we assigned a student or can we select one?

  If you decide to participate, you will be given access to the FWS Employment web site where you will advertise the position, view eligible applicants and create FWS contracts.

• If we don't find any of the applicants acceptable, are we still obligated to hire someone?

  No, if none of the applicants are acceptable you are not obligated to hire one.

• If we are dissatisfied with a student we hire, can we dismiss the student as we would any student worker?

  Yes. If the student's performance or adherence your office policy is inadequate, you can terminate the student's employment just as you would any student worker.

• Beyond the standard new-hire and payroll paperwork, are there additional administrative duties involved?

  All of the typical hiring paperwork done for a "regular" student worker is required. A careful monitoring of the FWS students' overall earnings is required to ensure the student does not exceed his or her maximum FWS award amount per semester.

• Once the student has earned his or her maximum FWS award for the semester, can we retain them by switching their status to that of a traditional student worker and pay 100% of their salary?

  Yes.

• Where can I find additional information about the FWS Liaison Responsibilities?

  Liaison Responsibilities

If you have any further questions regarding the Federal Work-Study Program at UGA, please contact our office at (706)542-6147, press 1 after the automated message begins, or e-mail us at ugafws@uga.edu.