Federal Work Study Funding
BGSU receives an annual allocation of FWS funds from the U.S. Department of Education. When hiring a student to be paid FWS funds, departments must contribute 25 percent of the FWS student employee's wages from their own budgets. FWS covers 75 percent of the wages paid to eligible student employees.
Eligibility for Federal Work Study
To be paid as a student employee with FWS funds, the student must demonstrate financial need and receive an offer of FWS eligibility from Student Financial Aid. To qualify for the FWS funding, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.gov. A paper form is also available for download.
The student financial aid award notification lists aid sources, one of which may be FWS eligibility. If FWS is part of the student's package, an FWS earnings limit will be listed on the award notification. The FWS earnings limit represents the maximum gross wages the student can earn via FWS in an academic year. For most students, the FWS limit is up to approximately $2,400, depending on the student's eligibility and other aid, the FWS limit could be adjusted.
Hiring Federal Work Study Students
When hiring FWS students, you must consider the students' FWS eligibility limit, the students' hourly wage, and the number of FWS hours per week the students will be working.
Verify that the student is eligible for FWS. Eligible students receive award information from Student Financial Aid. FWS earnings limits may be viewed in their MyBGSU portal. You may also contact Student Financial Aid or Student Employment Services (SES) for verification. Upon hiring, the People Soft system will automatically code the student's record so that the student's wages are charged to the FWS budget and department budget appropriately.
Determine the number of hours the student can work, based on the student's FWS limit and the hourly wage. Once students' earnings exceed their FWS award limit, 100 percent of their wages will be charged to the department budget. Note: If your department hires ONLY FWS-eligible students, and the policy is to discharge a student once his FWS eligibility is depleted, you should inform the student of your department policy before hiring and include a statement to the effect on the job posting request.
Employer's Frequently Asked Questions about Federal Work Study
How can I tell if a student is FWS eligible? Ask the student. Student Financial Aid sends each student applicant an award notification (letter or via MyBGSU). Student Financial Aid and Student Employment Services can also verify a student's FWS award limit. When entering the Ehire, a FWS notification appears.
Can a student's FWS eligibility change? Yes. Student financial aid eligibility and FWS can change during the academic year for a number of reasons. Students are notified by Student Financial Aid any time eligibility changes. Employers are NOT notified directly when eligibility changes. If a student runs out of FWS or loses eligibility, you will be notified that the student's status has been changed to regular employment, and 100 percent of their wages are charged to your department budget from that point forward.
Is there a tool to monitor FWS earnings? There is a page available inside the PeopleSoft CSS system allowing employers to monitor the Federal Work Study earnings for student employees within their department. This monitoring page will display the student’s offer and paid amounts for the aid year and the percentage of their FWS allocation used for all FWS funded jobs on campus.
To gain security access to this page, department representatives need to have access to the CSS system and request the user role equal of “BG_FA_FWS” via the PeopleSoft Security Request [On Campus Only]. See CSS Instructions for more information. Please limit the request to access this page to a Student Employment liaison and/or a Budget administrator per employing department.
A short training video has been created to assist requestors how to navigate through the informational page. Once security form request(s) have been received and approved, new users will be sent the link to the video. Navigation to the page is CSS-Main Menu-BGSU Menu-Financial Aid-Inquire-FWS Earnings by Department.
What if a student's aid package does not include FWS? Depending on the student's situation, Student Financial Aid may be able to add FWS to the student's package by reducing Federal Subsidized Loan. Refer students to a counselor in Student Financial Aid for options regarding their financial aid package.
Is it possible to increase a student's FWS earnings limit? Yes, depending on the student's financial need, award package, and funding levels. If a student has remaining financial need, the FWS limit can be increased. In some cases, a student's loan eligibility can be converted to FWS eligibility at the student's request. In either case, students should consult a counselor in Student Financial Aid to request additional FWS and to discuss the implications of revising their aid package.
Can a student have more than one FWS job at a time? Yes, but total hours worked may not exceed 28 hours per week. Earnings from all jobs will count toward the student's FWS limit listed on the award notification.
Will students automatically be eligible again next year for FWS? Not automatically. Students must apply each year for student financial aid. Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as early as January 1st for the following academic year.
Does a student need to be enrolled to earn FWS funds? Yes. The minimum enrollment requirements for FWS eligibility are six credit hours for undergraduate students. If students drop below the minimum credit hour requirement, 100 percent of their earnings are charged to your department budget from the point that they became ineligible.
How can students find out how close they are to reaching their FWS limits? Students have the functionality to self-monitor FWS earnings via a page available inside their MyBGSU Student Center. It will display the students’ FWS earnings by both aid year and by calendar year. A calendar year FWS total is necessary to accurately report the taxable FWS earnings on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. These taxable FWS earnings are excluded from the calculation of eligibility for need-based financial aid in the next academic year.
Access this page via the Student Center. Within the Financial section, click on Financial Aid Status. The page is listed within a drop down menu in the “other financial” box, titled “View Student FWS Earn”. Highlight this title and click on the double arrows to access this new earnings page. If the student has or had multiple jobs, the page will not display each one separately but rather displays the total earnings. The “Offer Amount” is the students’ FWS award and the “Paid Amount” is their total earnings.
