On-Campus Employment
Many UC students find that working on campus is an excellent way to earn money for college expenses. As well, UC recognizes the importance of student workers in its operations.
Although student employees are not eligible for traditional benefits packages, on-campus employment does offer its own series of perks. Studies consistently find that students who work between 10 and 20 hours per week perform better academically than students who do not work at all. Other on-campus employment benefits include
- improved time management/organizational skills,
- flexible scheduling around your classes,
- close proximity to classrooms (and residence halls),
- valuable work experience,
- insight into careers or job field, and
- greater understanding of the university's operation.
Working part-time while a student is an excellent way to reduce your debt load. Any time you can increase your income or reduce your expenses, you are able to lessen reliance on loans.
Student employment opportunities exist in almost every campus office and service. On-campus positions are divided into two categories: work-study and departmental employment. The difference between the categories is in who pays the wages.
Work-Study Positions
Work-study positions allow a campus employer to stretch their student payroll dollars. As a need-based financial aid program, Federal Work-Study pays for 75% of the wage while the department only has to pay 25%. Work-study students will be paid the same wage as non-work-study students and can have the same responsibilities. The difference is simply in who is paying the wage.
Work-study wages benefit the student as well. Earnings as a work-study student are specially reported on the following year's FAFSA. These earnings are excluded from calculations when determining the student's financial aid eligibility for that year.
Available positions are posted online. Work-study positions are available only to students who were awarded work-study as part of their financial aid package.
Departmental Positions
Whereas UC work-study positions are funded in large part by federal monies and available only to persons awarded Federal Work-Study, any student, regardless of financial need, may apply for departmental employment.
Applications for student positions are available at individual on-campus departments and are listed online in Handshake. As noted, "Work-Study Student" positions are available only to students awarded Federal Work-Study, but any student regardless of aid package can apply for "Student Worker" positions.