Typically hiring can be done at the beginning and middle of each term, but please refer to our Important CWSP Program Dates.

For a checklist of recommended actions to take when hiring a student, interview tips, and required steps to take with CWSP after you hire a student, download our Hiring Checklist for Off-Campus FWS Supervisors (PDF).

Ready to Hire a Student? Next Steps:

• Email the CWSP Coordinator

•  the student’s name and Cornell Net ID, so the Coordinator can check the student’s work study eligibility.
• If haven’t already, direct the student to contact CWSP Coordinator to sign up for a supervisor training to learn more about program details.
• When extending an offer of employment, review items listed in the Hiring Checklist for Off-Campus Supervisors (PDF).
• Once you’ve decided which student(s) to hire, direct them to the Community Work-Study Program (CWSP) Coordinator or website to sign up for the program training.
• You will receive a “Hiring Addendum” via email that requires signatures from the supervisor and fiscal officer before the hire is authorized.
• The student employee and supervisor will each receive an email titled ‘Appointment Confirmation’ confirming the student’s appointment to the payroll and their start date.

Do not allow students to begin working until you each have received the “Appointment Confirmation” email. Any wages earned prior to the student’s official start date will be charged 100% to the hiring organization.

Conditions that Restrict a Student’s Employment Eligibility

• Bursar account hold or Dean’s hold
• Not registered with the university
• Financial Aid package that has not been finalized
• Does not have an I9 form on file (it proves eligibility to work in United States)

Employer Share of Wages (Billing)

• Cornell is considered the “paymaster” only; the hiring organization is the “employer” and responsible for supervising and confirming hours worked.
• FWS through CWSP funds 75% of a student’s gross wages, and the employer funds the remaining 25%. Eligible jobs through the America Reads/Counts Challenge initiative, in which student-employees tutor Pre-K through 9th-grade students in reading or math or coordinate such a tutoring program, can be funded at 100%.
• Bills are sent at the end of each term. Payment is expected within 30 days of billing notice. Late payments will affect an agency’s ability to post jobs and hire students, and, in extreme cases, can result in collection procedures being enacted by the university.

Important: Employers are Billed 100% of Student Wages if Any of the Following Occur:

• Student earns wages in excess of their FWS award.
• Student works prior to being appointed or receiving their start-date email notification.
• Student loses or runs out of work-study eligibility and continues to work.
• WorkDay time is submitted after the academic-year or summer employment-term for which they were hired has ended and they can no longer be paid with their FWS award.

For more information about hiring a student, payroll, or billing, please contact the CWSP Coordinator.