Federal Work Study is awarded based on the federal calculated need of the student and the availability of funds when the student applies. No separate application is required; the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is all that is needed. Federal Work Study is offered on a yearly basis for the fall and following spring terms. Receiving Federal Work Study one year is not a guarantee that a student will receive it the following year. The student must complete the FAFSA and CUA applications each year to be considered. Funding for this program is limited, so awards are made on a first-come first-served basis.

If a student is not awarded FWS on his/her Aid Notification Letter it is either because he/she does not meet the Federal Title IV requirements or did not complete the application process before the University allocates all its available FWS funds.

Once the Financial Aid Office notifies Payroll to discontinue the student's payment from the work-study program, the employing department will be responsible for paying the remaining balance over the work-study allocation. Any amount over the student allocation that is charged to the Federal Work Study account will be reversed to the individual department account throughout the year.

  • Authorizations and I-9s

    Work-study students must process a new authorization form each year. For most, that means the beginning of the school year, although the work-study fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.  Although the Financial Aid Office notifies work-study students of this, nevertheless, some returning students forget that a new authorization form is required. All work-study employees--new and returning-must reapply by promptly processing an authorization form each year.  No exceptions will be accepted by the Payroll Office. Furthermore, work-study students cannot and will not be paid by the work-study program until the Career Services Office has processed the authorization and provided the work start date. A student who starts work prior to the authorized start date must be paid with departmental funds.

    Those who are new to the CUA payroll must also complete an I-9 in the Human Resources Office (or with a Student Employment Coordinator). No one can be paid until the I-9 has been completed.

    Departments should not assume that a student has done his or her paperwork. They should wait until they receive an email notification of the student's start date, pay rate, and allocation (award).

    After the student has picked up the authorization from the Career Services Office and has it signed by his or her supervisor, he or she must deliver it to the Career Services Office. The student may not begin work until the Career Services Office, which will record the work start date, hourly pay rate, and award amount, has processed the authorization.

    Career Services then sends the authorization to the Human Resources Office, which verifies that an I-9 is already on file or holds the authorization for the student to complete an I-9, either in HR or with a Student Employment Coordinator. When the I-9 has either been verified or completed, HR enters the assignment into the Human Resources System and gives the authorization to the Payroll Office for further processing.

    Payroll verifies the data entered into the Human Resources System by the Human Resources Office, enters the award amount, and ensures that Federal and State taxes and the workers compensation benefit are set up in the system. A copy is made of the fully-processed authorization, with the work start date and the Human Resources System assignment code highlighted, and mailed to the departmental representative who signed the authorization. Doing so assures the employing unit that the authorization has been fully processed and provides information needed for preparing time sheets.

  • Timesheets

    It is important that students understand the pay cycle, namely, that they are paid semi-monthly (not biweekly) on the 10th of the month for the pay period from the 16th through the end of the previous month and on the 25th of the month for the pay period from the first through the 15th of the current month.

    The college work-study recap time sheet is a pre-printed form which contains employee ID#, employee name, position number, rate and period covered. If the employee is not listed on the recap timesheet please contact the payroll department at ext. 5512.

    Time sheets are normally due on the first working day after the close of the pay period; the non-exempt payroll schedule distributed at the beginning of the University's fiscal year gives the time sheet due dates for the entire fiscal year. We are better able to handle last-minute problems if the bulk of the time sheets come to us on the scheduled due date.

    Time sheets can be turned in anytime on the due date prior to 12:00 p.m.

  • Earnings Tracking

    It is the responsibility of the employing department, not the Payroll Office, to track the hours worked by their students on work-study; work-study time sheets must not be submitted to the Payroll Office after the student has reached his or her award limit. If a department wants to continue employing a student who has reached his or her work-study limit, it must process an Employee Data Form to put the student on their part-time hourly payroll.

  • Taxes

    Students who are claimed as dependent on someone else's taxes should consult with that person regarding their filing status.  Students filing independently should consult with their tax preparer to determine the appropriate tax filing.  Contrary to what some students think, College Work-Study earnings are NOT exempt from all taxation. Tax forms are available on the Forms link or on the specific tax jurisdiction website.

  • Direct Deposit

    Students are strongly encouraged to sign up for direct deposit via Employee Self Service in Cardinal Station. Failure to enroll voluntarily will result in net wages being applied to a Visa branded pay card.  Login to Cardinal Station to create/edit direct deposit accounts through the Employee Self Service portal. Should you have any questions or concerns, please email or call (202) 319-5512. (have email link to open email to cua-payroll@cua.edu)