Student Employment - Student Financial Services

Student employment provides opportunities to enrich your academic experiences and gain invaluable experience for future career goals through on campus jobs for undergraduate and graduate degree seeking students. A student employee is a student worker whose primary association with Oakland University is for the purpose of obtaining a degree. Student employment is temporary and secondary to the pursuit of a degree. Students are paid every two weeks and are responsible for using the earnings to help pay their educational expenses.

Finding Jobs

Student employment provides opportunities to enrich your academic experience and acquire skills to help your career goals. Students can search for open positions through Handshake. Search for on-campus and off-campus positions, internships, and career related employment opportunities in one convenient location. Create a Handshake account now.

On campus employment positions for the fall semester will be posted to Handshake beginning in April. New students may apply for those positions beginning April 1.

One special program for off-campus student employment is Community Service Tutoring (formerly America Reads), in which Oakland University has partnered with the Troy public schools. Students in the School of Education, or students with experience in tutoring reading are matched with Troy elementary schools. Federal Work-Study is required. Tutoring positions are posted on Handshake early in the fall. Eligible students are interviewed first by Financial Aid, and then by the participating Troy elementary school.

Eligibility

Fall/Winter:
During the fall and winter semester, students must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Enrolled in a degree seeking program
Required to be enrolled at least half time. Half time is defined as 6 credit hours for undergraduate students and 4 credit hours for graduate students. It is the student's responsibility to inform department of changes to enrollment.

Summer:
While a student is not required to be enrolled for summer semester in order to work a regular student employment position, they must:

Be enrolled at least half time in the preceding winter semester and the upcoming fall semester
Have not completed graduation requirements
Have a valid I-20 on file with the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO), if an international student.

Federal Work-Study funds are not available during the summer semester.

Summer Student Campus Corps Internship Program:
Summer Student Campus Corps was created in 2009 to help students gain valuable work experience when the economic downturn was affecting the availability of off-campus student internship opportunities. Information regarding Summer Student Campus Corps program availability and program submission deadline will be available during winter semester. Pending yearly program and funding approval. Continuing OU students must meet the following requirements:

Must be an undergraduate student in a degree seeking program
Must be a Michigan resident
Enrolled at least half time in the preceding winter semester and the upcoming fall semester

Community College Partnerships:
Students enrolled in an OU Community College Partnership program must have a combined enrollment of at least half time at both schools.

Graduate Assistantships:
Graduate Assistantships provide students an opportunity to gain professional experience.

Graduate students who receive a full-time graduate assistantship are required to provide an average of 20 hours per week of service during the fall and winter semesters, as described in their graduate assistant contract. They cannot take on any additional student employment assignments.
Graduate students who received a part-time graduate assistantship are required to provide an average of 10 hours per week of service during the fall and winter semesters, as described in their graduate assistant contract. They can take on up to an additional 10 hours of student employment assignments.

Types

There are two types of student employment at Oakland University:

Federal Work-Study provides 75% funding for wages, along with 25% departmental/OU funds for student employees who demonstrate financial need through required filing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); awards are made on a first come first serve basis. Eligibility to work in a Federal Work-Study position requires a Federal Work-Study award. Students who are requested by a hiring department to work via Federal Work‑Study must satisfy all general financial aid requirements before they will be eligible to work. Students selected for federal “verification” must submit all requested documents and be reviewed by the financial aid office before an authorization to work will be granted.
Regular Student Employment allows individual Oakland University hiring department funds to pay wages for student employees. The FAFSA is not required.

Employment Forms

Once you are offered an on-campus student employment position, you must complete and submit the following forms and documents to Student Financial Services before employment can begin.

For payroll purposes, an original U.S. Social Security card must be presented for photocopy to Student Financial Services in person. The Supervisor and Departmental contact will be notified if additional information is needed or forms are incomplete. The Office of Student Financial Services will notify the Departmental contact via a Work Referral when the student can begin work. Students cannot begin working until the Departmental contact receives a Work Referral from Student Financial Services.

Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) The U.S. Department of Justice requires all employees to complete an Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) and submit to their employer with appropriate unexpired documentation. This form, with documentation, is used to verify your eligibility to work in the United States. If you have never worked at Oakland University as a student employee or one year has elapsed since you were employed as a student employee at OU, you will need to complete a Form I-9 and submit it (in person) to the Financial Aid Office with appropriate documentation (submit originals; photocopies are not acceptable) to be considered and/or approved for student employment at Oakland University.
Form W4 Employee’s Federal Withholding Allowance Certificate
MI-W4 Employee’s Michigan Withholding Exemption Certificate
If your permanent residence is in a city that has a city income tax, you are required to submit a W-4 for that city. Michigan.gov lists cities with a city income tax.
Payroll Payment Options - Oakland University employees have the option to receive their pay via Oakland University Direct Deposit or Visa® PayCard. Direct Deposit allows for a transfer of funds directly into a student's personal bank account. Visa® PayCard is available through the OU Credit Union. Students are paid once every two weeks.
Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens (IRS Notice 1392) contains information to assist nonresident aliens in special completion instructions for their form I-9.

Maximum Work Hours

Students are not permitted to work during any enrolled class hours or exam times. The employment dates and employment hour limits can be found in this chart.

Maximum Work Hours Chart

*International students are limited to 20 hours per week during the fall and winter semesters when classes are in session and 40 hours per week during weeks when classes are not in session and during the summer.

Equal opportunity employment

Oakland University, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, is committed to compliance with federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is the policy of Oakland University that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, height, weight, familial status, marital status, disability, creed, sexual orientation, veteran status or other prohibited factors in employment, admissions, educational programs or activities. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to Oakland University, Director of the Office of University Diversity and Compliance, 203 Wilson Hall, Rochester, Michigan 48309-4401.

Relevant Oakland University Policies

It is recommended that all student employees exposed to confidential information, such as educational records, student financial information, health information, and social security numbers, sign the attached Oakland University Employee and Student Intern Confidentiality Agreement form. The form should be presented to the student employee by the department supervisor. Departments will retain the signed copy in the student worker's employment file.

It is the department's responsibility to ensure student employees understand confidential information is not to be used in any way, other than what is necessary as part of the job duties. Departments must also ensure that student workers review the following Oakland University's Information Technology and Security Policies:

Information for Hiring Supervisors

Hiring Supervisors can find all relevant information in E-space.