Table of Contents

Volume 6 - Federal Work-Study

Introduction.................................................................................... i
RECENT CHANGES ....................................................................................................................................... I
Non-community service jobs at proprietary schools ................................................................................................ i

Chapter 1: Participation, Fiscal Procedures, & Records ............. 1

PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT ............................................................................................. 1
CASH MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................................ 1
ALLOCATION AND REALLOCATION ....................................................................................................... 2
TRANSFER OF FUNDS ................................................................................................................................ 2
CARRY FORWARD/CARRY BACK ............................................................................................................. 3
LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD OR BACK .................................................. 4
FEDERAL SHARE LIMITATION .................................................................................................................. 4
NONFEDERAL SHARE ................................................................................................................................ 6
USE OF ALLOCATED FUNDS .................................................................................................................... 7
Community service jobs ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
OFF-CAMPUS AGREEMENTS ................................................................................................................... 8
ADMINISTRATIVE COST ALLOWANCE ................................................................................................ 10
RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................................... 11
Payroll records, Electronic certification, Payroll vouchers, Job descriptions ............................................... 11
Reading and mathematics tutors and family literacy activities

Chapter 2: Selecting Recipients & Assigning Jobs ..................... 15

GENERAL STUDENT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................... 15
ASSIGNING JOBS ..................................................................................................................................... 15
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS ............................................................................. 16
EARNINGS FOR FUTURE PERIOD OF ENROLLMENT ....................................................................... 17
PERIODS OF NONATTENDANCE .......................................................................................................... 17
Mini-Sessions ............................................................................................................................................................................. 18

Chapter 3: Calculating FWS Awards ........................................... 19

DETERMINING THE FWS AWARD AMOUNT ...................................................................................... 19
FWS OVERAWARDS AND RESOURCES ............................................................................................... 21

Chapter 4: Paying Students ......................................................... 23

ESTABLISHING WAGE RATES ................................................................................................................. 23
PAYMENT FOR TRAVEL AND/OR TRAINING ...................................................................................... 24
DISBURSEMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 24
PAYMENT DIRECTLY TO STUDENT ACCOUNTS ................................................................................ 26
HOLDING EXCESS FWS FUNDS ON BEHALF OF STUDENTS ........................................................ 27
GARNISHMENT OF WAGES.................................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 5: Types of Employment ............................................... 29
COMMUNITY SERVICE JOBS ................................................................................................................. 29
How are community services defined?......................................................................................................................... 29
What is a family literacy project? How are family literacy activities defined? ............................................ 31
Employing FWS students as reading and mathematics tutors ......................................................................... 32
WORK ON CAMPUS ................................................................................................................................. 32
Employment in a foreign country ................................................................................................................................... 32
WORK FOR PROPRIETARY SCHOOL .................................................................................................... 33
Non-community service jobs ............................................................................................................................................ 33
WORK OFF CAMPUS FOR NONPROFIT OR GOVERNMENT AGENCY ......................................... 34
WORK OFF CAMPUS FOR PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES ..................................................... 36
TERMS USED IN THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY SERVICES .................................................... 36
LIST OF AGENCIES, INSTITUTIONS, AND ACTIVITIES INCLUDED IN THE DEFINITION OF
COMMUNITY SERVICES ......................................................................................................................... 38
EMPLOYING FWS STUDENT AS TUTORS: FAQS ............................................................................... 40
What are the requirements to be a ‘reading tutor’ or ‘math tutor?’ ................................................................ 40
What is a ‘pre-school age child?’ ....................................................................................................................................... 40
What setting must the tutoring take place in? .......................................................................................................... 40
Can FWS students tutor children in parochial schools? ....................................................................................... 40
Should tutors be trained? .................................................................................................................................................... 41
Can students be paid while in training? ....................................................................................................................... 41
Can students be paid during preparation and evaluation activities? ........................................................... 41
Will a tutoring job always satisfy the community service requirement? ..................................................... 41
What if the FWS student is training tutors, performing related administrative tasks, or
works another FWS job? ....................................................................................................................................................... 42
How can my school start placing FWS students as tutors? ................................................................................. 42

Chapter 6: Job Location & Development & Work-Colleges ...... 43

JOB LOCATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM............................................................................ 43
JLD Program participation, Student eligibility, Use of FWS allocation for JLD Program ....................... 43
Use of JLD Program funds, Federal share limitation, Allowable program costs
Students as staff in the JLD Program office, JLD reporting on the FISAP
MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL JLD PROGRAMS ........................................................................................... 46
WORK-COLLEGES PROGRAM ............................................................................................................... 47
Allowable costs ......................................................................................................................................................................... 48

Appendix A: Model Off-Campus Agreement............................. 49

Appendix B: Need Assessment for FWS Community Service

Program .................................................................................... 53
Introduction INTRODUCTION
i

Through the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program, undergraduate

and graduate students work part time to help pay for the cost of their
education. Schools must use 7% of their FWS Program funds to
compensate students employed in community service jobs.

RECENT CHANGES
Non-community service jobs at proprietary schools
New revised FWS regulations provide more flexibility to
proprietary schools in establishing non-community service jobs on Jobs Cite
34 CFR 675.2(b)
campus. Under the new regulations, students can more easily find FWS
work that fits into their academic schedules and earn money to pay
their educational costs.

Changes to the regulations did the following:

• expanded the definition of “student services” by adding further

examples of acceptable work areas;

• specified jobs that are never “student services” by providing

examples; and

• modified past guidance to indicate that FWS jobs do not have

to provide direct and personal services to other students.

These changes as well as the other requirements are provided in

chapter 5 under the heading “On-campus or off-campus work for
proprietary schools.”

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Participation, Fiscal CHAPTER
1
Procedures, &
Records
The Department allocates FWS funds to schools according to the statutory formulas in section
442 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Schools must use and maintain FWS funds
according to the procedures of the Federal Work-Study Program.

PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT Program Participation

Agreement cite
A school that wants to participate in any Federal Student Aid 34 CFR 675.8
(FSA) Program must sign a Program Participation Agreement with the
Secretary. (See Volume 2 - Institutional Eligibility and Participation for
more general information about the Program Participation
Agreement.)

Under the Program Participation Agreement, schools participating

in the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program must:

• make FWS employment reasonably available, to the extent of

available funds, to all eligible students;
• award FWS employment, to the maximum extent
practicable, that will complement and reinforce each
recipient’s educational program or career goals;
• assure that FWS employment may be used to support
programs for supportive services to students with disabilities;
and
• inform all eligible students of the opportunity to perform
community services and consult with local nonprofit,
governmental, and community-based organizations to
identify those opportunities.

CASH MANAGEMENT
When administering the FWS Program, schools must adhere to the
cash management requirements of the General Provisions, which
apply to all FSA programs (see volume 2).

Chapter 4 addresses additional procedures for paying FWS

students.

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ALLOCATION AND REALLOCATION

As discussed in Volume 4 - Campus-Based Programs Common Provisions,
a school applies for program funds annually through the electronic
Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP). The
Department allocates funds directly to schools.

If a school returns more than 10% of its FWS allocation for an

Reduction of allocation cite
award year, the school’s allocation for the second succeeding award
34 CFR 673.4(d)(3)
year will be reduced by the dollar amount returned, unless the
Department waives this provision. The Department may do so for a
specific school if the Department finds that enforcement would be
contrary to the interests of the program. The Department considers
enforcement to be contrary to the interests of the program only if the
school returned more than 10% of its allocation due to circumstances
that are beyond the school’s control and are not expected to recur.

Reallocation cite Unexpended funds returned to the Department will be reallocated

HEA Section 442(d) to an eligible school that used at least 5% of its total FWS allocation to
pay students employed as reading tutors of children or performing
family literacy activities in family literacy projects in the preceding
award year. A school must request the reallocated FWS funds, and the
Requesting reallocated FWS
funds cite school must have a fair-share shortfall to receive these funds. A school
Dear Partner Letter CB-02-15, must use all the reallocated funds only to pay students employed in
dated September 2002 community service jobs.

TRANSFER OF FUNDS
Transfer of funds to FSEOG cite Your school may transfer up to 25% of its total FWS allocation
34 CFR 675.18(e) (initial and supplemental) to the FSEOG Program. The Department’s
permission is not required. (Your school’s total FWS allocation does
not include funds carried forward or carried back from other award
GAPS: Transferred years. See chart.)
Funds
Your school must match any FWS funds transferred to FSEOG at
the matching rate of that program, but the match doesn’t have to be
Any FWS funds transferred made until the transfer has occurred.
to FSEOG must be entered
in GAPS as an expenditure You must award transferred FWS funds according to the
against the FWS program, requirements of the FSEOG Program.
not the FSEOG program.
You must report any transfer of FWS funds on the Fiscal
Operations Report portion of the FISAP.

A school that transfers FWS funds to the FSEOG Program must

transfer any unexpended funds back to the FWS Program at the end
of the award year.

A school’s future program allocations are not affected by past

transferring of funds between programs.

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 Chapter 1 — Participation, Fiscal Procedures, and Records

Transfer from FWS to FSEOG

FWS allocation
(before carry 25% FSEOG
forward/back)

Example
2002-2003 FWS 2003-2004 FWS 2003-2004 FSEOG
initial & initial & initial &
supplemental: $24,000 supplemental: $20,000 supplemental: $18,000
X .10 $2,400 X .25 $5,000

CARRY FORWARD/CARRY BACK GAPS: Funds Carried

Your school may spend up to 10% of its current year’s FWS Forward/Back
allocation (initial and supplemental) in the following award year
(carry forward). Before a school may spend its current year’s Any FWS funds carried
allocation, it must spend any funds carried forward from the previous forward or carried back
year. between award years
must be entered in GAPS
Your school is also permitted to spend up to 10% of its current as an expenditure against
year’s FWS allocation (initial and supplemental) for expenses incurred the FWS authorization for
in the previous award year (carry back). the award year from which
the funds were taken, not
You may “carry back” funds for summer employment; that is, you the authorization for the
may use any portion of your school’s initial and supplemental FWS award year in which the
allocations for the current award year to pay student wages earned on funds were used.
or after May 1 of the previous award year but prior to the beginning of
the current award year (July 1). For example, a school is authorized to
carry back any portion of its funds allocated from the 2003-2004 award
year to pay FWS wages for summer employment between May 1, 2003
and June 30, 2003 (including both those dates). Carry forward/carry back cite
34 CFR 675.18(b)
On the FISAP, you must report funds that your school carries back 34 CFR 675.18(c)
and carries forward. For example, if a school carried forward 10% of

Carry Back/Carry Forward

2002-2003 10%
2003-2004 10%
2004-2005
FWS Allocation FWS Allocation FWS Allocation

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its FWS 2002-2003 allocation to be spent in 2003-2004, the school must

report this amount on the October 2003 FISAP, in Part V of the Fiscal
Operations Report for 2002-2003.

The official allocation letter for a specific award period is the

school’s authority to exercise these options. A school may not carry
forward or back FWS funds to any award year in which there is no
specific FWS allocation.

Your school must match funds carried forward or carried back in

the year that they are spent.

A school’s future program allocation is not affected by carrying

forward or carrying back funds between award years.

LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS CARRIED

FORWARD OR BACK
Schools are not permitted to add funds that are carried forward or
back to the total FWS allocation for an award year when determining
the maximum percentage of available funds that may be used in that
award year for any of the following purposes (see next page):

• the transferring of FWS funds to FSEOG;

• providing the federal share of wages in private for-profit
sector jobs; or
• the Job Location and Development (JLD) Program.
For example, for the 2003-2004 award year, a school may not add
to the 2003-2004 total FWS allocation any FWS funds carried forward
from 2002-2003 or carried back from 2004-2005 when determining the
maximum percentage of available funds that may be used in 2003-2004
for the purposes listed above. The maximum amount usable for each
of the three purposes listed in the previous paragraph is the
appropriate percentage of a school’s total 2003-2004 original FWS
allocation plus any supplemental 2003-2004 FWS allocation.

FEDERAL SHARE LIMITATION

The federal share of FWS wages paid to a student may not exceed
75%, with the following exceptions:

• The federal share of FWS wages paid to a student employed

by a private for-profit organization may not exceed 50%.
• The FWS regulations authorize a 100% federal share of FWS
wages paid to a student who is employed as a reading tutor
for preschool-age children or elementary school children, a
mathematics tutor for children in elementary school
through ninth grade, or is performing family literacy

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 Chapter 1 — Participation, Fiscal Procedures, and Records
Federal shares cites
activities in a family literacy project that provides services to
families with preschool-age children or elementary school
children. The work performed by the student must be for Federal share limitation
34 CFR 675.26(a)(1)
the school itself, for a federal, state, or local agency, or for a
private nonprofit organization. A school is not required to
ask the Department for a waiver of the FWS nonfederal Private for-profit organizations
share requirement to receive the 100% federal share 34 CFR 675.26(a)(3)
authorization for an FWS student employed in one of these
jobs. Instead, the school should use 100% federal dollars to Reading tutor and family literacy
pay such a student and then show on its FISAP that it did so. projects
A discussion of employing FWS students as tutors and in 34 CFR 675.26(d)
family literacy projects is in chapter 5 of this volume.
Strengthening institutions
• The Department may authorize a federal share of 100% of 34 CFR 675.26(d)
FWS wages at schools designated as eligible schools under 34
CFR parts 606, 607, 608 or 609 (see chart). The work
90% federal share
performed by the student must be for the school itself, for a 34 CFR 675.26(a)(2)
federal, state, or local public agency, or for a private
nonprofit organization. Your school is considered to have
Restrictions cite
applied for a waiver of the nonfederal share requirement if
34 CFR 675.26(b)
your school is designated as an eligible school and your
school submits a complete FISAP by the established
deadline. Such schools will receive a letter from the JLD cite
34 CFR 675.33(b)
Department indicating that they have been granted a waiver
of the FWS nonfederal share requirement. (For more
information, see pages 3-10 to 3-11 of The Blue Book, Part 606
published February 2001.) Developing Hispanic-Serving
Institutions Program
If your school files a FISAP on behalf of two or more
separately eligible school locations, but not all of these Part 607
locations are eligible, you must file a separate FISAP for any
Strengthening Institutions Program
locations that are not eligible. Only those locations that are
eligible will receive a waiver of the nonfederal share American Indian Tribally Controlled
requirement. Colleges and Universities Program

• The FWS regulations authorize a school to pay a federal Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-
Serving Institutions Program
share of FWS wages to a student in excess of the current
75% limit but not exceeding 90% under the following
Part 608
specific conditions:
Strengthening Historically Black
• The student is employed at a private nonprofit Colleges and Universities Program
organization or a federal, state, or local public
agency. (Employment at the school itself is not Part 609
eligible.)
Strengthening Historically Black
• The school does not own, operate, or control the Graduate Institutions Program
agency. To satisfy this requirement, your school
must keep a statement in the school’s file, signed Wages from Federal Agency
by both the agency and the school, stating that The portion of the FWS wages contributed
they have no such relationship. as the institutional share by a federal off-
• The school selects the agency on an individual, campus agency are not considered part
of the “federal share.” Thus, a federal
case-by-case basis. This requirement is satisfied
agency may provide the required share of
when the school selects the agency through its
student compensation normally paid by
normal process of selecting potential employers. off-campus agencies plus any other em-
ployer costs that they agree to pay.

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004

• The agency must be unable to pay the regular

nonfederal share. To satisfy this requirement, the
school must keep in its file a signed letter from an
official of the agency stating that the agency
cannot afford to pay the regular nonfederal share.
• The 90% federal share is limited to no more than
10% of the students paid under the FWS Program.
For purposes of this calculation, the school must
use the total number of FWS students paid during
the current award year. The 10% limit on the
number of students paid with the 90% federal
share does not include students whose FWS wages
have been exempted from the full nonfederal
share requirement due to being employed as a
reading tutor, mathematics tutor, or performing
family literacy activities.
The federal share of FWS wages paid to a student may be lower
than 75% if the employer chooses to contribute more than the
minimum required nonfederal share. For example, if a school has a
large demand for FWS jobs from its various departments, it may
contribute more than the usual 25% to allow for additional
employment.

The federal share may not be used to provide fringe benefits such
as sick leave, vacation pay, or holiday pay, or employer’s contributions
to Social Security, Workers’ Compensation, retirement, or any other
welfare or insurance program. These restrictions on the federal share
apply even when the Department authorizes a federal share of 100%
of FWS wages.

The federal share of allowable costs in carrying out the JLD

Program may not exceed 80% of such costs. (See chapter 6 of this
volume.)

NONFEDERAL SHARE
Nonfederal share cite The nonfederal share of a student’s FWS wages must be at least
34 CFR 675.27 25% each award year, except in the cases listed above. (See previous
section.)

Your school may use any resource available to pay its share of FWS
compensation except federal funds allocated under the FWS Program.
The school’s share may come from its own funds, from outside funds
(such as from an off-campus agency), or from both. However, if a
student is employed by a private, for-profit organization, that
organization must provide the nonfederal share.

Your school may also pay the institutional share with noncash
contributions (see chapter 4). If the school’s noncash contribution is
less than the remaining 25%, the school must make up the difference
in cash.

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 Chapter 1 — Participation, Fiscal Procedures, and Records

If the Department grants an institutional-share waiver to a school

that is designated as an eligible school under 34 CFR parts 606, 607,
608 or 609 (see chart on previous page), that school has the option of
providing an institutional share and determining the amount of the
share. However, the institutional share requirements for employment
provided by a private for-profit organization (50% federal-share
limitation) or for the administration of the JLD Program (80% federal-
share limitation) are never waived.

If a school receives more money under an employment agreement

with an off-campus agency than the sum of (1) required employer Excess funds cite
34 CFR 675.26(c)
costs, (2) the school’s nonfederal share, and (3) any share of
administrative costs the employer agreed to pay, the school must
handle the excess in one of three ways:

• use it to reduce the federal share on a dollar-for-dollar basis;

• hold it in trust for off-campus employment during the next
award year; or
• refund it to the off-campus employer.
Funds from programs sponsored by federal agencies (such as the
National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health) may
be used to pay the nonfederal share, as long as the programs have the
authority to pay student wages. A school should contact the
appropriate federal agency to see if the program in question does have
Allocation
this authority. The term allocation
always refers to the
original initial and
USE OF ALLOCATED FUNDS supplemental allocation
your school receives and
An approved school may use part of its FWS allocation for the
never refers to an amount
purpose of meeting the costs of the Work-Colleges Program discussed
remaining after your
in chapter 6.
school carries forward or
carries back funds.
A school may use up to 25% of its FWS allocation and reallocation
for an award year to pay the wages of FWS students employed by
private for-profit organizations.

Community service jobs

There are two community service expenditure requirements that a
school must meet. First, a school must use at least 7% of its FWS 7% cite
34 CFR 675.18(g)
federal allocation for an award year to pay the federal share of wages
to students employed in community service jobs for that year. Second,
in meeting this 7% community service requirement, one or more of
the school's FWS students must be employed as a reading tutor for
children in a reading tutoring project or performing family literacy
activities in a family literacy project.

A school may request a waiver of either or both of these Waiver request statement cite
requirements by providing in writing detailed information to support Dear Partner Letter CB-02-11, dated June
its waiver request. The waiver request must be received by the deadline 2002

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that is published annually in the Federal Register. The Department will

approve a waiver only if it determines that the school has
demonstrated that enforcing the requirements would cause a hardship
for students at the school. The fact that it may be difficult for the
school to comply with these requirements is not, in and of itself, a basis
for granting a waiver.

The Department issues a letter annually on the FWS community

service waiver process and deadline. To request a waiver for the 2003-
2004 award year, a school must submit its waiver request and any
supporting information to the Department by June 27, 2003. The
waiver request must be signed by an appropriate school official, and
above the signature the official must include this statement: “I certify
that the information I provided in this waiver request is true and
accurate to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the
information is subject to audit and program review by the U.S.
Department of Education.” If a school official has any questions
regarding the FWS community service expenditure requirements or
waiver procedures, he or she may contact FSA’s Campus-Based Call
Center at 1 (877) 801-7168.

The Department has not specified the circumstances that would

allow a school to receive a waiver of the community service
requirements in order to allow flexibility for consideration of all
factors that may be valid reasons for a waiver. The Department in the
past has approved a limited number of waivers of the community
service expenditure requirements for schools that have demonstrated
that enforcing these requirements would have caused a hardship for
their students. (See examples of waiver requests approved by the
Department in the box on the facing page.) These examples are not
the only circumstances that may result in approval of a waiver request.

FWS community service expenditures for the 2002-2003 award year

are reported on the FISAP that is due October 1, 2003.

When a school receives reallocated FWS funds, the minimum

amount of FWS federal funds the school must expend on community
service jobs is the greater of:

7% of its total FWS federal allocation for an award year; or

100% of the amount of its reallocated FWS federal funds.

OFF-CAMPUS AGREEMENTS
Off-campus agreements cite If your school would like an off-campus organization to employ
34 CFR 675.20(b) FWS students, your school must enter into a written agreement—a
contract—with the off-campus organization. A written agreement is
required with the off-campus organization even if your school is
considered the employer of the FWS student. The school must make
sure the off-campus organization is a reliable agency with professional
direction and staff and that the work to be performed is consistent
with the purpose of the FWS Program. (See Appendix A at the end of

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COMMUNITY SERVICE APPROVED WAIVER EXAMPLES

Case Study #1 - Small FWS allocation

The school had a very small FWS allocation. The supporting information
submitted by the school noted that 7% of the school’s allocation only
provided enough funds for a student to work for a short period of time.
Therefore, the school was unable to find placement for a student in
community service.

Case Study #2 - Rural area

The school was in a rural area that was located far away from the types of
organizations that would normally provide community service jobs. The
school provided information that showed that its students lacked the means
of transportation to get to the town where the community service jobs were
located. In a similar waiver request in which transportation did exist, a school
provided documentation that showed that the transportation costs were
extremely high for the students.

Case Study #3 - Specialized program

The school offered only a single program of specialized study that required
its students to participate in extensive curriculum and classroom workloads.
The school provided information that demonstrated that this specialized
educational program prevented the students from performing community
service jobs at the time those work opportunities were available.

These examples are not the only circumstances that may result in approval of a
waiver request.

this chapter for a model off-campus agreement. The sample need not
be followed exactly but serves as a guide.)

The agreement should specify what share of student compensation

and other costs will be paid by the off-campus organization. For-profit
organizations must pay the nonfederal share of student earnings. Any
off-campus organization may pay:

• the nonfederal share of student earnings;

• required employer costs, such as the employer’s share of
Social Security or Workers’ Compensation; and
• the school’s administrative costs not already paid from its
ACA.

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The agreement sets forth the FWS work conditions and establishes
whether the school or the off-campus organization will be the
employer for such purposes as hiring, firing, and paying the student.
The employer is generally considered to be the entity that will control
and direct the work of the FWS students—supervising them at the
work site, regulating their hours of work, and generally ensuring that
they perform their duties properly. However, the school is ultimately
responsible for making sure that payment for work performed is
properly documented and that each student’s work is properly
supervised.

The agreement should define whether the off-campus organization

will assume payroll responsibility and bill the school for the federal
share of the students’ wages, or whether the school will pay the
students and bill the off-campus organization for its contribution. The
school must make up any payments the off-campus organization does
not make. It is the school’s responsibility to ensure that FWS payments
are properly documented, even if the off-campus organization does
the payroll. To fulfill that responsibility, the school must keep copies of
time sheets and payroll vouchers and keep evidence that the students
were actually paid (usually copies of the canceled checks or receipts
signed by the students). (Payroll records are discussed in detail later in
this chapter.)

The school is also responsible for ensuring that each student’s

work is properly supervised. School officials should periodically visit
each off-campus organization with which they have an off-campus
agreement to determine whether students are doing appropriate work
and whether the terms of the agreement are being fulfilled.

The agreement must state whether the school or off-campus

organization is liable for any on-the-job injuries to the student. The
employer is not automatically liable. Federal FWS funds cannot be
used to pay an injured student’s hospital expenses.

In determining whether to continue an off-campus agreement,

many schools have found it helpful to require that students submit a
formal evaluation of their work experience at the end of the
assignment. The school may also use the evaluation to help off-campus
agencies improve their work programs.

Staff members of the off-campus organization must become

acquainted with a school’s financial aid and student employment
programs to better understand the school’s educational objectives. The
school must supply the off-campus organization with this information.

ADMINISTRATIVE COST ALLOWANCE

A school participating in the FWS Program is entitled to an
Administrative costs cite
administrative cost allowance (ACA) if it provides FWS employment
34 CFR 673.7(f)
to its students in that award year. (See volume 4 for additional

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information.) The allowance may be used to help offset administrative

costs such as salaries, furniture, travel, supplies, and equipment.

A school may use up to 10% of the ACA attributable to the

school’s FWS Program expenditures to pay administrative costs of
conducting its community service program. These costs may include
the costs of:

• developing mechanisms to ensure the academic quality of a

student’s experience;
• ensuring student access to educational resources, expertise,
and supervision necessary to achieve community service
objectives; and
• collaborating with public and private nonprofit agencies and
programs assisted under the National and Community
Service Act of 1990, in the planning, development, and
administration of these programs.
A school may use a portion of its administrative cost allowance
(ACA) to cover the costs of training an FWS tutor. A school may also
use a portion of its ACA to cover expenses that are related to
employing a student as a tutor with a local school district and that the
school may not incur with another organization. If, for example, a
school district requires all employees to undergo a background check
and be fingerprinted at a cost of $40 per employee, the postsecondary
school may use a portion of its ACA to cover this cost. The FWS
Program does not provide for any additional funds beyond the ACA
for technical assistance and training of tutors.

RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS
Schools must adhere to the recordkeeping requirements in the Recordkeeping requirements cite
General Provisions (see volume 2). Additional requirements specific 34 CFR 675.19(b)
to the FWS Program follow.

The school must establish and maintain an internal control system

of checks and balances that ensures that no office can both authorize
FWS payments and disburse FWS funds to students.

If the school uses a fiscal agent for FWS funds, that agent may
perform only ministerial acts.

Each year the school must submit a Fiscal Operations Report and
other information the Department requires. The information must be
accurate and must be provided on the form and at the time the
Department specifies. (See volume 4 for a discussion of the FISAP.)

Payroll records
In school records, schools must distinguish expenditures for FWS
compensation from other institutional expenditures. You should enter
FWS compensation on a separate voucher or, if listed on the general

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004

payroll voucher, you should group FWS compensation separately from

other compensation. If payrolls are handled on automatic data
processing equipment, you should identify FWS with a special code.

You must establish and maintain program and fiscal records that
are reconciled at least monthly. The records must include:

• a payroll voucher containing sufficient information to

support all payroll disbursements;
• a noncash contribution record to document any payment of
the school’s share of the student’s earnings in the form of
services and equipment; and
• a certification by the student’s supervisor, an official of the
school (or off-campus agency) that each student has worked
and earned the amount being paid. Your school may use an
electronic certification process described below. The school
may still continue to have the FWS student’s supervisor sign
a paper certification. If the students are paid on an hourly
basis, the certification must include or be supported by a
time record showing the hours each student worked in clock
time sequence, or the total hours worked per day.
Electronic certification
As noted above, a school may use an electronic certification by
an FWS student’s supervisor that the student has worked and earned
the amount being paid. This electronic certification enables a
school to implement an electronic payroll system for its FWS
students.

A school that uses an electronic certification must adopt

reasonable safeguards against possible fraud and abuse. The school
should provide a secure electronic certification through an electronic
payroll system that includes:

• password protection;
• password changes at set intervals;
• access revocation for unsuccessful log-ins;
• user identification and entry-point tracking;
• random audit surveys with supervisors; and
• security tests of the code access.
Payroll vouchers
Payroll vouchers must support all payroll disbursements and
should provide space for the following information:

• the school’s name and address;

• the starting and ending dates of the payroll period;
• the student’s name;

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 Chapter 1 — Participation, Fiscal Procedures, and Records

• an identification of the student’s job;

• the number of hours worked during the pay period;
• the hourly rate of pay for an undergraduate student;
• the hourly rate of pay or salary for a graduate student;
• the student’s gross earnings;
• any compensation withheld for federal, state, county, or city
taxes, and other deductions;
• any noncash payments;
• the student’s net earnings;
• a check number, duplicate receipt, or other payment
identification; and
• any overtime earnings (a student may be paid overtime with
FWS funds).
Job descriptions
Each FWS position should have a job description that includes the
following:

• the name and address of the student’s employer

(department, public agency, nonprofit organization);
• the purpose of the student’s job;
• the student’s duties and responsibilities;
• the job qualifications;
• the job’s wage rate or range;
• the length of the student’s employment (beginning and
ending dates); and
• the name of the student’s supervisor.
The job description has several purposes:
• It clearly defines whether the job qualifies under the FWS
Program.
• It provides the information needed to explain the position
to a student and to help him or her select the type of
employment most closely related to his or her educational or
career objectives.
• It helps the financial aid administrator, the student, and the
supervisor determine the number of hours of work required
at the specified wage rate to meet a student’s financial need.
• It establishes a written record, for both student and
employer, of the job’s duties and responsibilities so that
there will be no misunderstanding.
If a student is employed with an agency or organization that
provides community services, the school should, as with any other FWS

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004

position, have a job description that includes the duties and the
responsibilities. Schools should use the job description to verify that
the job meets the definition of community services in the FWS
regulations. (See chapter 5.)

Reading and mathematics tutors and family literacy

activities
Your school must be able to identify the FWS students who
performed reading or mathematics tutoring or family literacy activities.
You must also be able to provide the job description that demonstrates
that these students worked as reading or mathematics tutors of
children or performed family literacy activities in a family literacy
project, and you must have records supporting the hours worked and
the amount paid to the FWS reading tutors.

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Selecting Recipients CHAPTER
2
& Assigning Jobs

GENERAL STUDENT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for a Federal Work-Study (FWS) job, a student must
meet all eligibility requirements listed in Volume 1 - Student Eligibility
and Volume 4 - Campus-Based Common Provisions. In addition, a student
must have financial need; that is, his or her cost of attendance (COA)
must be greater than his or her Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
A financial aid administrator may not award FWS employment to a
student if that award, when combined with all other resources, would
exceed the student’s need. (See chapter 3.) However, unlike the other
two campus-based programs, the FWS Program does not require that
priority be given to students who have exceptional financial need. In
choosing students for FWS employment, schools must follow the
selection procedures discussed in volume 4.

ASSIGNING JOBS
A school must make FWS jobs reasonably available to all eligible Academically relevant jobs cite
students at the school. To the maximum extent practicable, a school HEA Section 443(c)(4)
must provide FWS jobs that complement and reinforce each
recipient’s educational program or career goals.

In assigning an FWS job, a school must consider the student’s

financial need, the number of hours per week the student can work,
the period of employment, the anticipated wage rate, and the amount
of other assistance available to the student. While there is no minimum
or maximum award, the amount for each student should be
determined based on these factors.

See chapter 5 for more information on acceptable types of

employment.

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004
Employment conditions and
limitations prohibited cite EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS
34 CFR 675.20(c) The provisions discussed below apply to all work under FWS,
whether on or off campus.

FWS employment must be governed by employment conditions,

including pay, that are appropriate and reasonable according to the
type of work performed, the geographic region, the employee’s
proficiency, and any applicable federal, state, or local law.

Minimum wage cite FWS employers must pay students at least the federal minimum
Dear Colleague Letter CB-96-23, dated No- wage in effect at the time of employment ($5.15 as of September
vember 1996 1997). The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 established a
subminimum, or training, wage that is lower than the minimum wage.
However, it is not permissible to pay the subminimum wage rate to
students in FWS jobs.

FWS employment must not displace employees (including those

on strike) or impair existing service contracts. Also, if the school has
an employment agreement with an organization in the private sector,
the organization’s employees must not be replaced with FWS students.
Replacement is interpreted as displacement.

FWS positions must not involve constructing, operating, or

maintaining any part of a building used for religious worship or
sectarian instruction. In determining whether any FWS employment
will violate this restriction, a school should consider the purpose of the
part of the facility in which the work will take place and the nature of
the work to be performed. If the part of the facility in which the
student will work is used for religious worship or sectarian instruction,
the work cannot involve construction, operation, or maintenance
responsibilities. If that part of the facility is not being used for religious
worship or sectarian instruction, the school should make sure that any
work the student will perform meets general employment conditions
and that other limitations are not violated.

Neither a school nor an outside employer that has an agreement

Fees or commissions prohibited
with the school to hire FWS students may solicit, accept, or permit
cite
34 CFR 675.27(b)
soliciting any fee, commission, contribution, or gift as a condition for a
student’s FWS employment. However, a student may pay union dues to
an employer if they are a condition of employment and if the
employer’s non-FWS employees must also pay dues.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, prohibits

employers (including schools) from accepting voluntary services from
any paid employee. Any student employed under FWS must be paid
for all hours worked.

Internships, practica, or A student may earn academic credit as well as compensation for
assistantships cite FWS jobs. Such jobs include but are not limited to internships,
34 CFR 675.20(d) practica, or assistantships (e.g., research or teaching assistantships).
However, a student employed in an FWS job and receiving academic
credit for that job may not be:

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 Chapter 2 — Selecting Recipients
Example of an internship that
• paid less than he or she would be if no academic credit were normally doesn’t qualify as an
given; FWS job
• paid for receiving instruction in a classroom, laboratory, or Bernadette is employed as a student
teacher at Stubbs College. Because the
other academic setting; and
school doesn’t normally pay persons in
• paid unless the employer would normally pay the person for such positions, the internship doesn’t
the same job (see sidebar example). qualify as an FWS job.

EARNINGS FOR THE NEXT PERIOD OF

ENROLLMENT
Many FWS students must pay the bulk of their education costs in
the beginning of each period of enrollment, before they have had a
chance to earn FWS wages. To provide the opportunity to earn wages
before incurring education costs, the Department allows students to
earn FWS wages to cover expenses associated with their financial need
arising in the next period of enrollment that is offered by the school.
The student must be planning to enroll (or to reenroll) in that next
period of enrollment and must demonstrate financial need for that
period of enrollment. The next period of enrollment is usually the
next term, including a summer period, or in the case of summer
earnings, the next full academic year. A student may earn FWS wages
towards the next period of enrollment during a period of
nonattendance (see section below), as well as a period of attendance.
A student may earn FWS funds for the next period of enrollment
during any period of enrollment, including a period of enrollment
that is comprised, in whole or in part, of mini-sessions.

PERIODS OF NONATTENDANCE
A student may be employed under FWS during a period of Work during nonattendance cite
nonattendance, such as a summer term, an equivalent vacation period, 34 CFR 675.25(b)
the full-time work period of a cooperative education program, or an
unattended fall or spring semester. To be eligible for this employment,
a student must be planning to enroll (or to reenroll) for the next
period of enrollment and must have demonstrated financial need for
that period of enrollment. The student’s net earnings (earnings minus
taxes and job-related costs) during this period of nonattendance must
be used to cover expenses associated with his or her financial need for
the next period of enrollment. The next period of enrollment is
usually the next term, including a summer period, or in the case of
summer earnings, the next full academic year.

A student whose eligibility for summer FWS employment during a

period of nonattendance is based on his or her anticipated enrollment
in the next period of enrollment may fail to attend the school. When a
student fails to attend for the next period of enrollment, the school
that employed the student must be able to demonstrate that the
student was eligible for employment and that the school had reason to
believe the student intended to study at that school in the next period
of enrollment. At a minimum, the school that employed the student

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004
Mini-session example
Cohogs University has a summer term must keep a written record in its files showing that the student had
made up of three mini-sessions. Ted en- accepted the school’s offer of admittance for the next period of
rolls in classes for the June and August enrollment.
mini-sessions, but does not enroll in any
classes for the July mini-session. Ted has a A student in an eligible program of study abroad may be employed
financial need of $500 for his attendance in during a period of nonattendance preceding the study abroad if he or
two of the summer mini-sessions. Ted also she will be continuously enrolled in his or her American school while
plans to enroll in the following fall semester abroad and if the student’s study is part of the American school’s own
and has a remaining need of $250 for that program. In such a case, a student may be employed in a qualified
semester. Ted is given a $ 750 FWS award position in the United States, at the American school’s branch campus
in the summer ($500 for the two summer
in a foreign country, at a U.S. government facility abroad, or in an
mini-sessions and $250 for the fall semes-
American company abroad.
ter). Ted knows his June mini-session
courses will be very demanding and he
will not have time to work. So, Ted earns Mini-Sessions
$500 during the July mini-session when he If a school combines a series of mini-sessions or modules into one
has no classes. Ted has classes again in
term (e.g., three summer mini-sessions into one summer semester), an
August, but his academic workload is
FWS student attending any of the mini-sessions may earn FWS wages at
lighter. In August, Ted earns $250 towards
his education costs in the upcoming fall se-
any time throughout that term. The school may apply those earnings
mester. towards the student’s financial need for the mini-session(s) attended
and/or the next period of enrollment. The school must base the
student’s financial need for attending the summer term on the period
of time for which the student is actually enrolled in the mini-sessions.

The amount of FWS wages an FWS student may earn at any given
point in time in the term does not depend on whether or not the
student is enrolled in a mini-session at that point in time. The school
or student may choose how to distribute the hours worked throughout
the summer term. See example.

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Calculating FWS
CHAPTER
3
Awards
A student must have financial need to be eligible for a Federal Work-Study job; that is, the
student’s cost of attendance must be more than the amount of his or her expected family
contribution. Procedures for determining a student’s cost of attendance and eligibility for aid
from Federal Student Aid programs are discussed in Volume 1 - Student Eligibility.

DETERMINING THE FWS AWARD AMOUNT Maximum FWS Award

Calculation
Your school must determine an appropriate award amount for
each student offered employment under the Federal Work-Study
(FWS) Program. The FWS award amount provided to a student Financial Need
reflects the gross FWS earnings that a student may earn. A financial aid
administrator may not award FWS employment to a student if the net (-) Other resources
earnings of that award amount, when combined with all other
resources, would exceed the student’s financial need.
= Maximum FWS Award
Resources, as defined in the campus-based regulations, are listed in
Volume 4 - Campus-Based Common Provisions. Net earnings from need-
based employment are considered a resource. Need-based
employment is employment that is awarded by the school itself or by
another entity to a student who demonstrates a financial need for
these funds for the purpose of paying his or her cost of attendance
(COA). Examples of need-based employment would be employment
under the FWS Program, employment under the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs’ work-study program, and employment with a state if
that employment is based on the student’s financial need for assistance
to pay for educational expenses.

Non-need-based employment earnings are not considered to be a

resource for the current award year because they will be reported on
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the
subsequent award year and will be used to determine the expected
family contribution (EFC) for the subsequent award year. An example
of non-need-based employment would be a job a student locates on
her own with a private employer such as a local grocery store.

To prevent an overaward, your school must monitor each student’s

earnings from need-based employment to determine whether the
student’s need has been met. Your school does this by reviewing
payroll records of disbursements to the student under the FWS
Program and any other need-based employment program. The
school’s FWS fiscal records must be reconciled at least monthly.

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004

Calculating Maximum Gross Earnings Example

Chris has unmet financial need of $1,000 at Peterson University. Because Chris has a
Social Security tax of 7.65% (that will not be refunded) and $108 in job-related costs,
the school may allow Chris to earn an FWS award amount that is higher than his
$1,000 unmet financial need in order for him to earn the allowable $1,000 net FWS
earnings.

To calculate the FWS award amount to reflect the maximum gross FWS earnings that
Chris may earn without the net FWS earnings exceeding the student’s $1,000 financial
need, the school must do the following:

1. Add the amount of job-related costs to the amount of his unmet need ($108 +
$1,000 = $1,108) for a total of $1,108.

2. Account for the Social Security tax by determining that his net FWS earnings are
92.35% of his gross earnings (100% - 7.65% = 92.35%) or (.9235).

3. Divide the total in step 1 by the ratio in step 2 ($1,108/.9235 = $1,199.78) for a result
of $1,199.78 ($1200 after rounding).

Peterson University may give Chris a $1,200 FWS award and his net FWS earnings will
not exceed his $1,000 unmet financial need.

Taxes and job-related costs cite Your school may determine the student’s net FWS earnings by
34 CFR 675.25(a) subtracting taxes (those that will be withheld and not refunded) and
job-related costs from the student’s gross FWS earnings. If you are
certain that the student’s federal or state taxes paid will be refunded,
you should not subtract those taxes paid from the student’s gross
earnings.

Job-related costs are costs the student incurs because of his or her
job. Examples of job-related costs include uniforms, the cost of meals
at work, and transportation to and from work. For work during
vacation periods, job-related costs can include room and board as long
as the FWS student incurs these costs only because of the FWS
employment. For example, room and board during the summer
cannot be included in job-related costs if the FWS student also takes
summer courses.

When a student must pay taxes and job-related costs, you may
award the student an FWS award amount that is higher than her
unmet need in order to assure that her net FWS earnings are sufficient
to meet this need. To correctly calculate the maximum gross FWS
earnings that a student may earn without the new FWS earnings
exceeding her financial need, see the example above. It is important
that you document the determination of allowable costs and keep that
information in the FWS student’s file.

Work during nonattendance cite If the student works during a vacation or other period when he or
For further information about working she is not attending classes, his or her net FWS earnings (gross
during vacation periods or periods of earnings minus taxes and job-related expenses) from that period must
nonattendance, see “FWS Employment be counted toward payment of the student’s COA for the next
During Periods of Nonattendance,” in
enrollment period (see chapter 2).
chapter 2 of this volume.

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 Chapter 3 — Calculating FWS Awards

You should tell each FWS recipient what the amount of his or her
estimated net FWS earning will be and explain that this is the amount
that will count towards his or her financial need to pay the student’s
COA. Of course, at the end of a student’s employment, you will need
to review the estimate to see if it was accurate and make adjustments if
it was not.

FWS OVERAWARDS AND RESOURCES

Regulatory provisions regarding overawards and resources are in
34 CFR 673.5. A list of resources and a detailed discussion of the
treatment of overawards in the campus-based programs, including
FWS, is included in volume 4.

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Paying Students CHAPTER
4
Schools must pay Federal Work-Study students in accordance with the provisions of the Federal
Work-Study Program. For information about determining the federal share and institutional
share of Federal Work-Study payments to students, refer to chapter 1.

ESTABLISHING WAGE RATES Wage rate cite

34 CFR 675.24
Undergraduate students are paid Federal Work-Study (FWS)
wages on an hourly basis only. Graduate students may be paid by the
hour or may be paid a salary. Regardless of who employs the student,
School responsibility cite
the school is responsible for making sure the student is paid for work 34 CFR 675.16(a)(10)
performed.

A school should determine the number of hours a student is

allowed to work based on the student’s financial need and on how the
combination of work and study hours will affect the student’s health
and academic progress. There are no statutory or regulatory limits on
the number of hours per week or per payment period a student may
work, provided no overaward occurs. (See Volume 4 - Campus-Based
Common Provisions.)

A student must be paid at least the federal minimum wage in effect Minimum wage cite
at the time of employment ($5.15 as of September, 1997), but there is 34 CFR 675.24(b)
no maximum wage rate. As noted in chapter 1, it is not permissible to Dear Colleague Letter CB-96-23, dated
pay a lower “subminimum” or “training” wage to students in FWS jobs. November 1996
A school may not count fringe benefits as part of the wage rate and
may not pay a student commissions or fees. In determining an
appropriate rate, the school must consider the following:

• the skills needed to perform the job;

• how much persons with those skills are paid in the local area
for doing the same type of job;
• rates the school would normally pay similar non-FWS
employees; and
• any applicable federal, state, or local laws that require a
specific wage rate.
A student’s need places a limit on the total FWS earnings
permissible but has no bearing on his or her wage rate. It is not
acceptable to base the wage rate on need or on any other factor not
related to the student’s skills or job description. If a student’s skill level

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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004
depends on his or her academic advancement, the school may pay a
student on that basis. For example, a junior or third-year lab student
may be paid a higher rate than a sophomore or second-year lab
student. However, in most cases, students performing jobs comparable
to those of other employees should be paid comparable wages,
whether the other employees are students at different class levels or
are regular employees.

PAYMENT FOR TRAVEL AND/OR TRAINING

Training and travel cite A student may be paid for a reasonable amount of time for training
34 CFR 675.18(h) for any FWS employment and travel that is directly related to a
community service job.

Training: Since every job consists of some type of training, whether

formal or informal, FWS students may be paid wages during a training
period that is directly related to the FWS job and is conducted for a
reasonable length of time. This policy applies regardless of the type of
FWS job the student worked.

A reasonable training period is one that occurs immediately prior

to the student beginning regular duties of the FWS employment and
does not exceed approximately 20 hours. Students may also be
compensated for a reasonable amount of time to perform ongoing
training activities (i.e., preparation and evaluation time) necessary to
accomplish their jobs.

See chapter 5 for acceptable training periods for reading

tutorships.

Travel: Students may be paid for a reasonable amount of time

spent for travel that is directly related to employment in community
service activities. Time spent for travel should be reported on the
student’s FWS time record in the same way hours actually worked are
currently reported. It is recommended that schools provide their
students with a time record that separates time spent in travel from
actual hours worked.

DISBURSEMENT
A school must pay a student at least once a month. The school may
Payment to students cite
use any type of payroll period it chooses, provided students are paid at
34 CFR 675.16
least monthly. It is a good idea to have the FWS payroll correspond to
other similar payrolls at the school. Unless you are paying the student
with noncash contributions (see below), you must pay the nonfederal
share to the student at the same time you pay the federal share. (See
chapter 1 for a discussion of federal and institutional shares of FWS
compensation.)

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 Chapter 4 — Paying Students
1
Your school can pay a student by check or similar method that
requires the student’s endorsement. Upon the student’s request, you
can also make payments directly to the student’s bank account or
credit the student’s school account for tuition and fees, room and
board (if contracted by the student through the school), and other
institutionally provided goods and services.

The school also has the option of paying its share of a student’s
FWS wages in the form of a noncash contribution of services or
equipment—for example, tuition and fees, room and board, and
books and supplies. If a school has assessed a charge against a student
who is employed under FWS (such as a parking fine or library fine),
the school may not include forgiveness of such a charge as part of the
school’s noncash contribution for the student.

If the school pays a student its share of FWS wages for an award
period in the form of a noncash contribution (tuition, fees, services, or
equipment), it must do so before the student’s final payroll period of
the award period. If the school pays its share for a forthcoming
academic period in the form of prepaid tuition, fees, services, or
equipment, it must give the student—again, before the end of the
student’s final payroll period—a statement of the amount of the
noncash contribution earned.

When a payment period is in two award years (that is, when it Payment period in two award
begins before and ends after July 1), the student is ordinarily paid for years example
compensation earned through June 30 with funds allocated for the John’s payment period extends from June
first award year and for compensation earned beginning July 1 with 15, 2003 to July 15, 2003. Caravello College
funds allocated for the following award year. (See chapter 1 for a pays John with its 2002-2003 allocation
discussion of carrying back funds for summer employment.) through June 30 (the end of the 2002-
2003 award year) and with its 2003-2004
Paying students from the correct award year is important; schools allocation beginning July 1, 2003 (the be-
ginning of the 2003-2004 award year).
have been held liable when students were paid from the wrong FWS
authorization. For audit and program review purposes, the school
must have documentation (e.g., canceled checks, bank statements) in
its files to show that students received payment in the amount charged
to the FWS Program.

FWS wages are earned when the student performs the work. A
school may pay the student after the last day of attendance for FWS
wages earned while he or she was still in school. However, when a
student has withdrawn from school, FWS funds may not be used to pay
for work performed after the student withdrew. A correspondence
student must submit the first completed lesson before receiving
payment under the FWS Program.

A school may not obtain a student’s power of attorney to authorize

any disbursement of funds unless the U.S. Department of Education
has granted prior approval. The Department would not grant such a
power of attorney (to allow a school to act on behalf of a student)
unless the school could demonstrate that there is no one else (such as
a relative, landlord, or member of the clergy, for example) who could
act on behalf of the student.
1. For example, the school may pay the student with a draft or purchase order or electronic transfer to the student’s bank account.
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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004

FWS and AmeriCorps

FWS students serving as AmeriCorps members may earn

service hour credits towards an AmeriCorps education
award for FWS hours as well as non-FWS hours. However, all
service activities must be undertaken as part of a
Corporation for National Service-approved program.

Furthermore, FWS students may not receive both FWS

wages and an AmeriCorps living allowance (or stipend) for
the same hours of service.

*The Corporation for National Service has made this

determination based on the National and Community
Service Act of 1990, as amended.

PAYMENT DIRECTLY TO STUDENT ACCOUNTS

A school, upon obtaining a written authorization from a student,
Payment to accounts cite may make FWS payments directly to the student’s account at a
34 CFR 675.16 financial institution or the school to satisfy current award year charges
for:

• tuition and fees;

• room and board, if contracted through the school; and
• other school-provided educationally related goods and
services.
In addition, a school may credit a student’s account to satisfy
minor prior award year charges if these charges are less than $100, or
if the payment of these charges does not and will not prevent the
student from paying current educational costs.

Student authorization cite In order to make FWS payments directly to the student’s account
34 CFR 675.16(a)(4)(i) at the school or to initiate an electronic funds transfer (EFT) to the
student’s bank account, the school must obtain written authorization
from the student. The school must:

• not include the authorization as part of a list or in

combination with other types of authorizations signed by the
student;
• not require or coerce the student to provide the
authorization;
• allow the student to cancel or modify the authorization at
any time; and
• clearly explain how it will use the authorization.

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 Chapter 4 — Paying Students

The authorization to transfer funds to a student’s account at the

school must be separate from the authorization to have funds
transferred to his or her bank account. For purposes of the
authorization to transfer FWS funds to a student’s bank account, the
bank forms required to initiate a direct EFT deposit can be considered
the authorization.

If the total amount of FWS funds credited exceeds the amount of

tuition and fees, contracted room and board, and charges for other
school-provided educationally related goods and services, the student
must be paid the balance as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days
after the balance occurred on the student’s account.

HOLDING EXCESS FWS FUNDS ON BEHALF OF

STUDENTS
With written authorization from a student, a school may hold, on Excess funds cite
behalf of the student, FWS funds that would otherwise be paid directly 34 CFR 675.16(a)(8)
to the student (unless this is prohibited by the terms of a
reimbursement payment method). The restrictions for such an
authorization are the same as those that apply to written authorizations
for payments to student accounts (see above). If your school holds
excess FWS funds on behalf of students, it must:

• identify the amount of FWS funds held in excess for each

student in a designated subsidiary ledger account;
• maintain cash in its bank account that is always at a
minimum equal to the FWS funds being held for students;
and
• pay any remaining balance by the end of the school’s final
FWS payroll period for the award period.

GARNISHMENT OF WAGES
A student’s FWS wages may be garnished only to pay any costs of
attendance that the student owes the school or that will become due
and payable during the period of the award. Schools must oppose any
garnishment order they receive for any other type of debt; paying FWS
funds in such cases would not be in compliance with the Federal
Student Aid programs requirement that funds be used solely for
educational purposes. As schools may not necessarily be the employers
in an off-campus employment arrangement, they must adopt effective
procedures to notify off-campus employers that garnishment of FWS
wages for any debt other than a cost of attendance is not permissible.

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Types of CHAPTER
5
Employment
Federal Work-Study (FWS) jobs may be on or off campus. Off-campus FWS jobs with federal,
state, or local public agencies, or private nonprofit organizations must be in the public interest.
Off-campus FWS jobs with private, for-profit organizations must be academically relevant to the
maximum extent possible. Also, your school must use at least 7% of its FWS allocation to employ
students in community service jobs. (See chapter 1.)

COMMUNITY SERVICE JOBS Program Participation

Agreement cite
Schools must make students aware of community service 34 CFR 675.8
opportunities by encouraging them to get involved in community
service activities. The program participation agreement also requires
your school to work with local nonprofit, governmental, and
community-based organizations to identify community service
opportunities, including those that assist supportive services to students
with disabilities, and inform Federal Work-Study (FWS) students of
these opportunities (see chapter 1).

Your school must use at least 7% of its FWS allocation to employ 7% cite
students in community service jobs (see chapter 1). At least one of the 34 CFR 675.18(g)
FWS students your school employs to fulfill this requirement must
work:

• performing family literacy activities in a family literacy Reading tutor/family literacy

project that provides services to families with pre-school age project cite
children or elementary school children; or 34 CFR 675.18(g)
• as a reading tutor for children who are pre-school age or are
in elementary school.
Employing an FWS student in these positions serves the needs of
the community and gives the FWS student an enriching and rewarding
experience. To further encourage schools to employ FWS students in
these positions and as mathematics tutors, FWS regulations authorize a
100% federal share of FWS wages (see chapter 1).

How are community services defined?

Community services are defined as services that are identified by
Definition of community services
an institution of higher education through formal or informal cite
consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based 34 CFR 675.2(b)
organizations, as designed to improve the quality of life for community
residents, particularly low-income individuals, or to solve particular
problems related to their needs. These services include:

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 Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004
Community service cite
• such fields as health care, child care, literacy training,
Dear Colleague Letter CB-97-12, dated July
1997
education (including tutorial services), welfare, social
Dear Colleague Letter CB-94-4, dated services, transportation, housing and neighborhood
March 1994 improvement, public safety, crime prevention and control,
recreation, rural development, and community
improvement;
• work in service opportunities or youth corps as defined in
Section 101 of the National and Community Service Act of
1990, and service in the agencies, institutions, and activities
designated in Section 124(a) of that act;1
• support services for students with disabilities (including
students with disabilities who are enrolled at the school2);
and
• activities in which an FWS student serves as a mentor for
such purposes as tutoring (see “Employing Reading and
Mathematics Tutors,” in this chapter), supporting
educational and recreational activities, and counseling,
including career counseling.
To be considered employed in a community service job for FWS
purposes, an FWS student does not have to provide a “direct” service.
The student must provide services that are designed to improve the
quality of life for community residents or to solve particular problems
related to those residents’ needs. A school may use its discretion to
determine what jobs provide indirect or direct service to the
community.

In determining whether the service is a community service, the

school must always consider whether the service provided by the FWS
student primarily benefits the community as opposed to the agency or
school. See Appendix B for a model need assessment form that can be
used with community service agencies.

The Department does not intend to indicate that certain activities

are more important than others or that only jobs that have direct
contact with community members are acceptable. For example, an
FWS student working for a “meals on wheels” program may prepare
meals for the program without having any direct contact with the
community residents, yet the service he or she is providing is very
important in meeting community needs.

There is no restriction as to whether these jobs must be on or off

campus. However, a university or college is not considered a
community for the purposes of the FWS Program community service
requirements. On-campus jobs can meet the definition of community
services, provided that the services are open and accessible to the
community and that they meet the regulatory and statutory provisions
pertaining to the applicable FWS Program employment limitations

1. At the end of this section are definitions of the terms “service opportunity” and “youth corps program” (as defined in Section 101 of the National and Community Service
Act of 1990) and a list of agencies, institutions, and activities included in Section 124(a) of that act.
2. This is the only statutory exception to the requirement that community service be open and accessible to the community.
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and conditions. A service is considered open to the community if the

service is publicized to the community and members of the
community use the service. For example, an on-campus day care
service or tutor center that is used by members of the community (not
just faculty and staff) can be considered a community service.

If a school provides community services through off-campus sites,

these services are considered community services as long as the
services are open to the community.

Private, for-profit organizations do not qualify as employers for

community service under the FWS Program.

In contacting potential community service agencies, schools should

place a priority on jobs that will meet the human, educational,
environmental, and public safety needs of low-income individuals. The
Department has determined that at this time there is no need to
burden schools with a formal definition of low-income individual for
purposes of providing community service under the FWS Program.
There is no statutory requirement that a particular number or
proportion of the individuals must be low-income persons. Some
examples of jobs that provide services to persons in the community
who may not necessarily be low-income individuals are jobs that
provide supportive services to students with disabilities or that prevent
or control crime.

What is a family literacy project? How are family

literacy activities defined?
Research shows that children whose parents work with them on Family literacy project definition
literacy skills during early childhood have a better chance of reading cite
well and independently. The family literacy concept recognizes the Dear Colleague Letter CB-98-6, dated
family as an institution for education and learning and the role of May 1998
parents as their children’s first teachers.

A family literacy program integrates four components. It provides:

• literacy or pre-literacy education to children,

• literacy training for parents or other caregivers of children
in the program,
• a means of equipping parents or other caregivers with the
skills needed to partner with their children in learning, and
• literacy activities between parents or other caregivers and
their children.
This definition is consistent with the Even Start and Head Start
definitions of family literacy programs.

The Department does not define “family literacy activities” for

purposes of the community service expenditure requirement or the
waiver of the institutional share requirement. The Department gives
schools reasonable flexibility to determine the job description and
duties for an FWS student performing family literacy activities.

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Family literacy activities are not limited to just tutoring positions. For
example, family literacy activities may include training tutors,
performing administrative tasks such as coordinating the tutors, or
working as an instructional aide who prepares the materials for the
project. However, it would not be reasonable to include janitorial or
building repair jobs as family literacy activities.

Employing FWS students as reading and mathematics

tutors
Reading reform cite When employing students as reading tutors, schools must, to the
34 CFR 675.18(g)(3) maximum extent possible, give placement priority to schools that are
participating in a reading reform project that is (1) designed to train
teachers how to teach reading on the basis of scientifically-based
Reading and math tutors cites research on reading; and (2) is funded under the Elementary and
Dear Colleague Letter CB-97-12, dated July Secondary Education Act of 1965. The school must further ensure that
1999 reading tutors receive training from the employing school in the
Dear Partner Letter CB-99-12, dated July instructional practices used by the school.
1997
There is no limit on the amount of funds a school can spend from
its FWS allocation to pay FWS tutors.

For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

at the end of this chapter.

WORK ON CAMPUS
On-campus employment cite A student may be employed on campus at any type of
34 CFR 675.21 postsecondary institution, including at a proprietary school. A school,
other than a proprietary school, may employ a student to work for the
school itself, including certain services for which the school may
contract, such as food service, cleaning, maintenance, and security.
Work for the school’s contractors is acceptable as long as the contract
specifies the number of students to be employed and specifies that the
school selects the students and determines their pay rates. A
proprietary school also may employ a student to work for the school
itself with certain restrictions (discussed below under “Work for
Proprietary School”).

At any type of postsecondary institution, including proprietary

schools, an FWS student may be assigned to assist a professor if the
student is doing work the school would normally support under its
own employment program. Having a student serve as a research
assistant to a professor is appropriate, as long as the work is in line with
the professor’s official duties and is considered work for the school
itself.

Employment in a foreign country

Normally, employment in a foreign country is not permissible
under the law. However, a school with a branch campus in a foreign
country may employ students under FWS if the branch has its own

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facilities, administrative staff, and faculty. Students may also be

employed by a U.S. government facility such as an embassy or a
military base. A student may not be employed for a nonprofit
organization in a foreign country.

WORK FOR PROPRIETARY SCHOOL

A proprietary school may employ a student to work for the school Proprietary school employment
itself but only in jobs that meet certain criteria: cite
34 CFR 675.21(b)
1. If the jobs are in community service, they may be either on
or off campus. Students employed by a proprietary school
and performing community service do not have to furnish
student services that are directly related to their education.
2. If the jobs are not in community service, they must be on
campus and must:
• provide student services that are directly related to the
FWS student’s training or education;
• not involve soliciting potential students to enroll at the
proprietary school; and
• to the maximum extent possible, complement and
reinforce the FWS student’s educational program or
vocational goals.

Non-community service jobs

Student services are services that are offered to students. Students Student services definition cite
are persons enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the school. An FWS 34 CFR 675.2(b)
student who provides services only to the school’s former students is
not providing student services because the services are not offered to
currently enrolled students. However, an FWS student who provides
services to both current students and former students is providing Student services may include:
student services, because the services are offered to currently enrolled jobs in financial aid
students. For example, an FWS student provides job placement jobs in a library
assistance to current students and alumni of the school. The FWS peer guidance counseling
job placement
student is considered to be providing student services because his or assisting an instructor with
her services are offered to current students, as well as alumni. curriculum-related activities
(e.g., teaching assistant)
Student services do not have to be direct services or involve security
personal interaction with other students. Services are considered social and health services
tutoring
student services if the services provide a benefit either directly or
indirectly to students. For example, an FWS student may work in Student services never include:
assisting an instructor in the lab or in other work related to the facility maintenance
instructor’s official academic duties at the school. See the sidebar for cleaning
an expanded list of examples of jobs that provide student services. The purchasing
public relations
list is not exhaustive. The fact that a job has some operational
functions does not preclude it from being an acceptable FWS job as
long as it furnishes student services.

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At a proprietary school, FWS students may not work in non-

community service jobs that are not student services. In general,
jobs that primarily benefit the proprietary school are not student
services. For example, jobs in facility maintenance or cleaning are
never student services. See the sidebar for a list of examples of jobs
that do not provide student services. Again, this list is not exhaustive.
Jobs in the admissions or recruitment area of a school are not
acceptable student services because such jobs are considered to involve
soliciting potential students to enroll at the school.

The non-community service job must provide student services

that are directly related to the FWS student’s training or education.
This does not mean that the FWS student must be enrolled in an
academic program for that field. Instead, it means that the FWS
student must be receiving work experiences that are directly applicable
to the skills needed for his or her career path. For example, an FWS
student enrolled in an air conditioning repair program wants to work
in the school’s library. Although the student is not pursuing a career as
a librarian, the student would still be able to work in the library. The
job is directly related to his or her training because he or she is
learning customer service and basic office functions that are applicable
to work in an air conditioning repair shop or dealership. Similarly, a
job in another student service office such as financial aid, registrar, and
job placement would also be considered directly related to the FWS
student’s training.

WORK OFF CAMPUS FOR NONPROFIT OR

GOVERNMENT AGENCY
Off-campus/nonprofit/ If a student is employed off campus by a federal, state, or local
government jobs cite public agency3 or by a private nonprofit organization, providing jobs
34 CFR 675.22 related to the student’s academic or vocational goals is encouraged,
but not required. However, the work performed must be in the public
interest. Work in the public interest is defined as work performed for
the welfare of the nation or community, rather than work performed
for a particular interest or group.

A private nonprofit organization is one in which no part of the net

earnings of the agency benefits any private shareholder or individual.
An organization must be incorporated as nonprofit under federal or
state law. A school classified as a tax-exempt organization by either the
federal or state Internal Revenue Service meets this requirement.
Examples of private nonprofit organizations generally include
hospitals, daycare centers, halfway houses, crisis centers, and summer
camps.

Nonprofit agencies do not qualify automatically as community

service employers for purposes of the FWS Program because the work
performed must meet the definition of community services in the
regulations. A list of programs or activities that are recognized as

3. Local public agencies include city or county government offices, public schools, community-owned hospitals, public libraries, and community centers.

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 Chapter 5 — Types of Employment

appropriate work in community services under the FWS Program is

included at the end of this section. In addition, work off campus for a
nonprofit agency must be in the public interest.

Work is not “in the public interest” if:

• it primarily benefits the members of an organization that has

membership limits, such as a credit union, a fraternal or
religious order, or a cooperative;
• it involves any partisan or nonpartisan political activity or is
associated with a faction in an election for public or party
office;
• it is for an elected official unless the official is responsible
for the regular administration of federal, state, or local
government;
• it is work as a political aide for any elected official;
• a student’s political support or party affiliation is taken into
account in hiring him or her; or
• it involves lobbying on the federal, state, or local level.
However, in deciding whether work is in the public interest,
schools must consider the nature of the work as well as that of the
organization. For example, a private nonprofit civic club may employ a
student if the student’s work is for the club’s community drive to aid
handicapped children. If the student’s work is confined to the internal
interests of the club, such as a campaign for membership, the work
would benefit a particular group and would not be in the public
interest. As another example, a student may work for a private
nonprofit membership organization, such as a golf club or swimming
pool, if the general public may use the organization’s facilities on the
same basis as its members. If only members may use the facilities, FWS
employment is not in the public interest.

Political activity, whether partisan or nonpartisan, does not qualify

as work in the public interest. For example, a student is not considered
to be working in the public interest if working at voting polls—even if
he or she only checks off the names of those who came to vote and
does not pass out flyers supporting a particular candidate. Also, a
student is not considered to be working in the public interest if
working to support an independent candidate. Another example of
nonpartisan political activity is work for a city political debate.

Working for an elected official as a political aide also does not

qualify as work in the public interest. For example, a student could
not represent a member of Congress on a committee. However, a
student could be assigned to the staff of a standing committee of a
legislative body or could work on a special committee, as long as the
student would be selected on a nonpartisan basis and the work
performed would be nonpartisan.

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Under certain circumstances, work for an elected official

responsible for the regular administration of federal, state, or local
government may be considered to be in the public interest. “Regular
administration” means the official is directly responsible for
administering a particular function. Such a person would not create,
abolish, or fund any programs, but would run them. Working for a
sheriff would be acceptable, as would working for an elected judge
(because he or she has direct responsibility for the judicial system). As
stated above, any political activity would not be acceptable—raising
funds for the official’s reelection, for example. An FWS position that
involves lobbying at the federal, state, or local level is not work in the
public interest.

FWS students are prohibited from working for the Department

due to the potential appearance of conflict of interest.

WORK OFF CAMPUS FOR PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT

COMPANIES
Off-campus/for-profit Schools also may enter into agreements with private for-profit
companies cite companies to provide off-campus jobs for students; however, these jobs
34 CFR 675.23 must be academically relevant, to the maximum extent practicable, to
the student’s program of study. (A student studying for a business
administration degree could work in a bank handling customer
transactions, for example.) Private for-profit organizations do not
qualify as employers for community service under the FWS Program.

Private for-profit organizations may not hire FWS employees to

replace regular employees.

Chapter 1 describes further limitations on the use of FWS funds to

pay students employed at private for-profit organizations.

TERMS USED IN THE DEFINITION OF

COMMUNITY SERVICES
The definition of community services includes the terms “service
opportunity” and “youth corps program.” Section 101 of the National
and Community Service Act of 1990 defines the terms as follows:

Service opportunity. A program or project, including a service

learning program or project, that enables students or out-of-school
youth to perform meaningful and constructive service in agencies,
institutions, and situations where the application of human talent and
dedication may help to meet human, educational, linguistic, and
environmental community needs, especially those relating to poverty.

Youth corps program. A program, such as a conservation corps or

youth service program, that offers full-time, productive work (to be
financed through stipends) with visible community benefits in a

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ESTABLISHING FWS COMMUNITY SERVICE JOBS

Step #1: Identify potential jobs and employers.
Identify jobs

Brainstorm types of jobs that would meet the community service

requirement.

Does your school currently place students in jobs, on campus or off campus,
that meet the community service definition?

Communicate the community service requirements to your school’s student

employment office.

Identify employers

Does your school currently coordinate with local community service

organizations? Which of these organizations might be interested in
employing your FWS students?

Contact local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations

to assess their needs and determine what interest exists for employing FWS
students.

Talk to colleagues

Talk to colleagues at institutions that participated in the expired Community

Service Learning Program to get ideas on implementing, locating, and
developing the community service jobs.

Step #2: Research your students’ interest in community service.

Research your FWS students’ degrees or certificate programs, interests, and
skills to determine which recipients might find community service jobs
appealing.

Step #3: Promote community service jobs.

Devise a plan to market community services under the FWS Program to
eligible student employers and the community:

• obtain a listing of potential community service agencies,

• ask to be a presenter at various organizations’ meetings,
• engage in networking activities,
• hold and attend job fairs,
• host a financial aid office “open house,” and
• visit local agencies.

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natural resource or human service setting and that gives participants a

mix of work experience, basic and life skills, education, training, and
support services.

LIST OF AGENCIES, INSTITUTIONS, AND

ACTIVITIES INCLUDED IN THE DEFINITION OF
COMMUNITY SERVICES
The definition of “community services” includes service in
agencies, institutions, and activities that are designated in Section
124(a) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990:

1. Conservation corps programs that focus on:

• conservation, rehabilitation, and the improvement of
wildlife habitat, rangelands, parks, and recreation areas;
• urban and rural revitalization, historical and site
preservation, and reforestation of both urban and rural
areas;
• fish culture, wildlife habitat maintenance and
improvement, and other fishery assistance;
• road and trail maintenance and improvement;
• erosion, flood, drought, and storm damage assistance
and controls;
• stream, lake, waterfront harbor, and port improvement;
• wetlands protection and pollution control;
• insect, disease, rodent, and fire prevention and control;
• the improvement of abandoned railroad beds and
rights-of-way;
• energy conservation projects, renewable resource
enhancement, and recovery of biomass;
• reclamation and improvement of strip-mined land;
• forestry, nursery, and cultural operations; and
• making public facilities accessible to individuals with
disabilities.
2. Human services corps programs that include service in:
• state, local, and regional governmental agencies;
• nursing homes, hospices, senior centers, hospitals, local
libraries, parks, recreational facilities, child and adult
daycare centers, programs serving individuals with
disabilities, and schools;
• law enforcement agencies and penal and probation
systems;

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 Chapter 5 — Types of Employment

• private nonprofit organizations that primarily focus on

social service such as community action agencies;
• activities that focus on the rehabilitation or
improvement of public facilities, neighborhood
improvements, literacy training that benefits
educationally disadvantaged individuals, weatherization
of and basic repairs to low-income housing including
housing occupied by older adults, energy conservation
(including solar energy techniques), removal of
architectural barriers to access by individuals with
disabilities to public facilities, activities that focus on
drug and alcohol abuse education, prevention and
treatment, and conservation, maintenance, or
restoration of natural resources on publicly held lands;
and
• any other nonpartisan civic activities and services that
the commission determines to be of a substantial social
benefit in meeting unmet human, educational, or
environmental needs (particularly needs related to
poverty) or in the community where volunteer service is
to be performed; or
3. Programs that encompass the focus and services described in
both paragraphs (1) and (2).

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EMPLOYING FWS STUDENT AS TUTORS: FAQs

What are the requirements to be a ‘reading tutor’ or ‘math tutor?’

The Department does not define ‘tutor’ for the FWS Program. This gives
schools flexibility in determining the job description and duties of a tutor. For
example, a reading tutor could be an FWS student who reads to a group of
preschoolers in a public library.

An FWS student employed as a tutor does not have to meet certain statutory
(for reading tutors) or regulatory (for reading and mathematics tutors)
educational standards or qualifications for the school to receive an
institutional-share waiver. However, an FWS reading or math tutor must have
adequate reading or math skills, as appropriate, and the Department strongly
recommends that the tutors be well trained before they tutor.

The Department does not require background checks of FWS tutors.

However, some state and local jurisdictions may require such checks. The
requirements will vary according to the agency or organization involved.

What is a ‘pre-school age child?’

A pre-school age child is a child from infancy to the age at which his or her
state provides elementary education. The definition of an elementary school
varies from state to state. Because the Department does not wish to interfere
with a state’s determination of what constitutes children who are in
elementary school, we will not provide guidance on the maximum grade
level for elementary school for purposes of the institutional-share waiver for
tutoring.

What setting must the tutoring take place in?

Tutoring may be one-on-one or in a group.

Tutoring sessions can take place in a school setting or another location, such
as a public library or community center. Tutoring sessions can be held during
regular school hours, after school, on weekends, or in the summer.

Can FWS students tutor children in parochial schools?

An FWS student can tutor a child in a parochial school under certain
conditions:

• The parochial school must be classified as a private, nonprofit

school by the Internal Revenue Service or a state taxing body;

• The work may not involve constructing, operating, or maintaining

any part of a building used for religious worship or sectarian
instruction; and

• The FWS tutor may not use religious material to tutor the child.

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EMPLOYING FWS STUDENT AS TUTORS: FAQs (cont’d)

Should tutors be trained?

The Department strongly recommends that the tutors be well trained before
they tutor. When an FWS student receives training from a specialist or expert
for sufficient duration and intensity, he or she is more likely to be successful
with the child he or she is tutoring. Tutor training should emphasize the
importance of the tutor’s communication with the regular classroom teacher
to maximize effectiveness. The amount and type of training will often vary,
depending on the needs of the child who is being tutored and the subject
being studied. (See chapter 1 for information on using the administrative
cost allowance to pay for the cost of training tutors.)

Can students be paid while in training?

Under limited circumstances, an FWS tutor can receive FWS wages while he
or she is being trained, and these wages can qualify for a waiver of the
institutional share. This training period must be only for a reasonable and
limited length of time. The Department would not consider a training period
of an academic term to be reasonable. The Department would consider a
reasonable training period to be one that occurs before the student begins
tutoring and that does not exceed approximately 20 hours. A school may
not pay an FWS student to take an academic course the school developed to
provide classroom training on tutoring children. An FWS student may take
such a course as long as he or she is not paid for taking the course. (34 CFR
675.18(h)) (See chapter 4 for more information.)

Can students be paid during preparation and evaluation

activities?
The preparation time and evaluation time worked by an FWS tutor qualify
for a 100% federal share as long as the time spent for this purpose is
reasonable. For example, the Department would consider attending
evaluation and preparation meetings once a week for approximately one
hour to be reasonable. The Department wants to give some flexibility
because of the value of evaluation and preparation time. However, the goal
is to spend funds for FWS students to interact with the children and in family
literacy programs, not for other activities.

Will a tutoring job always satisfy the community service require-

ment?
An FWS tutor job might qualify for a waiver of the institutional share (100%
federal share) but not qualify as part of the 7% community service
requirement. If, for example, a postsecondary school employs FWS students
to tutor young children in its daycare center and the center is not open and
accessible to the community, the job would qualify for the waiver, but would
not qualify as part of the 7% community service requirement.

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EMPLOYING FWS STUDENT AS TUTORS: FAQs (cont’d)

What if the FWS student is training tutors, performing related

administrative tasks, or works another FWS job?
The wages of an FWS student who is training tutors or who is performing
administrative tasks related to supporting other people who are actually
providing the reading or mathematics tutoring do not qualify for a federal
share of up to 100%; rather, an institutional share is required.

Remember that it is the FWS reading or mathematics tutor job, not the
student working in the job, that qualifies for the institutional-share waiver.
Thus, an FWS student who is working another FWS job in addition to the
tutor job can be paid with 100% federal funds only for the time he or she is
working as a tutor, not for time spent on the other job. If, for example, an
FWS student spends only half of his or her time working as a reading tutor
(including preparation and evaluation time) and the other half on non-
tutoring tasks, the student may be paid 100% federal funds only for half the
time and the other half must be paid with a maximum of 75% federal funds
and a minimum of 25% nonfederal funds.

How can my school start placing FWS students as tutors?

Your school may construct its own reading tutor program or join existing
community programs.

You may use the Job Location and Development (JLD) Program to locate or
develop jobs for FWS students as tutors of children (see chapter 6 of this
volume). However, you may not use JLD funds exclusively for this purpose
because you would be in violation of the JLD statutory requirement to
expand off-campus jobs for currently enrolled students who want jobs
regardless of their financial need. (See chapter 6.)

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6
Development &
Work-Colleges

JOB LOCATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM JLD purpose cite

34 CFR 675.31
The Job Location and Development (JLD) Program is one of the
FWS Programs. An institution is allowed to use part of the federal
funds it receives under the FWS Program to establish or expand a JLD
Program.

The JLD Program locates and develops off-campus job

opportunities for students who are currently enrolled in eligible
institutions of higher education and who want jobs regardless of
financial need. This means that jobs may be located and developed
under the JLD Program for FWS and non-FWS-eligible students.

Under the JLD Program, your school must locate and develop off-
campus jobs that are suitable to the scheduling and other needs of the
employed student and must, to the maximum extent practicable,
complement and reinforce the educational program or vocational goal
of the student.

JLD jobs may be part time or full time, for either a profit or
nonprofit employer.

The JLD Program encourages students to participate in

community service activities. Your school must inform all eligible
students of the opportunity to perform community services and must
develop and make available information about community service
opportunities. The JLD Program uses the same definition of
community services that the FWS Program employs (see chapter 5).
However, the JLD Program does not have a specific minimum
community service requirement, as does the FWS Program.

JLD Program participation

A school that participates in the FWS Program is also eligible to
participate in the JLD Program. A school that has an executed
Program Participation Agreement (PPA) for the FWS Program may
participate in the JLD Program without any prior contact with the

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Department and without any revision to its PPA. Under the PPA, the
school agrees to administer the JLD Program according to the
appropriate statutory and regulatory provisions.

If the Department terminates or suspends a school’s eligibility to

participate in the FWS Program, that action also applies to the school’s
JLD Program.

Student eligibility
Any student employed in a job developed under the JLD Program
must be currently enrolled at the school placing him or her in a job. A
school may place in JLD jobs both students who do not meet FWS
student eligibility criteria and those who do meet those criteria.
However, using JLD funds to find jobs only for FWS students would not
satisfy the program purpose of expanding off-campus jobs for students
who want jobs regardless of financial need.

Use of FWS allocation for JLD Program

When establishing or expanding a program to locate and develop
Maximum federal funds for JLD off-campus jobs, including community service jobs, a school may use
programs cite up to the lesser of the following two amounts:
34 CFR 675.32
• 10% of its FWS allocation and reallocation; or
• $50,000.
Use of JLD Program funds
Your school may use federal JLD funds to pay for the cost of
Use of JLD funds cite establishing and administering the JLD Program. You may not use JLD
34 CFR 675.35(a)(2)
funds to:

• pay students whose jobs were located and developed

through the JLD Program;
• locate and develop jobs at your school or other eligible
schools;
• place students upon graduation; and
• displace employees or impair existing service contracts.
A school is expected to generate total student wages exceeding the
total amount of the federal funds spent under JLD.

Federal share limitation

Federal and institutional shares You may use federal FWS funds to pay up to 80% of the allowable
cite costs (listed below). Your school must provide the remaining 20% of
34 CFR 675.33(b) allowable costs either in cash or in services. This requirement, unlike
34 CFR 675.33(c) the institutional share requirement for FWS earnings, cannot be
waived.

The institution’s 20% share may be either (1) 20% of each

allowable cost, or (2) varying percentages of allowable costs, as long as

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 Chapter 6 — JLD and Work-Colleges

its total expenditures of institutional funds and/or provision of services

equals at least 20% of the total allowable costs for the JLD Program.

You must maintain records that indicate the amount and sources
of your school’s matching share. Procedures and records
requirements for JLD are the same as those for all campus-based
programs.

Allowable program costs

Allowable costs of carrying out the JLD Program include: Allowable costs cite
34 CFR 675.33(a)
• staff salaries (and fringe benefits, if they are the same as
those paid to other institutional employees in comparable
positions and are not paid to a student employed through
the FWS Program);
• travel expenses related to JLD activities;
• printing and mailing costs for brochures about the JLD
Program;
• JLD telephone charges, including installation of a separate
line for off-campus employers;
• JLD costs for supplies, equipment, and furniture;
• newspaper or other types of advertising that inform potential
employers of the services JLD offers; and
• JLD workshops for students and employers.
Costs that are not allowable are costs related to purchasing,
constructing, or altering the facilities that house a JLD project. Indirect
administrative costs also are not allowable. One example of an indirect
administrative cost is a portion of the salary of someone who is not
directly involved in the program, such as the JLD director’s supervisor.
Other examples of indirect administrative costs are lighting,
heating, or custodial costs incurred as part of the normal operations
of the facility in which the JLD Program is administered, such as the
financial aid or placement offices.

Students as staff in the JLD Program office

The prohibition against using JLD funds to locate and develop
jobs at any school does not mean that your school is also prohibited
from employing FWS and non-FWS students as staff in the JLD
Program office. Your school may employ FWS and non-FWS
students as staff in the JLD Program office as long as you do not use
JLD funds to locate and develop these jobs. For example, your
school could use the FWS Program to employ an FWS student as a
staff member in the JLD Program office.

If your school places an FWS student as staff in the JLD Program

office, there are some important points to note. The statute and the
FWS regulations prohibit the use of any funds allocated under the
FWS Program from being used to pay the institutional share of FWS

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compensation to its students. Hence, your school may not use federal
JLD funds to pay the institutional share of FWS wages earned by an
FWS student working as staff in the JLD Program office. Instead, you
must use your school’s funds to pay the institutional share of these
wages.

JLD reporting on the FISAP

If your school participates in the JLD Program during an award
year, you must provide information about its JLD activities on the Fiscal
Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP). You must report
the total JLD expenditures, federal expenditures for JLD, institutional
expenditures for JLD, number of students for whom jobs were located
or developed, and total earnings for those students.

Your school may not include student staff jobs in the JLD Office
on the FISAP in the JLD section for reporting the count of students
and the earnings of students for whom jobs were located or
developed through the JLD Program. However, if your school used
its own funds to pay the institutional share of wages for student staff
jobs, you may count those funds in meeting the minimum 20%
institutional share requirement for the JLD Program.

MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL JLD PROGRAMS

Your school may enter a written agreement with other eligible
Multi-institutional programs cite
34 CFR 675.34
schools for those schools to establish and to operate a JLD Program for
its students. The agreement must designate the administrator of the
program and must specify the terms, conditions, and performance
standards of the program. Each school that is part of the agreement
retains responsibility for properly disbursing and accounting for the
federal funds it contributes under the agreement.

For example, each school must show that its own students have
earned wages that exceed the amount of federal funds the school
contributed to locate and develop those jobs. This fiscal information
must be reported on each school’s FISAP.

If your school uses federal funds to contract with another school,

suitable performance standards must be part of that contract.
Performance standards should reflect each school’s philosophy,
policies, and goals for the JLD Program. You may not develop
performance standards, conditions, or terms that are inconsistent with
the statute or regulations. In all cases, the performance standards
should be clearly understandable, because they will be included in the
formal written agreement that each party must observe as part of its
responsibility within the particular arrangement.

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 Chapter 6 — JLD and Work-Colleges
Purpose of Work-Colleges
WORK-COLLEGES PROGRAM Program cite
The Higher Education Amendments of 1992 authorized the Work- 34 CFR 675.43
Colleges Program. Schools that satisfy the definition of “work-college”
may apply with the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the
program. A work-college may transfer funds from its allocation for the Definition of work-college cite
FWS Program and/or Federal Perkins Loan Program to fund the 34 CFR 675.41
school’s Work-Colleges Program.

The Work-Colleges Program recognizes, encourages, and promotes

the use of comprehensive work-learning programs as a valuable
educational approach when used as an integral part of the school’s
educational program and as a part of a financial plan that decreases
reliance on grants and loans. The program also encourages students to
participate in community service activities.

The term “work-college” is defined as an eligible institution1 that:

• is a public or private nonprofit school with a commitment to

community service;
• has operated a comprehensive work-learning program for at
least two years;
• provides students participating in the comprehensive work-
learning program with the opportunity to contribute to their
education and to the welfare of the community as a whole;
• requires all students who reside on campus to participate in
a comprehensive work-learning program; and
• requires providing services as an integral part of the school’s
educational program and as part of the school’s educational
philosophy.
A “comprehensive student work-learning program” is defined as a Comprehensive student work-
student work/service program that: learning program definition
cites:
• is an integral and stated part of the institution’s educational HEA Section 448
philosophy and program; 34 CFR 675.41(b)
• requires participation of all resident students for enrollment,
participation, and graduation;
• includes learning objectives, evaluation, and a record of
work performance as part of the student’s college record;
• provides programmatic leadership by college personnel at
levels comparable to traditional academic programs;
• recognizes the educational role of work-learning supervisors;
and
• includes consequences for nonperformance or failure in the
work-learning program similar to the consequences for
failure in the regular academic program.

1. See Volume 2 - Institutional Eligibility and Participation for the definition of an eligible institution.
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Volume 6 — Federal Work-Study, 2003-2004
Allowable costs cite
34 CFR 675.45
Allowable costs
The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 provided for
additional flexibility for work-colleges in the use of funds. Allocated
program funds may be used to:

• support the educational costs of students through self-help

provided under the work-learning program within the limits
of their demonstrated financial need;
• promote the work-learning service experience as a tool of
education and community service;
• carry out FWS and JLD program activities;
• administer, develop, and assess comprehensive work-learning
programs;
• coordinate and carry out joint projects and activities to
promote work service learning; and
• conduct a comprehensive longitudinal study of academic
progress and academic and career outcomes.
Additional requirements for the Work-Colleges Program are found
in 34 CFR 675, Subpart C.

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Model Off-Campus APPENDIX
a
Agreement
The paragraphs below are suggested as models for the development of a written agreement
between a school and a Federal, State, or local public agency or a private nonprofit organization
that employs students who are attending that school and who are participating in the Federal
Work-Study (FWS) Program. Institutions and agencies or organizations may devise additional
or substitute paragraphs as long as they are not inconsistent with the statute or regulations.

This agreement is entered into between ____________, hereinafter known as the “Institution,” and
_______________, hereinafter known as the “Organization,” a (Federal, State, or local public agency),
(private nonprofit organization), (strike one), for the purpose of providing work to students eligible for the
Federal Work-Study Program [FWS].

Schedules to be attached to this agreement from time to time must be signed by an authorized
official of the institution and the organization and must set forth—

1 brief descriptions of the work to be performed by students under this agreement;

2 the total number of students to be employed;
3 the hourly rates of pay, and
4 the average number of hours per week each student will be used.
These schedules will also state the total length of time the project is expected to run, the total
percent, if any, of student compensation that the organization will pay to the institution, and the total
percent, if any, of the cost of employer’s payroll contribution to be borne by the organization. The
institution will inform the organization of the maximum number of hours per week a student may work.

Students will be made available to the organization by the institution to perform specific work
assignments. Students may be removed from work on a particular assignment or from the organization by
the institution, either on its own initiative or at the request of the organization. The organization agrees that
no student will be denied work or subjected to different treatment under this agreement on the grounds of
race, color, national origin, or sex. It further agrees that it will comply with the provisions of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88-352; 78 Stat. 252) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Pub. L. 92-
318) and the Regulations of the Department of Education which implement those Acts. Two examples of
Off-Campus Agreements are included to provide additional guidance.

(Where appropriate any of the following three paragraphs or other provisions may be included.)

1 Transportation for students to and from their work assignments will be provided by the
organization at its own expense and in a manner acceptable to the institution.
2 Transportation for students to and from their work assignments will be provided by the
institution at its own expense.
3 Transportation for students to and from their work assignments will not be provided by either
the institution or the organization.

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(Whether the institution or the organization will be considered the employer of the students
covered under the agreement depends upon the specific arrangement as to the type of supervision
exercised by the organization. It is advisable to include some provision to indicate the intent of the parties as
to who is considered the employer. As appropriate, one of the following two paragraphs may be included.)1

1 The institution is considered the employer for purposes of this agreement. It has the ultimate
right to control and direct the services of the students for the organization. It also has the
responsibility to determine whether the students meet the eligibility requirements for
employment under the Federal Work-Study Program, to assign students to work for the
organization, and to determine that the students do perform their work in fact. The
organization’s right is limited to direction of the details and means by which the result is to be
accomplished.
2 The organization is considered the employer for purposes of this agreement. It has the right to
control and direct the services of the students, not only as to the result to be accomplished, but
also as to the means by which the result is to be accomplished. The institution is limited to
determining whether the students meet the eligibility requirements for employment under the
Federal Work-Study Program, to assigning students to work for the organization, and to
determining that the students do perform their work in fact.
(Wording of the following nature may be included, as appropriate, to locate responsibility for payroll
disbursements and payment of employers’ payroll contributions.)

Compensation of students for work performed on a project under this agreement will be
disbursed—and all payments due as an employer’s contribution under State or local workers’ compensation
laws, under Federal or State social security laws, or under other applicable laws, will be made—by the
(organization) (institution) (strike one).

(Where appropriate any of the following paragraphs may be included.)

1 At times agreed upon in writing, the organization will pay to the institution an amount
calculated to cover the organization’s share of the compensation of students employed under
this agreement.
2 In addition to the payment specified in paragraph (1) above, at times agreed upon in writing,
the organization will pay, by way of reimbursement to the institution, or in advance, an amount
equal to any and all payments required to be made by the institution under State or local
workers’ compensation laws, or under Federal or State social security laws, or under any other
applicable laws, on account of students participating in projects under this agreement.
3 At times agreed upon in writing, the institution will pay to the organization an amount
calculated to cover the Federal share of the compensation of students employed under this
agreement and paid by the organization. Under this arrangement the organization will furnish
to the institution for each payroll period the following records for review and retention:
a Time reports indicating the total hours worked each week in clock time sequence and
containing the supervisor’s certification as to the accuracy of the hours reported;

1. Although the following paragraphs attempt to fix the identity of the employer, they will not necessarily be determinative if the actual facts indicate otherwise. Additional
wording that specifies the employer’s responsibility in case of injury on the job may also be advisable, since federal funds are not available to pay for hospital expenses or
claims in case of injury on the job. In this connection it may be of interest that one or more insurance firms in at least one state have in the past been willing to write a
workers’ compensation insurance policy which covers a student’s injury on the job regardless of whether it is the institution or the organization that is ultimately deter-
mined to have been the student’s employer when he or she was injured.
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 Appendix A

b A payroll form identifying the period of work, the name of each student, each student’s
hourly wage rate, the number of hours each student worked, each student’s gross pay, all
deductions and net earnings, and the total Federal share applicable to each payroll;2 and
c Documentary evidence that students received payment for their work, such as photographic
copies of canceled checks.

2. These forms, when accepted, must be countersigned by the institution as to hours worked as well as to the accuracy of the total Federal share which is to be reimbursed to
the organization or agency.
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Need Assessment for APPENDIX
b
FWS Community
Service Program

Agency Name:_________________________

Date:_________________________________

Contact Name:_________________________________

Phone:_______________________________

Address:______________________________

1. _____ Non-Profit _____For Profit

2. Agency Mission Statement and Description of Clients Served:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

3. Agency Funding Sources (check all that apply):

_____Federal

_____State

_____County/City

_____United Way

_____Other (explain)

4. Agency’s Fiscal Year:__________ to __________

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5. Agency’s Staffing (number of positions):

_____Full-time paid staff

_____Part-time paid staff

_____Student employees

_____Volunteers

6. How many student jobs may be available at your agency

during:

Summer 2003 ______

2003-2004 Academic Year ______

Summer 2004 ______

7. For each student job expected to be available as indicated in

#6, provide the following information, attaching a separate
sheet for each position.

Job Title

Rate or Range of Pay per Hour

Begin and End Dates

Work Schedule-Days and Hours

Total Hours/Week

Description of Duties

Qualifications and Experience (indicate preferred or required)

8. Has your agency hired students through the Federal Work-

Study Program in the past?

_____YES _____NO

If YES:

Number of students: _______

Dates employed: __________________

Average length employed: _____________

9. Additional Comments:

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