Work Study Information for Supervisors and Hosting Departments

Participation Agreement

All supervisors and hosting departments must agree to the following terms and conditions in order to maintain an active Work Study position and be eligible for the wage reimbursement.

All supervisors and hosting departments are required to submit a signed version of this agreement when a new position is created.

  1. The supervisor and hosting department must ensure that each Work Study job:
    • is located on or near the University of Guelph campus or an associated research station.
    • has the flexibility to accommodate a student’s academic schedule.
    • does not displace full-time or part-time employees.
    • does not contravene any institutional union agreements.
    • does not generate a profit for the hosting department.
    • does not promote a specific ideological point of view.
  2. The supervisor and hosting department will make hiring decisions on a competitive basis in accordance with human rights legislation, without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin, skin colour, citizenship, creed/religion, biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, age, marital status, family status, record of offense or pardoned federal offences.
  3. The supervisor and hosting department will provide adequate resources necessary for the job including workspace, materials, equipment, training, supervision, evaluation and expenses incurred for travel required for the job.
  4. The supervisor and hosting department will follow all Work Study hiring and payroll procedures.
  5. The supervisor and hosting department must pay at least the statutory minimum wage and benefits as required by employment standards legislation, including vacation pay, pension contributions and employment insurance premiums.
  6. The supervisor and hosting department acknowledge that having a job approved for posting does not guarantee it will be filled. Student Financial Services and the Experiential Learning Hub will provide some general promotional support; however, supervisors and hosting departments are encouraged to promote their opportunities to ensure a strong application pool.
  7. The supervisor and hosting department, Student Financial Services, and the Experiential Learning Hub may, upon consultation, terminate this agreement.
  8. The supervisor and hosting department must ensure that Work Study jobs provide meaningful development of transferable knowledge, skills and attitudes and provide adequate opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and receive feedback on their development.
  9. If a student completes the Reflection Questions and Competencies within Experience Guelph at the end of their employment term, their Supervisor must complete a three question evaluation for the position to be validated on the student's Professional and Career Development Record.

Hiring Procedures

Student Eligibility

  • In order to be eligible for and apply to a Work Study position, students must be approved through Student Financial Services. If approved, they will have email verification from the Student Awards Office.
  • To apply for approval, students must complete a Financial Need Assessment Form (NAF). Students must apply and be approved every Fall/Winter term and Summer term annually.
  • Student Financial Services determines the eligibility of students based on their financial need. Domestic undergraduate students must be registered in a minimum of 1.5 academic credits (or 1.0 academic credits for students with a permanent disability or a persistent or prolonged disability and registered with Student Accessibility Services). International undergraduate students must be registered full-time (minimum of 2.0 academic credits). Graduate students must be registered in full-time studies. If a student at any point drops below this, they will no longer be eligible to participate in the Work Study program.
  • Students may not hold more than one Work Study job at the same time.

Questions about student eligibility can be directed to the Student Awards Office (awards@uoguelph.ca).

Proposing New Jobs

For information about proposing new jobs, please see the Posting a Work Study Job section of the Experiential Learning Work Study page.

In years where proposals are being accepted, deadline dates are the following:

  • Fall/Winter positions must be submitted by the second Friday in September.
  • Summer positions must be submitted no later than the second Friday in May.

Re-posting Existing Positions

For information about re-posting existing positions, please see the Posting a Work Study Job section of the Experiential Learning Work Study page.

Recruitment Process

  • All jobs are posted to and all applications are received through the On Campus Employment section of Experience Guelph. Supervisors or supporting administrative staff must have an Experience Guelph Employer account in order to post jobs and receive applications.
  • All positions seeking to hire a Work Study student must be re-posted through the Experience Guelph system, regardless if the intention is to re-hire a previously employed student. This is so the Program has an accurate accounting of who is intending to hire and the number of total positions to be filled.
  • Fall and Winter jobs go live approximately two weeks before the first class day in September. Summer jobs go live approximately two weeks before the first class day of the summer term.
  • All students must apply through Experience Guelph, regardless of whether they are returning to a position from a previous year. This ensures students have the required Work Study approval.
  • The Experiential Learning Hub reviews all postings for accuracy and completeness. To allow prompt posting, please ensure all details are completed accurately. Review the Work Study Job Posting Guide for assistance.

Questions about the recruitment process or Experience Guelph can be directed to the Experiential Learning Hub (experience@uoguelph.ca or x.58551).

Hiring Procedures

The procedure for registering a student in a Work Study position consists of:

  1. making an offer through the Experience Guelph system,
  2. submitting a Confirmation of Employment form to the Student Awards Office, and
  3. completing departmental payroll paperwork and creating the data form on the Human Resources system.

All three steps must be completed in order to receive the Work Study reimbursement. This process ensures that all students have valid work records in Experience Guelph to track participation and reimbursements.

Payroll Procedures

  1. Once a student has accepted your employment offer through Experience Guelph, promptly inform the person in your department who is responsible for payroll that you have hired a Work Study student.
  2. Complete an Employee Data form as you would for any employee. Use your departmental code for part-time employment.
  3. Student must be paid at least minimum wage ($16.55 per hour). Please refer to the Student Wages section of the Human Resources website for guidelines on rates of pay beyond the minimum.
  4. The hosting department must complete and submit a Work Study Confirmation of Employment form to the Student Awards Office when the student is hired. Failure to return this completed form to the Student Awards Office will result in no reimbursement.
  5. Students should be paid bi-weekly through the university’s normal hourly payroll system. Please make sure that students submit their hours every two weeks in order to get paid. Students should not be paid for hours not worked during that time period.
  6. Reimbursements are processed for hours worked beginning the first class day to the last day of exams each semester, except when students are registered for both the fall and winter semesters; the fall first class day and the last winter exam day will be used.
  7. The hosting department should ensure there is a clear agreement on the hours to be worked. It should be emphasized that the first commitment of the student is to academic priorities. Student should not be asked to work more than 15 hours per week.

Reimbursement Procedures

At the end of each semester, Student Financial Services will reimburse hosting departments according to the coding provided on the Confirmation of Employment form for 75% of the salary, vacation pay and benefit cost to the hiring department to a maximum of $3,000/student/semester.

All departments must ensure that hours of work for all Work Study students are submitted in accordance with regular university hourly payroll guidelines.

  • For ‘time entry’ appointments, ensure hours worked are reported regularly with all hours worked in the semester reported no later than the last day of exams.
  • For ‘weekly appointments’, departments must email the Awards Office (awards@uougelph.ca) confirming the hourly wage and the total hours worked for the semester no later than the last day of exams.
  • Student Financial Services fiscal year end is April 30. Departments must ensure that all of their Work Study students’ hours are reported prior to this date. Student Financial Services will not reimburse departmental budgets after fiscal year end.

Student Awards will process a journal entry to the coding provided on the Confirmation of Employment form: Fall reimbursements processed by the end of January; Winter reimbursements processed last week April; and Summer reimbursements processed by the end of September.

  • Departments who do not submit the Confirmation of Employment forms to the Awards office at the time the HR data form is submitted will not receive reimbursement.