Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

Federal Work-Study Program - Types of Employment

AwardYear: 1995-1996
EnterChapterNo: 7
EnterChapterTitle: Federal Work-Study Program
SectionNumber: 4
SectionTitle: Types of Employment
PageNumbers: 19-30


As stated earlier, FWS jobs may be on or off campus.
Off-campus jobs must be in the public interest if the
work is for a federal, state, or local public agency, or for a
private nonprofit organization. However, a school may use
part of its FWS allocation to provide jobs in private,
for-profit organizations. All FWS jobs must, to the maximum
extent practicable, complement and reinforce the student
recipient's educational program or vocational goals.

COMMUNITY SERVICE JOBS

Schools are required to make students aware of community
service opportunities by encouraging them to get involved
in community service activities and are required to
utilize money from their FWS Program for that purpose.
There is no restriction as to whether these jobs
must be on or off the campus. (A university or
college is not considered a "community" for the
purposes of the FWS Program community service
requirements.) In determining whether the service is
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.

[["Dear Colleague" letter CB-94-4, March 1994]]
ED issued "Dear Colleague" letter CB-94-4 in March 1994,
which discusses the major FWS Program changes for
community service activities provided for in the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Higher Education
Amendments of 1992 and the Higher Education Technical
Amendments of 1993. The new provisions are included in
Section 675.2 of the Final Rule published in the FEDERAL
REGISTER on November 30, 1994, discussed below, and are
effective October 1, 1992, except as noted.

For 1994-95 and subsequent award years, a school must use
at least 5 percent of its FWS allocation to employ students in
community service jobs unless the school receives a waiver
from ED (see Section 675.18(h) of the Final Rule). A school
may request in writing a waiver of this requirement. However,
ED will approve a waiver only if it determines that the school
has demonstrated that enforcing the requirement would cause a
hardship for students at the school.

The participation agreement between the school and ED
(discussed in the Introduction to Chapter Five) is amended in
Section 675.8 of the Final Rule of November 30, 1994 for the
FWS Program by adding the provisions that a school--

- must assure that employment under the program may be used to
support programs providing supportive services to students with
disabilities and

- must inform all eligible students of the opportunity to perform
community services and consult with local nonprofit,
overnmental, and community-based organizations to identify
those portunities.

[[Definition of community services]]
The Final Rule defines community services in Section 675.2(b) as--

"Services which are identified by an institution of higher
education through formal or informal consultation with local
nonprofit, governmental, and community-based 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:

(1) Such fields as health care, child care, literacy training,
education (including tutorial services), welfare, social
services, transportation, housing and neighborhood
improvement, public safety, crime prevention, and control,
recreation, rural development, and community improvement;

(2) Work in service opportunities or youth corps as defined in
section 101[*1*] of the National and Community Service Act
of 1990, and service in the agencies, institutions and activities
designated in section 124(a) [*1*] of that Act;

(3) Support to students (other than an institution's own students)
with disabilities; and

(4) Activities in which a student serves as a mentor for such
purposes as:

(i) Tutoring;

(ii) Supporting educational and recreational activities; and

(iii) Counseling, including career counseling."

[[Priority on community service to low-income individuals]]
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. ED 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 support services to students with disabilities or
prevent or control crime.

[[On-campus community service jobs]]
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 and conditions. For example,
it would be acceptable for an institution to set up services on
the campus (e.g., tutoring centers or child care centers) that
are open to the community. If the institution sets up sites in the
community and opens the services for the community,
jobs at these sites would be acceptable. A service is
considered open to the community if the service is
publicized to the community and members of the
community use the service.

ESTABLISHING FWS COMMUNITY SERVICE JOBS

[[Developing community service jobs]]
In developing FWS community service jobs, a school might
begin by--

- determining which types of jobs meet the community services
definition;

- determining if any of its current on-campus jobs meet the
community services definition;

- determining if any of its current jobs with off-campus agencies
meet the community services definition; and

- locating other potential employers.

[[Placing FWS recipients in community service jobs]]
To place FWS recipients in community service jobs, a school might
begin by--

- determining which FWS recipients would be interested in a
community service job (evaluating the FWS recipients by
looking at their degree or certificate programs, interests, and
skills) and

- determining the number of community service jobs it needs to
locate.

[[Public relations]]
To promote FWS community service jobs through public
relations activities, schools might begin by--

- devising a plan to market community services under the FWS
program to eligible student employers and the community;

- obtaining a listing of potential community service
agencies;

- asking to be a presenter at various organizations meetings;

- engaging in networking activities;

- holding and attending job fairs;

- hosting a financial aid office "Open House;" and visiting local
agencies.

[[Communication]]
A school may also get help in developing FWS community
service jobs through communication with colleagues at their
own school, at other schools, or with other organizations, for
example by--

- communicating to the Student Placement Office the
requirements of community services under the FWS Program;

- talking 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; and

- contacting local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based
organizations to assess their needs and determine what interest
exists for employing FWS students.

WORK ON CAMPUS

Students may be employed on campus at any type of
postsecondary institution, including a proprietary
school. Jobs at all schools must, to the maximum extent
practical, be related to the student's educational
program or vocational goals.

[[Work for the school itself or the school's contractors]]
A school other than a proprietary school may employ a
student to work for the school itself, INCLUDING
certain services the school may contract for: food service,
cleaning, maintenance, or 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 below under "Work for Proprietary School, On or
Off Campus").

[[Work for a professor]]
At any PRIVATE NONPROFIT OR PUBLIC SCHOOL, FWS
students may be assigned to assist a professor if they are 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. However, in a PROPRIETARY SCHOOL, a student
may not assist an instructor, as instructional activities are not
considered student services (work for a proprietary
school is discussed below).

[[Work in a branch campus overseas]]
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 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, ON OR OFF CAMPUS

[[Final Rule 11-30-94]]
A proprietary school may employ a student to work for the
school itself but only in jobs that meet certain
criteria (see "Dear Colleague" letter CB-94-4, issued in March
1994, and Section 675.21(b) of the November 30, 1994 Final
Rule).

(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" (see the examples on the next
page);

- complement the student's educational program or vocational
goals to the maximum extent possible; and not involve
soliciting potential students to enroll at the proprietary
school.

[[Definition of student services]]
The regulations published in the Federal Register on December
21, 1992 define "student services" in Section 675.2(b) as services
that are offered to students that are directly related to the work-study
student's training or education. For example, jobs that provide
student services may include, but are not limited to, jobs in a
financial aid office or library, peer guidance counseling, and jobs
providing social and health services or tutorial services. However,
work in the admissions or recruitment area of a school would not be
acceptable, as this employment could involve soliciting
potential students. Maintenance (cleaning dorms)
would not be acceptable. In general, work that would primarily
benefit the school rather than its students is not permissible.
For example, a student could not work in the front
reception area or in the business office of a school, as those
jobs would not provide student services. As stated earlier, a
student may not assist an instructor, as instructional activities
are not considered student services.

WORK OFF CAMPUS FOR NONPROFIT OR GOVERNMENT
AGENCY

[[Work must be in the public interest]]
If a student is employed off campus by a federal, state, or
local public agency, or by a private nonprofit organization,
providing jobs 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 performed for the national or community welfare,
rather than for a particular interest or group.

[[Local public agencies]]
Local public agencies include city or county governmental
offices, public schools, community-owned
hospitals, public libraries, and community centers.

[[Private nonprofit organizations]]
A private nonprofit organization is one in which no part of the
net earnings of an agency may benefit 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,
day care centers, halfway houses, crisis centers, and summer
camps.

[[Final Rule 11-30-94]]
Nonprofit agencies do not all qualify automatically as
community service employers for purposes of the
FWS Program, because the work performed must meet the
definition of community services in Section
675.2(b) of the November 30, 1994 Final Rule (see page 7-18).
A list of programs or activities that are recognized as
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 not 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 work 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.

[[Nature of work considered]]
However, in deciding whether work is in the public interest,
schools must consider the nature of the work as well as the
organization. For example, a student may be employed
by a private nonprofit civic club 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--partisan or nonpartisan]]
Political activity, whether partisan or nonpartisan, does not
qualify as work in the public interest. For example, students
could not work at voting polls--even if they only checked off
the names of those who came to vote and did not pass out
flyers supporting a particular candidate. Also, students could
not work to support an independent candidate. Another
example of nonpartisan political activity would be work for a
city that might be sponsoring political debates.

[[Political aide]]
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.

[[Work for elected official]]
Under certain circumstances, work for an elected official
responsible for the REGULAR ADMINSITRATION 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 (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.

[[Work for ED]]
FWS students are prohibited from working for the U.S.
Department of Education due to the potential appearance of
conflict of interest.

WORK OFF CAMPUS FOR PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT
COMPANIES

[[Job must be academically relevant]]
Schools also may enter into agreements with private for-profit
companies to provide off-campus jobs for students; however,
these jobs must be academically relevant 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.

[[Up to 25% of FWS allocation]]
A school may use up to 25 percent of its FWS allocation and
reallocation for an award year to pay the wages of FWS
students employed by private for-profit organizations,
but the organizations may not hire FWS employees to replace
regular employees.

[[For-profit organization pays 50% of wages]]
The federal share of FWS wages for students employed by
private for-profit organizations is limited to 50 percent. The for-profit
organization must contribute the remaining 50 percent,
plus employer taxes (such as FICA, unemployment, and
Workers' Compensation).

OFF-CAMPUS AGREEMENTS

[[Professional direction and staff]]
When a school enters into a written agreement--a
contract--with any off-campus agency or company that
employs FWS students, the school must make sure the
organization is a reliable agency with professional
direction and staff, and that the work to be performed is
adequately supervised and consistent with the
purpose of the FWS Program. (See Appendix B of the
December 1, 1987 campus-based regulations for a
model off-campus agreement. The sample need not be
followed exactly but serves as a guide.)

[[Who is employer?]]
The agreement sets forth the FWS work conditions and
establishes whether the school or the agency/company will be
the employer for such purposes as hiring and firing, or paying
the non-federal share of the student's wages or the student's
Social Security or Workers' Compensation benefits. The
employer is generally considered to be the organization that
will control 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 payment for work performed
is properly documented, and that each student's work is properly
supervised.

[[Liability for on-the-job injuries]]
The agreement must also state which organization--the school
or off-campus employer-- will be responsible for any injuries
the student receives on the job. The EMPLOYER is NOT
automatically liable. Federal FWS funds cannot be used to pay
an injured student's hospital expenses.

[[Payroll responsibility]]
The agreement should also define whether the
agency/company 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 agency/company for its contribution. The school must
make up any payments the agency/company
does not make. It is the school's responsibility to ensure that
FWS payments are properly documented, even
if the agency/company 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 a copy of the
cancelled check or a receipt signed by the student).

[[Supervising and evaluating off-campus employment]]
The school is also responsible for ensuring that each student's
work is properly supervised. School officials
should periodically visit each 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.

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 can 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 is
responsible for supplying this information.

FWS EMPLOYMENT DURING PERIOD OF
NONENROLLMENT

[[Student must enroll or reenroll for next regular session]]
A student may be employed under FWS during a period of
non-enrollment, such as a summer or equivalent vacation
period or the full-time work period of a cooperative education
program. To be eligible for this employment, a student must
be planning to enroll (or to reenroll) for the next regular
session. The student's earnings during this period of
nonenrollment (earnings minus taxes and job-related costs)
must be used to pay his or her cost of attendance for the next
period of enrollment.

[[Documenting student's intent to reenroll]]
A student whose eligibility for summer FWS employment was
based on anticipated enrollment in the subsequent term may
fail to register or may decide to attend another school. When a
student fails to register for the subsequent term, 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 term. At a minimum, the school that
employed the student must keep a written record in
its files showing that the student had accepted the school's
offer of admittance in the upcoming session.

[[Study abroad]]
Students in an eligible program of study abroad may be
employed during the summer preceding their study
abroad if they will be continuously enrolled in their American
school while abroad, and if their study is part of the American
school's own program. In such cases, students may be
employed in qualified positions in the U.S., at the American
school's branch campus located in a foreign country, at a U.S.
Government facility abroad, or in an American company
abroad.

TERMS USED IN THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY
SERVICES

The definition of community services (see page 7-18) 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 service
learning programs or projects, 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 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," which include the following

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 participant service
in--

- state, local, and regional governmental agencies;

- nursing homes, hospices, senior centers, hospitals, local
libraries, parks, recreational facilities, child and adult day
care centers, programs serving individuals with disabilities,
and schools;

- law enforcement agencies, and penal and probation systems;

- 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 focuses and services described in
both paragraphs (1) and (2).


*1* At the end of Section Four are definitions of the terms "service
opportunity" and "youth corps program" as defined in section 101 of
the National and Community Serice Act of 1990. Also at the end of
Section Four is a list of agencies, institution, and activities included
in section 124(a) of that Act.