Student Employment – Albright College

Student Employment

Mission

The mission of the Student Employment Office is to empower students through meaningful work experiences that will assist in the cultivation of integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Albright College highly values the contributions of its many student employees. The work you do on behalf of the College contributes greatly to the various teaching, research, operational and administrative functions of the College. Student employees are an important part of many of our departments on campus and enhance a workplace that is vibrant and diverse.

The Office of Student Employment, located on the first floor of Selwyn Hall, manages the overall administration of the student employment program at Albright College in collaboration with other offices on campus (Human Resources, Financial Aid, Experiential Learning & Career Development Center) and is a resource for student employees. All students are welcome to apply for available positions posted on Handshake, our web-based employment system offered through the EL&CDC.

Payroll and timesheet processing are managed by the Controller’s office, located in the Administration Building. Most student employment issues you may face can be handled by consulting the student work handbook or contacting your immediate supervisor. If you still need assistance, you can also contact Student Employment Office at 610-921-7698. Albright College has been very successful with the student employment program.
Each year students work part-time on the campus, earning funds that assist them with their college expenses. Both the college and the students gain in several ways from these work programs:

What is work study?

Albright College has two types of work study for which students may qualify, there is Federal Work Study and Albright Self Help.

Federal Work Study

Students must be Federal Work Study Eligible in order to work in this category of jobs. You will know if you are Federal Work Study eligible by checking your Financial Aid Award Letter, which tells you whether you have been awarded Federal Work Study and the amount you have been offered.

Federal Work Study is a federally subsidized program designed to promote part-time employment of students, in order to help them avoid excessive debt while in college. Earn money while you learn! Students are responsible for participating in the recruitment process by applying to current on campus job opportunities and/or select community service off campus positions

Albright Self Help

Albright College has earmarked money for on campus employment of students on campus who are not eligible for Federal Work Study.

When are they posted?

Each Albright College department does their own hiring, and this happens at different times for different departments. Because job postings are coming and going all the time, make sure to check Handshake at least once a week. For jobs starting in the fall, most are posted in July or August. For spring, jobs start appearing before Thanksgiving and continue through the start of the semester. Some openings do come up mid-semester, though not as many.

Student Payroll Schedule
Student Employment Handbook

Please visit the Handshake website to search for on-campus employment opportunities:

Handshake logo

If you are interested in any of the positions you find, refer to the instructions in the job posting, as each position may have unique requirements.  Every position will require you to fill out the standard Student Job Application, but some positions will require additional information.  All requirements must be completed in order to be considered for the position.  We encourage you to be proactive in seeking a position in a department that interests you.  Openings are based on availability and employment is not guaranteed.

If you have any questions, please contact Emma Alvarez, student employment specialist at ealvarez@albright.edu.

Student Employment FAQs

Students need to look for jobs on handshake follow the instructions to fill out application. Some departments may require an interview, students should be prepared to answer questions about themselves and their working experiences or lack of. If invited to an interview please make sure to dress in business casual attire.

  • You will gain experience
  • Earn money
  • Have a job that is arranged according to your class schedule
  • No transportation expenses
  • Earn at least minimum wage
  • You will cultivate real work references

Albright College does not assign students to jobs. The intention here is to assist students’ growth and development through real world experience of job application. Student need to look for available positions and apply wherever there is an opening.

Assignments are based on your skills or interests and whether you qualify for FWS (Federal Work-Study) or Self Help. FWS is the federally funded College Work-Study Program and Self- Help Program is the Albright employment program. The only difference is in the funding source and bookkeeping records for the Financial Aid and Controller’s Offices.

Your resume should detail your special skills. The skills should also be detailed in the application for the position the student is applying for. However, if a student has no work experience or skills you consider special, it is important that you still apply for positions on campus. It is important that all students who are eligible become employed and continue to grow and develop within the community.

Students need to check with their supervisor for hard copies of their time sheets in order to keep track of the time worked. Few departments allow electronic tracking of time, make sure you check with your supervisor. Time sheets must be turn in to the supervisor by dates specified by the supervisors. Students are paid biweekly, you are encouraged to sign up for direct deposit.

There could be several reasons:

  • Did you fill our your W-4 and I-9 forms with the Office of Human Resources?
  • Federal regulations require that these forms be completed before you can work and be paid.
  • Was your time sheet turned in on time? Late time sheets are processed with the next pay period.
  • Was your time sheet complete when it was sent to the Controller’s Office? Did your supervisor submit the time sheet on the appropriate form? Incomplete and incorrect time sheets are delayed until corrected.

Time sheets can be requested through your supervisor.

With few exceptions most students are not allowed to work during vacation. Any work during vacation must be cleared ahead of time. This is different from Summer vacation during which some departments do hire students to work specifically during the summer.

You are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week, however keep in mind that your total earnings cannot exceed the amount of Work-Study Award in your most recent Financial Aid award letter.

Yes. You are allowed to have more than one job as long as it does not exceed the 20 hours per week allocation. You should also let your supervisor know you are working in another department so they can plan how many hours to expect from you.

If you are keeping the same job that you had in the fall semester, you only need to confirm your spring work schedule with your supervisor. If you have a new job in the spring (or any time you get a new job) you will need to have your supervisor complete a Student Employment Approval form prior to your first work day.

No. You are awarded Work-Study based on financial needs as determined yearly. You must complete your financial aid application on time every year and continue to show eligibility for Work-Study.

The InterviewThe Department may request that you to participate in a brief interview for the student worker vacancy. This will be a good opportunity to test your job interview skills. If you are unsure of your interviewing skills, please contact the Office of Career Development for assistance. At the interview the duties and responsibilities of the job will be discussed as well as any special rules of the department. During the interview, the supervisor should provide you with a list of expectations, such as:

  • The number of hours they would like you to work
  • How you should keep track of your time
  • Specific details of the duties
  • Causes for dismissal
  • Student pay rateIn addition, some duties involve access to sensitive or confidential information. The supervisor may discuss his/her policy on confidentiality with you and may ask you to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to beginning work in the department.

If a student worker is requested to work in the same department with a family member, the immediate supervisor needs to direct this to the Office of Human Resources for approval prior to making a work assignment.

Your supervisor may dismiss you from a position if you are not adhering to the agreement you made when you were hired. The dismissal will be reported to the Financial Aid and the Office of Human Resources. While we will work with you in finding another job, we cannot guarantee placement if the reason for dismissal is negligence on your part of lack of cooperation with the supervisor of the department.

Contact Details

Emma Alvarez

Student Employment Specialist

ealvarez@albright.edu