Employment Programs & Eligibility

University of Richmond students enrolled in any of the academic schools at the University of Richmond are eligible to work through the student employment program as long as they are enrolled at least half-time (usually 6 credit hours/1.75 units) and are enrolled in a degree program. Exchange students who are already exempt from FICA taxes are also permitted to work, if their visa allows them to work in the US.

If a student graduates or enrollment drops below 6 credits/1.75 units, the student can no longer be employed under the Student Employment Program due to FICA exemption laws. The only exception are last semester seniors who are currently enrolled in enough units to graduate at the end of the semester.

Federal Work Study funds are used to pay student employees who have received a FWS award as part of their need-based financial aid package. The Financial Aid Office determines a student’s eligibility to receive work study and determines the amount of the award. Not every student receiving need-based financial aid receives work study as part of their aid package.

It is important to understand that it is advantageous to earn FWS dollars vs. any other income, in that the wages you earn under the FWS program are subtracted from your Adjusted Gross Income when you report it on the FASFA, worksheet C, when applying for aid for the next year.

The payment for hours worked is paid to the student in the form of a bi-weekly paycheck that the student can spend however he or she wishes. All FWS earnings must be paid for hourly work, so no salary or lump sum payments are allowed.

Students receiving work study are, however, not guaranteed a job; they must secure employment through one of the methods available through Student Employment. When applying for jobs, be sure to look for those listed as FWS jobs. Students working under the FWS program may only earn the amount stipulated in their work study award (unless your award is increased). You should try to find a job (or combination of jobs) that will allow you to earn your full FWS award. After you have earned your award limit, you will automatically be switched to the University Work Program, provided the department you are working for has that type of budget.

Some federal requirements to remember regarding FWS:

• No salary or lump sum payments are allowed. Therefore; all hours earned under FWS must be submitted and signed for by the student.
• FWS students cannot work during a scheduled class time.
• FWS may only be earned during the academic year.
• Paid FWS positions cannot volunteer in the same position at the same time they are getting paid for that position. Any student employed under FWS must be paid for all hours worked up until they reach their FWS limit.
• Federal law requires that FWS students’ hours must be paid to the student within one month of working. Therefore, it is imperative that students submit their hours to Payroll on time.

FWS Award Limits

Students working under FWS may only earn the amount stipulated in their FWS award (plus a small administrative allowance). If students are working more than one job on campus, their earnings limit will be met by combining the total pay received from all on-campus hourly jobs. Financial Aid monitors students’ FWS earnings. When a student is nearing his or her award limit, they will check to see if his or her award can be increased by the Financial Aid Office. If so, s/he will continue to earn FWS. If not, Financial Aid will notify the appropriate supervisors when their FWS student has met their FWS earnings limit, and will switch the student from FWS to UWP, if the departmental budget allows.

UWP is generally available to all University of Richmond students, unless you have been awarded FWS as part of your financial aid package (see Federal Work Study description above). UWP does not place limits on the amount of money you may earn through on-campus employment. When applying for jobs, be sure to look for those jobs listed as UWP.

If you were not awarded FWS as part of your financial aid package, you automatically fall under the UWP program.

Due to tax treaties and conditions of the student visa for which the student was allowed to enter the United States, it is necessary to process international students slightly different than US citizens. Visit the federal guidance for F-1 student employees.

International students cannot be hired under the Federal Work Study (FWS) program and therefore should only be hired in positions that are considered University Work Program (UWP).

International students are eligible to work for the University of Richmond if allowed by the conditions of their visa. Follow the Steps to Employment to complete the verification process to be eligible to start working. It is illegal to work before this process is complete.

Caution:  Any international student who works before they have completed all of the steps to employment needed to complete the verification process will not be allowed to work for the rest of semester or for two months, which ever is longer.

Learn more as an International Student interested in student employment.

To confirm compliance with NCAA rules, student-athletes must report their employment to the University’s Athletics Compliance Office prior to starting a job. The student-athlete must complete a form, which is then signed by the student-athlete and a compliance officer. Please note that adherence to the NCAA regulations is the responsibility of the student-athlete, but is coordinated by the Athletics Compliance Office within the Athletics Department.

Students are not allowed to work as employees of the University of Richmond while they are residing outside of the Unites States. This means that students are not allowed to work while studying abroad even if it would otherwise be possible to complete the work remotely.

Managers do not need to close the students’ jobs while they are studying abroad if they anticipate the student will return to the same role when they return. In fact, it is encouraged that managers do not close the position if they are just going to open it again when the student returns, because it can interfere with pay step progression. However, students should not be logging hours for their open jobs while they are studying abroad, and managers should not approve any hours if they are submitted by a student studying abroad.

May and August graduates can work in their current jobs until the end of the last bi-weekly pay period of summer, if they are U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents and staying in Virigina. May graduates not meeting these criteria — including getting hired into a new job — must be onboarded through HR, pending business need and subject to approval.

December graduates can work until the last day of the last bi-weekly payroll for the calendar year if they are U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents and staying in Virigina.

Graduating international and exchange students cannot work after the last day of classes. Contact Devon Slough (dslough@richmond.edu) in International Taxation with any questions.

Students that have graduated from high school and are enrolled in the fall semester can start working as soon as they are residing close enough to campus to be able to complete the employment verification steps in-person (a federal requirement of the I-9 form). Like any student employee, follow the New Student Employee steps to get started.

• Students who lived on campus in the spring, plan to return in the fall, and will reside in the U.S. during the summer can continue to work as Virginia residents.

• Students will continue to check-in and out for all shifts worked throughout the summer.

• Shifts longer than 5 hours should permit at least a 30 minute meal break where work is not being done. If taking a meal break, students should check out and then check back in when meal break is over (in Workday). If student is performing any work duties on their meal break, they do not need to clock out.

• As a reminder, student employees are not eligible for holiday pay and should not be scheduled for shifts that would result in overtime.

  • Student employees may take unpaid leave on a holiday or adjust their work schedule during the holiday week to ensure their total weekly hours align with expectations. Any student employees working on a University holiday should log their hours in Workday as they normally would. Student employees and managers should work together on any schedule changes due to Memorial Day, Juneteenth, or Independence Day holidays.

Graduating Students

• May and August graduates can work in their current jobs until end of the last bi-weekly pay period of summer, if they are U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents and staying in Virigina. May graduates not meeting these criteria — including getting hired into a new job — must be onboarded for a staff position through HR, pending business need and subject to approval.

• Graduating international and exchange students cannot work after the last day of classes. Contact Devon Slough (dslough@richmond.edu) in International Taxation with any questions.

Federal Work-Study: No FWS funds are earned in summer.

FICA Exemption: student employees are not exempt from FICA taxes during the summer.