For Student Hire Representatives

Hiring Students – As a student hire representative you will need to access university systems and follow important procedures to hire student employees at USC Upstate. These pages provide information on what you as a Student Hire Representative should do and consider prior to hiring a student employee.

1. HCM PeopleSoft and I-9 Advantage Access – Before you can formally take on the role of Student Hire Representative for your area, you must be identified by your supervisor as someone who will be a student hire initiator in your department. You will then be contacted to complete the required training. Then, the USC Upstate HR office will request access in HCM PeopleSoft.
2. Preparing to Hire a Student – The following is a general overview of things to consider when preparing to hire a student employee. Your department may have additional requirements or guidelines that you will need to consider and abide by when hiring a student employee.
   • Determine Type of Job and Job Code – There are several types of jobs for undergraduate and graduate level students. Utilize the Student Job Codes [pdf] quick reference guide to assist in your job code selection. Once the appropriate student job code is selected, several key data elements will default including the FLSA status of exempt or nonexempt and whether the employee will be paid on an hourly or salaried basis.
   • Pay Rate – All student employees must be paid at least minimum wage. Each department generally establishes their own pay scale for the frequently used job codes such as research assistants or teaching assistants. Any job paying over $10 per hour must first be approved by the USC Upstate HR office.
   • Student Benefits Eligibility – All USC Upstate students must have health insurance.
   • Student Benefits Eligibility – All USC Upstate students must have health insurance.
     Proof of Health Insurance applies to:
     • undergraduates taking six hours or more and paying the student health fee,
     • graduate students taking six hours or more,
     • graduate students with assistantships, and
     • all international students.
   • Recruitment – If you interested in posting a position, please contact the Coordinator of Student Employment. Once a job is posted to the USC Upstate website, it will also be posted on Handshake.
3. Hiring – The following is a general overview of things to consider when hiring a student employee.
   
   Quick Tips
   • HIRE TERM – It is highly recommended that you hire your student employees for the full academic year and process a separate hire for the summer as applicable. Those dates change from year to year but can be provided by the contacting the USC Upstate Student Employment Coordinator.
   • HOURS WORKED – Generally, student employees should not work more than 20 hours per week during the academic term in which they are enrolled as they are first and foremost a student.
   • INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS – There are special considerations to take into account when hiring international student employees, such as:
     • hours per week cannot exceed 20 during academic term, but can be up to 40 during official school breaks;
     • passport and immigration documentation must remain valid through the duration of on-campus employment.
     • upon accepting a job and signing an offer letter, all international students must complete a foreign tax form for payroll found below. A new foreign tax form must be completed every time an international student is re-hired.
       Foreign Tax Form (PDF)
   • Students in Extracurricular Activities – Students who participate in student activities, such as student run media and student government, are not considered employees for FLSA consideration based on the Department of Labor guidance. Typically, there is no employment relationship for students who participate in extracurricular school activities if the activities are primarily for the student’s benefit and part of the institution’s educational opportunities. Some of the examples cited include student government, student media, and band. In addition, any minimal payment for participation in these types of activities would not necessarily create an employment relationship. For this reason, these types of students are paid though the AP process.
   • BACKGROUND CHECKS – Some Student Hires may be required to complete a Background Screening. The standard screening consists of a Current County search, National Sex Offender Registry, Social Security Number trace, and the Widescreen Plus National Criminal Search.
     Most students do not require a background screening unless they fall into certain categories such as handling money, working with minors, involved with direct patient care, or have key access.
     If a background screening is required, you as the Student Hire Rep must complete and submit the background check request through Sharepoint.
   • EXTENDING AN OFFER – An offer letter for a student job is required and will be a required attachment at the time of submission of the electronic hire form in the HR/Payroll system. You should coordinate with your student hire representative as to who will be responsible for preparing this letter and providing it to the new student employee.
     Student New Hire Offer Letter (PDF)
     Student Rehire Offer Letter (PDF)
     Once the offer letter is signed by the student and returned to you or the student hire representative, the electronic hire process can be initiated in the system.
   • REQUIRED FORMS AND ACTIONS – As a Student Hire Representative it is your responsibility to ensure the student employee has completed all required forms and actions so that their first paycheck is accurate and received on time.
     
     When the student’s hire has been approved in the HR/Payroll System, they will receive an email alerting them that they have access to log in to the system. Several key tasks are important for the student to complete in Onboarding.
     • All USC Upstate employees are required to participate in direct deposit. Instructions for setting up or updating direct depositelections in HCM PeopleSoft are available. Please provide this job aid to your student employees. Failure to complete this CRITICAL step may cause a delay in the receipt of their pay.
     • All employees must complete a federal W-4 form to accurately report to the Federal Government the taxes, which should be taken from their pay. 
     • A second W-4 form is required for the State of South Carolina for state tax purposes. Student employees should complete these electronic tax documents and should seek guidance from their parents or other responsible party if they have questions.
     • All employees must acknowledge the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace Exchange Notice which provides information regarding the Health Insurance Marketplace.
     • Review the New Student Onboarding Job Aid [pdf]for step-by-step instructions.

Once the above steps are complete, initiate the Student Hire eForm in HCM PeopleSoft. 

Ensure that the hire action is initiated in time to workflow though all required approvals and make it to HR Operations in Columbia for the upcoming payroll. Best practice is at least 5 business days before work is to begin.

If an eFORM is submitted late to HR, a late memo explaining why the action is late and what steps are being taken to prevent future occurrences will be required. This may result in further delays, overpayments and/or underpayments to the student.

Often, there are changes that need to be made to a student employee’s position within the term of hire. Some of those changes may be hours worked, change in supervisor, pay rate, etc. If there is any change regarding a student employee’s position, please complete an electronic Student Change Form in HCM PeopleSoft as soon as the change is recognized.

More information to come. We are currently updating …

Whether they are graduating, taking another job, or the work they were hired to do is completed, it is important to keep track of when a student employee’s job comes to an end. The following information provides an overview of what to do when you must terminate a student.

• Monitoring End Dates – Monitoring the expected end date of a student employee’s job is an important part of your responsibilities as a supervisor.
  All student employee appointments are automatically terminated (auto-terminate) in the HR/Payroll system on the expected end date that was recorded when the student employee was initially hired.The expected end date should also be recorded in the student employee’s offer letter.
  
  Keeping track of a student employee’s expected end date is important as it will help you ensure that your student employees are not working beyond the last day of their appointment and will also allow you to extend or modify the length of a student employee’s appointments prior to auto-termination by the system.
• Separation & Termination – All student employee appointments are automatically terminated (auto-terminate) in the HR/Payroll system on the expected end date that was recorded when the student employee was initially hired.
  If you need to terminate a student employee prior to their agreed-upon expected end date, it is important that you notify USC Upstate HR immediately. Please complete an electronic Student Change Form in HCM PeopleSoft as soon as you know the new end date.Before you decide to terminate a student employee for performance-related issues, the recommended best practice is to ensure that you have:
  • effectively communicated your concerns to the student
  • given them ample opportunity to improve their performance

If a student employee acts in a manner that could violate their employment and their status as a USC Upstate student (i.e. stealing on the job), the Office of Student Behavior must be contacted immediately for further guidance.

We are actively developing tools and resources to assist Student Hire Representatives in their efforts to support our student employees.  Check back often for new materials.

HCM PeopleSoft Access

Before you can formally take on the role of Student Hire Representative for your area, you must first complete required training and request access to HCM PeopleSoft.

Take the required steps below to request access to the system.

Below is a list of tools, information and resources for Student Hire Representatives which will be updated as new materials are developed.

Student hire eLearning Materials (in UPK player format)

Job Aid for New Student Onboarding [pdf]