College Policies for Student Employment
The following represents a selection of key College policies reflected in the Student Employment Handbooks for Students and Supervisors. The complete manual of current Student Employment policies and procedures can be accessed through the downloadable Handbooks linked below. St. Olaf College retains the right to modify or revise these policies and procedures based upon its professional and business concerns at any time, with or without notice.
Download and print the complete Student Employment Handbook for Students. PDF 383 KB
Download and print the complete Student Employment Handbook for Supervisors. PDF 619 KB
Hours
Students are allowed to work up to the following hours:
- 20 hours per week during academic sessions (domestic and international students; Fall and Spring semesters)
- 40 hours per week during J-term break (if not taking classes; domestic and international students)
- 40 hours per week during summer semester/break (if not taking classes; domestic and international students)
Compensation
Wages are assigned by Student Employment staff based on the current job description in consideration of the type of work and skills required. To learn more, see the Student Employment Compensation Philosophy.
Employment Paperwork
In order to work, student workers must have a job offer, a time card, and a completed Form I-9 on file. They must also complete additional employment paperwork, including tax forms and payroll elections. To learn more, see the Employment Paperwork webpage.
Work Awards
The Student Employment Program is a Financial Aid program. All students are required to have a work award to work on campus. For more information about work awards, contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@stolaf.edu.
Workplace Expectations Agreement
The following Workplace Expectations Agreement must be signed by student workers before beginning work at St. Olaf College:
“By accepting a student work-study position with St. Olaf College, I agree to the terms of this Workplace Expectations Agreement. This Workplace Expectations Agreement applies to all of my student work-study positions during my course of studies at St. Olaf College. Nothing in this Agreement changes the fact that my employment at St. Olaf College is on an at-will basis.
Items for Disciplinary Action and/or Termination of Employment
As a student worker at St. Olaf College, I understand that certain behaviors in the workplace qualify for disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
Items for Disciplinary Action includes, but are not limited to:
- Tardiness and unexcused absenteeism
- Insubordination
- Sloppy or unclean appearance
- Careless lack of attention that results in injury to property, person, or public relations
- Inability to meet job requirements
- Unsatisfactory completion of job assignments
- Failure to work with the public or co-workers in a courteous, professional manner
- Excessive personal distractions
- Using or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol during a work shift
- Dishonesty or theft
- Breach the Student Employee Confidentiality Agreement or other workplace expectations agreements established by your supervisor
- Destruction or abuse of College property
- Any act of physical violence
- Violations of state and federal law
Disciplinary Procedures
I understand that my employer may use a series of disciplinary steps to address performance concerns, including the following sequence of disciplinary measures:
- Verbal warning
- Written warning
- Final written warning
- Termination from employment
Required Referrals
Student employees who learn about unlawful harassment or discrimination during the course and scope of their employment with the College are Required Referrals and are expected to immediately share all known details about any incident with the Director of Equal Opportunity or other members of the Equal Opportunity Team. Reports may be made in person or electronically. If possible, Required Referrals should inform the Reporting Party of the Employee’s Reporting Obligations.”
Confidentiality Agreement
The following Confidentiality Agreement must be signed by student workers before beginning work at St. Olaf College:
“By accepting a student work-study position with St. Olaf College, I agree to the terms of this Confidentiality Agreement. This Confidentiality Agreement applies to all of my student work-study positions during my course of studies at St. Olaf College.
Access and Handling Confidential Information
As a student worker at St. Olaf College, I understand I will have access to information that is sensitive and confidential (“Confidential Information”). This Confidential Information could include, but is not limited to:
- Student “education records” as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
- Personnel records of College staff and faculty
- Information protected under an attorney/client privilege, work product privilege, or some other legally protected privilege; and/or
- Proprietary and/or trade secret information of the College.
As a condition of my student assignment, I agree not to use or disclose Confidential Information to others unless I have express permission from my supervisor. I further agree that I may only share Confidential Information with other St. Olaf employees if they have a need to know the Confidential Information in order to perform their work for the College. I understand that Confidential Information includes all information St. Olaf desires to keep confidential. I will ask my supervisor if I am unsure whether I may share information or whether certain information qualifies as Confidential Information. I understand that a breach of this Confidentiality Agreement could subject me to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. I understand that a breach of this Confidentiality Agreement is also a violation of the Code of Student Conduct, which requires students to behave with integrity in all things and to behave in ways that show care for self, for each other, and this place.
Discarding Confidential Information
Due to the potentially high volume of Confidential Information a student worker may have access to, when discarding documentation that includes Confidential Information, always use the department’s secured shred bin to discard paperwork, notes, etc. The recycle bins can be used for generic, unidentifiable information. When in doubt, use the locked shred bins. Also, place your work in a secure, locked location at the end of your shift or when otherwise leaving your workspace unattended.”
Sick Time Policy and Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
At St. Olaf College, we understand that students may experience illnesses or other health challenges that might prevent them from working scheduled shifts. The following states the sick time policies for student workers: (1) Students must inform their supervisors in writing that an illness or health challenge will prevent them from working a particular shift in advance; (2) if an illness or other health challenge causes a student to miss three consecutive shifts, the student must produce reasonable documentation of the illness or health challenge from a health care provider to their supervisor before returning to work; (3) if a student worker misses scheduled work time for illness or other health challenges, they may be eligible for paid leave under the Minnesota Earned Sick and Safe Time law. If a student does not contact their supervisor regarding missing work due to illness or fails to produce reasonable documentation of the illness from a healthcare provider as specified above, the student may be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in the Student Employment Handbook and the Student Workplace Expectations Agreement.
St. Olaf follows the Minnesota Earned Safe and Sick Time (ESST) law and Paid Leave Law (PLL) for all eligible employees. Please see the Faculty and Staff Handbook for more information.
Consensual Relations Policy
St. Olaf College’s Consensual Relations Policy for Student Workers prohibits supervisors from engaging in romantic and/or sexual relations with a supervisee. If you are given managerial or supervisory responsibilities in your student work-study position at St. Olaf College you are prohibited from engaging in romantic and or sexual relations with the other students you manage or supervise. This applies to any work-study position during your time at St. Olaf College regardless of department.
Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation
St. Olaf College prohibits all forms of unlawful discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Director of Equal Opportunity. The notice of nondiscrimination is located at https://wp.stolaf.edu/nondiscrimination/
St. Olaf College is committed to a respectful, safe, and healthy environment and does not tolerate sex discrimination, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct in any form. Prohibited behaviors include, but are not limited to, unwelcome sexual conduct or communication, rape and other forms of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. These behaviors are not only violations of an individual’s rights and dignity, but are also attacks on our college community and violations of college policy. In addition, some forms of these behaviors are crimes.
St. Olaf is also committed to prompt, impartially, and equitably addressing and resolving all reports of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct. When the college finds that such behavior has occurred it will take steps to stop the behavior, to prevent its recurrence, and to remedy its effects.
If a student discloses information regarding a personal experience regarding an instance listed above, let the student know that you are obligated to report the student’s experience to the College, even if the student requests confidentiality. It is best to attempt to make this obligation clear as early in the conversion as possible so that the student can decide how much information to share with you. Explain to the student that reporting the disclosure to the College helps to ensure that students are connected with those trained to address and respond to incidents of prohibited conduct. You can also explain that reporting to the college does not necessarily mean that the college will pursue a formal investigation and adjudication process.
Learn more about the College’s Title IX Policy and access information and resources to support anyone who has been affected by, knows of, or wants to help prevent an incident or pattern of behavior. There are many individuals you can contact with questions and concerns, beginning with the Director of Equal Opportunity/Title IX Coordinator Pamela McDowell (mcdowell@stolaf.edu).
Remote Work Policy
St. Olaf College does not allow for off-campus remote work for student workers, except for some students participating in the Community Based Work Study (CBWS) Program. All St. Olaf student workers working on campus must be directly supervised by St. Olaf College faculty or staff.
Volunteer Policy
For many departments and units on campus, it is common to rely on students and community members as volunteers. All supervisors on campus using volunteers are required to complete and submit the Request a Volunteer Form. In some instances, it may be necessary to have volunteers complete background checks. Please email Student Employment (studentwork@stolaf.edu) with questions or concerns about volunteers on campus.
Summer Work
Summer student employment is not part of a financial aid package and is not impacted by a student’s work award or lack thereof. Summer job opportunities are available for all St. Olaf students. Students are paid on a bi-weekly payroll and must record hours in Oracle. A supervisor will need to initiate a job offer. Summer student employment begins the day after final exams are completed in May and ends the day before the first day of class in September.
In summer, the following policies apply:
- Students may work up to 40 hours per week.
- Overtime is not permitted.
- Pay periods are two weeks (Saturday to Friday).
- Pay at a bi-weekly schedule.
International Students
International students attending St. Olaf College on an F-1 Visa are usually permitted to work on campus if a work award has been included in their financial aid packages. However, they must follow F-1 stipulations. Any violation of this regulation puts an international student in jeopardy of deportation from the United States, so it is extremely important that both supervisors and students pay attention to and comply with these regulations.
With an F-1 visa you CANNOT
- Work more than 20 hours a week when classes are in session (full-time work is permitted during official school breaks over one week long)
- Work off-campus (Curricular Practical Training authorization may be obtained after one year of full-time enrollment on the same SEVIS record.)
For questions about F-1 regulations, email a Designated School Official: dso@stolaf.edu
For more information about international student employment, please see our Student Employment for International Students page and the Taylor Center’s Employment and Volunteering as an International Student webpage.