Supervisor Resources

Student Employment staff are available during college working hours without appointment to students and supervisors alike who need assistance with troubleshooting and/or training on Oracle functions related to student employment.

Questions about student employment? Log a ticket with AskHR: START

Return to Student Employment Website

At St. Olaf College we follow a very specific process for hiring students to ensure fairness and equity. This section provides a step-by-step guide to the Student Employment hiring process. If you have questions about this process, please contact studentwork@stolaf.edu.

Retrieve, review, update, or create job description as appropriate. If updating or creating a new job description, send the final copy to studentwork@stolaf.edu to have it added into the Job Description Archive.

Find an approved job description to copy and paste into an Oracle job requisition here:

Job Description Archive

Steps to Retrieve and Update Job Descriptions

Find the template for all St. Olaf College student job descriptions and complete instructions here:

Guide to Building Job Descriptions for Skills Development

A job offer (work authorization) must be made to the selected candidate. If a student is eligible for hire, an accepted job offer will generate a timecard for the respective position.

A STUDENT MAY NOT BEGIN WORKING WITHOUT AN ACCEPTED JOB OFFER AND TIMECARD.

In order for the entire hiring process to be satisfied, a student requires a work award and required employment paperwork. If student is not found under a supervisor’s “My Teams” tab in Oracle – or if there is a “pending” status next to the student’s name – this indicates the student does not have employment requirements fulfilled and they may not begin work.

Create a Job Offer Video Tutorial

Ordering a background check

Request a background check here.

Checking the status of a background check

If you would like to find out the background check status, you can contact Nicole Taynton directly at taynto1@stolaf.edu.

Background checks

Mass requests for background checks, 30 or more, please contact Nicole Taynton directly at taynto1@stolaf.edu.

Important Reminders

It might be helpful to contact the students to remind them to complete this process in a timely manner.

Background checks can take up to 4 weeks to complete.

There may be times when you need to request a change of hiring manager or a change of wage for a student worker who reports to you. The following videos show you how to submit these requests to the Student Employment Office.

sUBMITTING A mANAGER cHANGE rEQUEST Video Tutorial

sUBMITTING A wAGE cHANGE rEQUEST Video Tutorial

If you would like a student’s assignment to be ended and removed from your My Teams list, please reach out to studentwork@stolaf.edu.

For many departments and units on campus, it is common to rely on students and community members as volunteers. All volunteers on campus are required to complete and submit 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.

Supervisors play an important role in teaching and mentoring student workers as they develop the skills they need for the future. At St. Olaf College supervisors are responsible for implementing a skills development program for student workers, as well as for training and performance management.

The St. Olaf GROW program, an adaptation of the trademarked IOWA GROW program, is designed to contribute to student success through the intentional and meaningful inclusion of reflection as part of the student employment experience. St. Olaf GROW (Guided Reflection on Work) uses brief, structured conversations between student employees and their supervisors to help students connect the skills and knowledge they are gaining in the classroom with the work they are doing, and vice versa. Led by the Student Employment Office, St. Olaf GROW is focused on making student employment a high-impact experience – one that requires students to reflect on their learning and connect their learning within and beyond the classroom. To view our resources, see the Skills Development Toolkit Section of this page.

All students are required to complete a general safety training that can be accessed via Moodle. The training includes a training assessment matrix, a video and a quiz. All three elements must be completed. Students may need help from their supervisor as they complete the training assessment matrix to ensure they understand any additional training that may be needed for the position. Please schedule any additional safety training by emailing Joe Udelhofen from the Environmental Health and Safety department at udelho1@stolaf.edu.

All first year students are sent the information to access the safety training at the beginning of the academic year. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure training is completed annually for any returning students.

Moodle course

Directions for students to access Moodle course: Click “Enroll” at the bottom of the page. The first section on the course is the required safety training. The completion of the safety training will be paid so please log your hours under your current position in Oracle. The video and quiz will only need to be completed once per academic year. The training matrix will need to be assessed for any job you hold on campus as additional training components may be required depending upon the position.

Training Matrix

Please review the Time & Absence process with new student employees who never participated in work study.

Hours should be logged after each shift the student works using the Time & Absence tile in Oracle. At the end of the pay period, the student and supervisor will need to review the timecard for accuracy and approve it. If there is an error, please reject the timecard with an explanation so the student can correct the error. Students shall not approve other students’ timecards except when approved by the Student Employment Office.

Supervisor Time & Absence Resources:

Establish expectations at the start of each academic year/summer. Manage student employee performance by using the GROW at St. Olaf model.

If a student chooses to end their employment, please notify studentwork@stolaf.edu right away and Human Resources will end the student assignment (job) in Oracle.

2025-2026 Student Employment Handbook (student version)

Disciplinary Procedures simple conversation guide

Disciplinary Action FORM

Student Work Award Information

Both students and supervisors can access information on work awards. The Student Employment Office offers instructions for students on accessing work award amounts on our main website. Students can also reach out to staff in the Financial Aid Office (finaid@stolaf.edu) with questions or concerns regarding work award amounts. Supervisors and hiring managers can view work award balances for each of their student employees in the Ole Information System. Instructions for how to view work award balances can be found here.

Student Work Award Enforcement

We encourage you as supervisors and hiring managers to plan your total student labor and scheduling needs bearing in mind the total work award amounts of the students you hire. Once students reach the total value of their work awards, they will no longer be permitted to work on campus. Some flexibility may be available for students who are working in highly skilled or specialized positions. In the event that you have a student worker who is fundamental to your current operations but has exhausted or nearly exhausted their total work award amount, you can request additional work award funding for that same student using this form. Requests for additional work award funding from supervisors will be reviewed by staff in the Finance Office and Human Resources/Student Employment.

Budgeting

Accurate budget reports regarding your student workers’ wages and your department’s labor costs are not yet available to supervisors through Oracle. For budget reports related to student employment, please reach out to the Payroll Office at payroll@stolaf.edu.

Consistent with the College’s mission, on-campus employment is a formative learning opportunity that fosters personal responsibility, transferable skills, and vocational discernment. On-campus work offers students opportunities to cultivate breadth and depth in the career competencies that will help them flourish in their chosen vocation. The toolkit in this section is designed to help supervisors make student employment a high-impact practice through an emphasis on skills development.

The Student Employment Office maintains up-to-date handbooks that contain the policies relevant to on-campus employment. If you have any questions about student employment policies, please contact studentwork@stolaf.edu.

Type of Work Awards Required

Federal Work Study (FWS)
State Work Study (SWS)
College Work Study (CWS)

The following policies derived from both internal operational procedures and federal/state guidance.

The Student Employment program is a Financial Aid program.
Students must be registered for at least 0.25 credits to qualify to work as a student employee.
All students are required to have a work award (need-based or non-need-based)
Priority for employment must be given to a student that has a need-based work award. If a student does not have a work award, a “non-need based work award” may be requested by outlining the student’s specialized qualifications for a particular position.
If a student thinks they are going to exceed their work award, please check in with the Financial Aid Office. Exceeding your work ward could have an impact on the other parts of your financial aid offer (grants, scholarships, loans) from St. Olaf.
Student’s payslip will indicate the status of their work award at the time of payroll processing.

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 January 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)
International students may not work off-campus during their first year of enrollment
After first-year of enrollment, International students may work off-campus providing the position/work is related to their field of study (see Taylor Center for more information).
Employment documentation is required before start of work (i.e. I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form).

The following are general policies regarding student employment vacancies and labor needs:

Job vacancies should be posted for at least three (3) days before filled; or
Rehires of returning student employees into the same or previous year’s appointment does not have to adhere to the normal hiring process and can be hired directly to their previous appointments.
Wages are assigned at the supervisors’ discretion – within the annually established departmental/programs’ budget – in consideration of the type of work and skills required.

Non-Need Based Work Awards

Students who does not meet the eligibility or was not assigned a “need-based” work award may request a “non-need-based” work award with the financial aid office if the following criteria are identified:

Skills and requirements cannot be easily satisfied by another candidate;
Candidate does not have a work award assigned;
Candidate financial aid profile allows for a non-need based work award to be added; and
Time sensitivity to fill the position is imperative.

Note: Non-Need-Based work awards are assigned depending on the review of an individual financial aid profile. Not all students may be eligible for a non-need-based work award. Accepting such awards may alter or impact other existing awards. Confirmation/acknowledgement will be required.

Summer Student Employment

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 the Time Entry System. 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.

Summer payroll is separate from the Academic Year payroll and is funded directly by the department’s budget assignment.

Note: If a student is paid at a stipend rate, the rate will be converted into an hourly rate for student employment payroll purposes.

May work up to 40 hours per week
Overtime is discouraged
Pay period are two weeks (Saturday to Friday)
Pay at a bi-weekly schedule

Summer rate of pay will follow the previous academic year wage structure.

Several departments on campus hire student workers during the summer session. You can find information about policies that are specific to summer employment in this section.

Hiring preference should always be given to current St. Olaf students who will be returning in the fall.
1. Departments/Supervisors – The appropriate unit account numbers are the same as the academic year.
2. Admin/Finance/Payroll – The “summer student employment” funding – account 53400 – is to be used (only for administration/payroll; supervisors do not use).
In rare circumstances, offices may hire graduating seniors to complete projects already underway when their past experience and knowledge is essential. These students will be hired as paid interns through a staffing agency with a markup of 30% (taxes, fees, etc.). Please contact HR for process and procedures.
The employment of a student who does not attend St. Olaf is not allowed.
To avoid conflicts of interest, please do not hire family members to work in your area.
The summer student employment rate of pay is the same as the student wage structure for the preceding academic year, based on position and skills required.
Whether employed in one or multiple jobs, a summer student employee should not be allowed to work more than 40 hours per week. We need to spread the summer employment budget to cover as many hours as possible so overtime is to be avoided. International students may work up to 40 hours per week during summer.
“Free” housing and meals may not be offered as a form of additional compensation. A few jobs do require living in the residence halls in a supervisory role or monitoring campers during meals in which case the housing or some meals are work-related. Any position for which housing or meals are to be provided because they are work-related must be approved by the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in advance of any job offers being made.

The Office of Human Resources manages summer student employment. If you have questions regarding these guidelines or summer student employment in general, please email studentwork@stolaf.edu or call 507-786-3068.

Summer Employment—On and Off-Campus

Every St. Olaf international student is eligible for on-campus employment, up to 20 hours per week during the school year, and full-time during designated school breaks. International exchange students who are here for one year, and graduating international students are only authorized to work at St. Olaf until the last day of their final exams.

If an international student is returning to St. Olaf in the fall, they are authorized to work full-time for any on-campus employer that services students over the summer. This includes organizations like Bon Appetit and the Bookstore which normally hire students during the year to work on-campus. Summer research at St. Olaf is also considered on-campus employment.

Graduating seniors and returning students are eligible to engage in off-campus employment but MUST first apply for and receive authorization from the United States government system. Please direct all students who would like to intern, do research, or work off-campus to visit the Taylor Center to process their employment authorization paperwork.

Unauthorized Employment—Paid and Unpaid

International students should not be offered employment, even unofficially, in activities such as tutoring, babysitting, lawn care, playing music for a local church, working at any restaurant or retailer, etc. Even volunteer opportunities can be complicated for international students. According to U.S. labor laws, there is more to distinguish between employees and volunteers than whether an individual receives payment. Please direct all international students who wish to engage with the community off-campus to the Taylor Center.

Thank you for your help in protecting our international students’ future employment opportunities in the United States by working within these immigration regulations.

The Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion

Buntrock Commons 111

Tel: 507-786-3073

Email: dso@stolaf.edu