Effective June 24th 2024, all posting and hiring functions will be completed and processed through the JobX Student Job Board.
When hiring a student, check with your payroll coordinator for the proper procedures for your department. Only students who meet Student Employment Eligibility Criteria are eligible to be paid as student employees. Without a hire record, student employees will not be paid on time.
Keep in mind that many students have no previous work experience. You may need to hire and train an inexperienced student. During the interview process, make your expectations of the role clear. More advice can be found regarding Interviewing Students.
Informational Material
Are you new to Boston University or the JobX Student Job Board? Review the full JobX platform guide.
Creating/Posting Jobs
Student employment jobs must be created before students can be hired into the respective position.
Setting up a Job – Video – PDF guide
You may review the Job Classifications Guide to identify the Job type, Job category, Job title, and pay scale.
Hiring students
Reviewing Applications and Hiring – PDF guide
Please refer to the Hiring International Students section below for additional information when hiring international students.
Hiring International students
To be eligible to work on campus, international students must receive work authorization through the International Student and Scholars Office (ISSO) and meet the following criteria:
| Employment Period | Undergraduate Students | Graduate Students |
| Academic Year | Registered each semester. | Registered each semester |
| Summer * | Enrolled for the upcoming fall semester, or registered for the summer. | Enrolled for the upcoming fall semester, or registered for the summer. |
*Students who will graduate in August must be enrolled over the summer.
Hiring Steps
New international students (those who have never worked at Boston University before) must receive work authorization and complete I-9 documentation through Hiring Manger/Department. They can follow instructions in the Employment Guide for International Students.
You may complete the hiring process following typical student hire procedures.
The student must obtain a Social Security number if they do not have one. Once they receive their Social Security number, they should complete and submit Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate) following the instructions in Tax Information for International Students.
International students who have already worked at Boston University before will have most, if not all, of the above requirements completed already. If so, follow student hire procedures as usual.
Hiring students with Work-Study Awards
Hiring Work-Study Eligible student is no different that hiring any other student. As your proceed with the hiring process, Work-Study information will be provide on the student’s profile indicating if they’ve receive an award.
Once Financial Assistance has awarded a student, the student’s JobX record will update to reflect the award amount and period. Staff are advised to review each student record confirming the award has been applied before assigning the Federal Work-Study Cost Object during the hiring process.
Once that information is confirmed, the hire requestor will designate the hire as a Work-Study Student Employee by assigning the Federal Work-Study Cost Object in the first two fields defining the Cost Distribution as shown in the example below.
Cost Object 1: 9500XXXXXX*
Cost Object 1 Percentage: 70
The hire requestor must supply the cost object for the remaining 30%.
* Federal Work-Study IO changes annually. Student Employment will supply the new Federal Work-Study IO each year. Staff will have access to the information on the JobX hiring page when asked to input the cost distribution.
Federal Work-Study Overview
Federal Work-Study is a federally-funded financial aid program administered by Boston University. It is designed to provide access to employment, helping students meet educational expenses. Participants also gain valuable work experience while helping the University and nonprofit organizations meet their staffing needs. The program is not intended to provide students with opportunities to study while at work.
Boston University departments that hire Work-Study students incur a charge of 30% of those students’ earnings. The Federal Work-Study Program funds the remaining 70%.
Work-Study Awards
Work-Study is awarded to eligible students as part of their financial aid packages. Work-Study awards are distributed for each program (academic year and summer) and are non transferable.
Students apply for academic year Work-Study by indicating their interest in working on the FAFSA form. BU Financial Assistance selects as many participants as funding allows, based on students’ financial need. Students apply for summer Work-Study by applying here, after ensuring that their financial aid documents for the upcoming academic year are submitted and confirmed.
All undergraduate Work-Study students are paid hourly, while graduate students may be paid either hourly or weekly-salaried, depending on the job. A student’s gross earnings are automatically subtracted from their Work-Study Award Amount, until either the Maximum Earnings Level is reached, or the program ends.
Check our Dates and Deadlines for system programmed academic year and summer program dates using the current Fiscal Year outline, and our Work-Study Dates and Deadlines for the current Work-Study cycle.
Adjustment or Cancellation
If a student’s eligibility changes at any time during the academic year or summer program, BU Financial Assistance may need to adjust or cancel their Work-Study award. Circumstances which may require this include, but are not limited to, withdrawal from the University, failure to maintain a satisfactory grade point average, or the addition of financial assistance from outside sources.
Remember: Students must reapply for Work-Study each year when they apply for federal financial assistance, by completing the FAFSA by the established deadline. More information is available for undergraduate students from Financial Assistance. Graduate students should consult the financial aid coordinator at their school or college.
I-9 Status
Supervisors and Payroll Coordinators will encounter a list of employment validations during the hiring process. At this stage, the system displays the current status of the student’s Form I-9 and other required employment forms.
Students who have completed their I-9 will display a “PASSED” validation icon at this stage, and the user may proceed with the hire request.
If the student still needs to complete the Form I-9, the user may proceed with the hire, but the hire approval will be contingent upon completing the I-9 and any other required employment forms.
Upon completion of the hire request, the user can notify the student of the pending hire. The notification will also request the student to complete any required forms, including the Form I-9, as soon as possible.
It’s important to note that a student cannot be hired until the I-9 has been completed. Furthermore, it’s crucial that if the student has started working that do not continue to working without the I-9 having been completed.
The hire can be approved once the I-9 is in “Completed” status on the JobX Student Job Board.
Follow our University Form I-9 Procedures for instructions on completing this form
Federal Tax Withholding Certificate - W-4
If the student has never worked at BU, it is optional for them to complete a W-4. If a W-4 is not completed, the student will be taxed at the highest rate: single with zero dependents.
Refer international students to Tax Information for International Students.
Do not give students tax advice or tell them how to complete the W-4 form. Most students claim 0 or 1 single. Students who claim exempt must re-file every calendar year. If students have questions about what to claim, suggest they talk to their parent or guardian. Further information for students regarding taxes is available here.
FERPA Policy
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) is a federal law enacted in 1974 that guarantees the confidentiality of student records and general information.
Supervisors must familiarize themselves with FERPA and stress to their student employees the importance of confidentiality. Students who might, at any time, access student information must read and sign the FERPA Non-Disclosure Agreement, which identifies the basic provisions of the law. The agreement will be captured during the hiring process prior to employment. The Student Employment Office will retain signed FERPA agreements for future reference.
FERPA violations may result in disciplinary action, including, but not limited to, job termination.
Student Employment Confidentiality Policy
All students working on campus must understand and sign statements agreeing to the Student Employment Confidentiality Policy. This agreement is integrated into the hiring process and are stored digitally with the Student Employment Office.
The Student Employment Confidentiality Policy was created to stress to student employees the importance of confidentiality in the workplace. Information acquired at work should remain in the workplace.
Intellectual Property Policy
Students involved in University-supported research are required to sign an Intellectual Property Policy Agreement. The Vice President and Associate Provost for Research will be responsible for establishing and maintaining procedures and administrative support needed to implement the Intellectual Property Policy.
Students required to sign the agreement based on University guidelines will automatically receive an email request from ippolicy@bu.edu once they are hired. Principal investigators or student hiring managers who would like other students in their research or academic groups to sign the agreement, for any reason, will need to manually prompt students to sign by sharing the Intellectual Property Policy Agreement.
Additional Policies
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I create a job?
Check out this guide – PDF guide
Creating a Weekly Salaried Position and Hiring a Student Walkthrough
How do I edit job information?
Once your job is approved, you may open the “Action” Drop-down menu and select “Edit Job.” Edits will be resubmitted to Student Employment for approval.
How do I hire a student employee?
How do I hire a student employee with Work-Study funds?
Hiring Work-Study Eligible students is no different than hiring any other student. Work-Study information will be provided on the student’s profile indicating if they’ve received an award as you proceed with the hiring process. Once that information is confirmed, the hire requestor will designate the hire as a Work-Study Student Employee by assigning the Federal Work-Study Cost Object in the first two fields defining the Cost Distribution as shown below.
Cost Object 1: 9500########*
Cost Object 1 Percentage: 70
The hire requestor must supply the cost object for the remaining 30%.
* Federal Work-Study IO changes annually. Student will supply the new IO each your on the JobX hiring page
How do I know if a student is Work-Study eligible?
Students who are eligible and awarded Work-Study funding on the JobX student profile.
What happens if when my student’s Work-Study award is depleted?
The student’s employment will continue and all future earnings will be charged to departmental funds as assigned at the point of hire.
How do I complete an I-9 for a…?
Check out this guide – PDF guide
How do I approve an hourly timesheet?
Check out these guides
Do I need to approve a timesheet for a student receiving a weekly salary?
No. Weekly salaried student will be paid out automatically each week until they are terminated.
How do I change the funding source of a student wages?
How do I terminate a student?
Terminating students will be critical moving forward, especially for weekly salaried students. Departments must monitor positions and terminate students in a timely manner otherwise the student will continue to be employed and paid until the termination is processed.
What do I do if I need to hire more students than I have openings for?
You will need to edit the job in JobX Student Job Board to reflect the increased number of openings needed and wait for Student Employment to approve the request.