Purpose
This policy is to clarify the difference between hiring student help employee’s vs undergraduate/graduate assistants. This has been documented by the School of Education Human Resources Team and is to be followed when hiring students in the School of Education. When determining whether to hire a student help vs undergraduate/graduate assistant, the duties of their job determine the appropriate title. We cannot hire Student Help positions in lieu of an undergraduate/graduate assistant to save money on fringe benefits and tuition remissions.
Student Help Appointments
Student Help employment is to help meet the needs of the university, provide university students with financial support in pursuit of their academic goals, and provide opportunities for academic or administrative job experience. The job duties and responsibilities of Student Help employees vary greatly and may or may not be related to their field of study. This policy outlines employment provisions for all Student Help employees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison).
All Student Help employee jobs are placed in one of three position classifications to assist in determining the appropriate rate of pay: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced.
- Basic Level: Work is done under close supervision; procedures are well established; employees are not usually required to make decisions which are not enumerated in well-defined policies and procedures. Basic administrative support, event support, food service work, routine labor and custodial work are examples of work at this level.
- Intermediate Level: Work that requires, for a major portion of the time, some independent judgment or initiative; and/or requires special knowledge, skills or abilities; and/or requires a major amount of heavy physical exertion; and/or involves adverse hours or working conditions; and/or involves supervisory responsibilities for an activity of limited size. Typing and data entry that requires some decision making and editing, supervision of activities, and heavy labor and custodial work are examples of work at this level.
- Advanced Level: Work that requires, for a major portion of the time, advanced specialized knowledge, skills, or abilities; or involves supervisory responsibilities for large or complex activities, usually involving several concurrent activities. Advanced word processing, technical typing and foreign language translation/typing, artist or musician, language translator, and adding new online data are examples of this type of work.
Compensation Guidelines
The following are the guidelines for compensation regarding Student Help Workers that the School of Education follows.
Basic Level | $10.00-17.00/hour |
Intermediate Level | $17.00-20.00/hour |
Advanced Level | $20.00-23.00/hour |
Process
To hire a Student Help employee, you must complete the Student Help New Hire Form. The information required for a Student Help New Hire Form is as follows:
- Demographic Information
- Name
- Date of birth
- Gender identity
- Home address
- Job information
- Job start date and job end date
- Employee ID (if no current empl ID, Divisional HR will reach out to get SSN)
- UDDS
- Work Location
- Job level (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced)
- Brief description of job duties performed
- 3-5 sentences/bullet points on duties being performed
- Compensation
- If working at intermediate or advanced level, justification will be required for compensation rate
- Time Entry or Web Clock
- Whether you want students to enter their hours worked or punch in/punch out for shifts
- Approver Name & Employee ID; Backup Approver Name & Employee ID
- Supervisor/ Reports To Name & Corresponding Position Number
- Fund Source: Fund – Dept ID – Program – Project – Distribution
- General Info
- Request Name
- Requestor Email
- Any additional comments
Divisional HR will review the request and enter the student into HRS. If Divisional HR needs further information, they will contact the requestor.
Pay Basis for Student Help Appointments
All Student Help employees shall be paid on an hourly basis and hours of service shall be tracked accordingly in HRS. Any exceptions must be approved by the division Human Resources representative prior to any work being performed.
Lump Appointments for Student Help Appointments
Student Help employees should be paid on lump appointments sparingly. Performance lumps, awards, and periodic one-off jobs (serving on an interview committee), and conference honorariums are some examples of when a lump appointment may be appropriate. Additionally, international scholars to pay a student stipend may be paid via lump appointment.
Business Titles for Student Help Appointments
An employee can adopt a business title that provides more specific details about an individual position within the organization, or the type of work performed. Business titles cannot duplicate a title on record or misrepresent the university or the authority of the position. For example, a student help employee performing administrative duties cannot have the business title of Administrative Assistant since it is a title of record.
Determining Best Title
If the work requires a skill or experience that the candidate acquired through the earning of an undergraduate degree or is related in any way to the candidate’s master’s or PhD course of study, the individual should most likely be hired as a Grad Assistant. Some examples of this type of work are research (including but not limited to analyzing and assessing data, conducting focus groups, etc.), grading, teaching, etc.
Undergraduate and Graduate Assistantships are hired through JEMS Hire, not through the Student Help form.
Undergraduate/Graduate Assistant Titles
- Undergraduate Assistant – this title is used in those rare circumstances in which no qualified graduate student is available to perform what would normally be a project assistant or teaching assistant function. Use of the title must have the approval of the dean, and documentation must show that attempts have been made to locate qualified graduate students. Payments made to undergraduate assistants are fully taxable as wages, and taxes will be withheld from monthly paychecks.
- Project Assistant (PA) – This title designates graduate students enrolled in UW–Madison who are employed to assist with research, training, administrative responsibilities or other academic programs or projects.
- Teaching Assistant (TA) – Teaching Assistant -Senior– This title is appropriate for graduate students enrolled at UW–Madison who have been assigned teaching or curriculum development responsibilities in an instructional department.
- Research Assistant (RA) – A research assistant is a UW–Madison graduate student working towards a Master’s or Ph.D. degree. An appointment as a research assistant is appropriate if the activity performed by the research assistant is primarily for the benefit of the individual’s course of study and research and applicable to the individual’s thesis or dissertation.
- Project Assistant-Grader/Reader – This title designates graduate students enrolled at UW–Madison who are employed to assist with grading at UW–Madison. These positions are paid a fixed hourly rate.