Student Work Policies

Persons eligible for student work must be currently enrolled at Kenyon College and matriculated. All non-matriculated persons must apply for non-student employment with the department of Human Resources. 

To become eligible for student work, students must first verify their eligibility to work within the United States with the Office of Student Work. For convenience, students are able to complete this step at any time, even prior to accepting a position. 

Students who have withdrawn (or been withdrawn) lose any campus work through the Office of Student Work effective upon withdrawal date.

Academics should take top priority while classes are in session. If a student is placed on conditional enrollment (Kenyon's academic probation status), the student should consider speaking with their supervisor about taking a break from student work until satisfactory academic progress is met.

Student work is at-will and not guaranteed for any student. Student work is an open and competitive application process. Students interested in student work can consult with the Career Development Office to improve job search strategies for the best possible chances of earning a position.

To be eligible for student work, students must verify their eligibility to work within the United States by presenting original documentation as required on page 3 of the I-9 form. Photocopies and faxed copies of documents cannot be accepted. 

F-1 students can apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) after receiving a job offer; the Social Security Administration (SSA) requires proof of employment to issue a SSN to F-1 students. F-1 students will need to apply for their SSN to comply with payroll and tax requirements, but they can begin working and even be paid prior to receiving their SSN. Therefore, possession of a SSN should not be a factor in the hiring process. The Center for Global Engagement will assist F-1 students with applying for their SSN. 

Student workers are not to work at Kenyon more than 20 hours per week during the academic year and 40 hours per week during summer and academic breaks. Students studying at Kenyon on an F1 visa are to pay special attention to the limits placed on hours worked. Not complying with this guideline is a violation and can affect visa status. It is incumbent upon student workers to ensure that they are staying within these hours and are asked to consider their total hours before accepting an offer. 

Federal work-study award recipients who earn their maximum award amounts in the corresponding academic year will convert from Federal Work-study payment status to Kenyon student worker payment status to meet federal guidelines. Student work status is temporary, does not contain any provisions for fringe benefits or holiday or overtime pay, and is contingent upon available funds. Student workers are an exempt class under the Employment and Training Law and do not qualify for unemployment insurance.

Student workers are responsible for accurately tracking and recording their hours to the corresponding pay period in the Banner payroll system. Student workers must submit their timesheets by the payroll deadline in which the hours were worked. Payroll deadlines can be found here. In exceptional cases where a student fails to submit a timesheet on time, they must promptly take action to have the hours submitted and reviewed by their supervisors (see “Timesheet Instructions” under “For Student Workers” here). Failure to submit timesheets on time may lead to future shifts not being scheduled. All hours, including late submissions, must be recorded and submitted in Banner by the end of the position’s contract date. 

For complete instructions on how to submit timesheets, including late timesheets, please read Timesheet Instructions under “For Student Workers” here.

All student work programs must comply with Kenyon’s Notice of Nondiscrimination statement in the Student Handbook at all times.

All student work programs are to provide reasonable accommodations to enable student workers with disabilities to complete the essential functions of a position. 

All student work must take place on the Kenyon campus with the exception of occasional short term in-state travel for work-related tasks. Departments can craft flexible policies regarding different campus locations in which student workers may complete their tasks.

Mandated Reporters

All student workers are considered "mandated reporters" and are required to disclose to the civil rights & Title IX coordinator any report of protected characteristic harassment, discrimination, or misconduct of which they are aware to ensure the College is able to provide a prompt, thorough, and supportive response. Additionally, all student workers are required to report instances of suspected child abuse.   

Mandatory Training

Civil Rights/Title IX training is required for all student workers each academic year and are to complete this brief form. Supervisors are to talk to each worker at the beginning of a new position or at the beginning of a new academic year to check whether the worker(s) have completed a civil rights/Title IX training. Student workers who need to attend a training are able to sign up to for one of many training sessions hosted by the Office for Civil Rights. Check your email for notices of upcoming civil rights/Title IX training sessions or email the civil rights & Title IX coordinator for upcoming dates. Student workers who attend training for their campus work are to be compensated for the hour of training.

Departments who hire a significant number of student workers can email the civil rights & Title IX coordinator to arrange a training session exclusively for their student workers.

Although department are free to hire any student applicants that best meet the needs of the posted job, departments are to fill 50% of their interview slots with work-study applicants when possible. If there are not enough work-study applicants to fill 50% of the interview slots, then all work-study applicants are to be invited to interview in that search. 

This video provides departments with instructions on how to review applicants’ work study statuses.

Student work opportunities are to be posted in Handshake for all students to access and should be advertised for a minimum of one week. Review the Career Development Office video tutorials on how to post positions in Handshake.

During quiet periods and other times when activities are temporarily restricted due to COVID conditions, on-site student work may be limited by the supervisor. In this situation, supervisors are encouraged to identify opportunities for remote work from campus locations and, if those are unavailable, to work with the student workers to schedule additional hours when the quiet period ends, so long as the hours do not exceed the maximum of 20 hours during the academic year and 40 during an academic break.

If students face financial hardship due to a loss of income, including income expected during the academic year, they are encouraged to request emergency relief funds by completing this brief online form. This is open to students whether or not they are receiving other financial aid. Once a request is granted, students receive funds as a check.

Meetings and training sessions made mandatory by the student work supervisor are to be compensated. 

Policies and practices with regard to work attendance and absences are defined, communicated to student workers, and enforced by individual departments. These policies should be made clear to potential student workers as early as possible in the hiring process. The policies and practices should also be documented and accessible to student workers after work has commenced. When preparing policies, supervisors may wish to account for absences due to the following reasons: 1) curricular or extracurricular activities 2) illness, and 3) personal circumstances. In these cases, student workers should be made aware of the appropriate communication channel, timing, and additional actions required in order to avoid an unexcused absence. Remember, student workers are students first.  

As part of Kenyon College's commitment to diversity and inclusion, supervisors are to support student workers who observe religious and faith holidays, but student workers should follow the designated practices for communicating the absence in advance.

Student work programs that allow student workers to handle sensitive information will want to ensure that the information is protected and remains within secure Kenyon-hosted folders and databases. You are encouraged to copy the Universal Confidentiality template for use with your student workers. 

If a dress code is necessary, supervisors should be inclusive and accommodating while addressing safety concerns and professionalism standards based on the position’s responsibilities.

All student work must take place on the Kenyon campus with the exception of occasional short term in-state travel for work-related tasks.  However, student employers can craft flexible policies around the campus locations in which their student workers may perform their tasks. 

Supervisors can detail a process for identifying and addressing student problematic behavior within their programs. A sample process can be found in the supervisor handbook.

Supervisor are encouraged to document unique departmental policies and make it accessible to student workers as early in the hiring process as possible. Ideally, these will also be available for reference by student workers after being hired. This ensures that everyone is clear on expectations and allows time for questions. Supervisors can decide to make changes to policies as student work programs evolve, but should notify student workers of changes in order to keep expectations transparent at all times.