COLA Student Employment Guidelines for Fall 2023 Term

Dates & Deadlines

Business Processes (BPs) affecting pay for Hourly Jobs:

Effective August 1-15: routed to COLA by noon on Tuesday, August 15.

Effective August 16-31: routed to COLA by noon on Wednesday, August 30.

Effective September 1-15: routed to COLA by noon on Friday, September 15.

Business Processes (BPs) affecting pay for Monthly Jobs:

Effective August 2023: routed to COLA by noon on Monday, August 21.

Effective September 2023: routed to COLA by noon on Tuesday, September 19.

Work-Study Processing Deadline: 7 days prior to Hire (or Reassignment) date.
- Students should not begin working in their work-study job prior to the approval of their appointment in Workday.
Undergraduate Student Tuition Payment Deadline*:
- If registered on or before July 21, 2023: Thursday, August 10 at 5pm.
- If registered after July 21, 2023: Wednesday, September 6 at 5pm.

Deadline for Mass End Employment Date Extension submissions for AGS employees: Friday, August 25.
Graduate Student Tuition Payment Deadline*: Thursday, August 24 at 5pm.
International Graduate Student Insurance Waiver Deadline: Friday, September 1 at 5pm.

Deadline for all Mass End Employment Date Extension submissions: Friday, September 1.

TRB Awards are programmatically cancelled for students that don’t meet eligibility: Monday, September 11.
Deadline for Onboarding and Benefits Selection (for benefits-eligible 9/1 new hires): October 1.
Last day a department may hire a Work-Study student: December 1.

*Registration is a requirement for student enrollment. Grad students with $0 tuition bill must still confirm attendance to complete their registration/avoid being dropped

Automated Mass End Job/Termination Process Dates:

Automated Mass End Job/Termination Process for Academic Graduate Student jobs with an End Employment Date of 8/31/2023 or earlier: September 1.

- - Process any Change Jobs, Add Jobs, and/or Switch Primary Jobs for impacted positions by noon on Wednesday, August 30.
Automated Mass End Job/Termination Process for all other jobs with an End Employment Date of 8/31/2023 or earlier: September 8.
- - Process any Change Jobs, Add Jobs, and/or Switch Primary Jobs for impacted positions by noon on Wednesday, September 6.

Priority List for Processing Spring Student Employment

All jobs for benefits-eligible international students
All jobs involving/affecting benefits (TA, AI, TA/AI Anchor Job, GRA)
All Work-Study jobs
Current hourly workers continuing into Summer.
New workers starting in Summer.
Current workers who will not be working in Summer.

Business Processes (BPs) to Use for Fall 2023 

Please use Change Job (Transfer) when there is no break in service. Please DO NOT use Add Job.

Effective date for the Change Job must be the day AFTER the end employment date when students transition between semesters.

When hiring a student, it is important to go to the student’s profile > Job tab > All Jobs to determine what process to use to hire your student worker.

Student Business Process Matrix: Use this matrix to help you determine which BP to use or if you can use one of the mass processes:

[https://utexas.box.com/s/2zitxcgs8ofuy6a6p79v1rg37y969ljs]

Scenarios	Business Process
Summer Anchor Job is being extended for fall appointment with no change to job profile	Mass End Employment Date Extension Process (Central Guidance / COLA Wiki)
Summer Anchor Job is being extended for fall appointment and requires a change in job profile	Start Job Change > Student: Change Job Details (WIG)
Extending end employment date for non-Work-Study position with or without changes to scheduled weekly hours, business title and/or position title	Mass End Employment Date Extension Process (Central Guidance / COLA Wiki)
Making any changes to active position besides extending end employment date, SWHs, or business/position title	Start Job Change > Student: Change Job Details (WIG)
Adding a non-Work-Study student job for a current employee who is continuing in their current position	Mass Transaction Submission System (MTSS) (Central Guidance / COLA Wiki)
Adding a Work-Study job for a current employee	Add Job (WIG)
Hiring/rehiring a student into a non-Work-Study student job profile	Mass Transaction Submission System (MTSS) (Central Guidance / COLA Wiki)

Things to Keep in Mind for All Student BPs

Students need to meet enrollment requirements for their student employment.
Salary/Wage Increases: Student hourly rates (for continuing students) can only be increased with justification (e.g., change in duties or student classification).
Graduate academic student titles cannot be combined with non-academic student titles, staff titles, faculty titles, or non-employee titles towards eligibility for insurance benefits.
Background Checks must be requested when any of the following circumstances apply:
- If the previous check did not include all of the checks required for the new position
- If the current employee is applying to a position that is in a different dean or vice president’s portfolio, and the previous check was performed more than a year ago.
- A former employee has a break in service of more than 6 months, no matter how old the previous check on file.
- A former employee has a break in service of less than 6 months, but the previous check is more than 12 months old.
When a background check is required, the appointment can be submitted--including the date the bg check was requested--but the student cannot begin working until the results have cleared.
Remote Work Outside of Texas: Any employee requesting to work remotely outside of Texas must have prior approval before they can be appointed. To request approval to hire an individual who won’t work in Texas, please complete the Working Out of State spreadsheet and submit to COLA HR for review.
- Per Payroll Services, the university is not currently approving employees to work outside the United States.
Student Resignations: If student resigns prior to their original End Employment Date, use termination reason “Resignation” and attach the resignation letter.
Student employees who will have an additional job for 31 days or less should be appointed with the Variable employee type at 0 SWH. This will help prevent any AGS/benefits-eligible student employees from having their insurance PT/FT status change for these short-term sporadic jobs.

Work-Study Student Appointments

Appointment Dates

Between 8/16 – 12/31
- Last day to hire work-study employee: 12/1

Begin hiring process in Workday no more than a month prior to employment start date

Student Eligibility

Be awarded Federal Work-Study on the Work-Study Verification (WSV).
Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy standards as set by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Must be enrolled in appropriate credit hours as required by the student’s academic or non-academic title. Additional rules may apply in cases where stricter enrollment is required for Work-Study funds.

Processing Info

Students may be hired for the academic year (August 16-May 31) if the student was awarded Work-Study for the included terms.
Attach Work-Study Verification Form to the BP. If hiring for the academic year, attach the Work-Study Award for all terms.
When changing from a non-Work-Study job to a Work-Study job, must process as an Add Job if the student is staying with the same manager. If changing managers, can process as Change Job.
In the Costing Allocation step, only enter the departmental account numbers. The Work-Study team will enter their accounts once the BP routes to them.
Questions regarding Work-Study should be directed to work.study@austin.utexas.edu.

Relevant Webpages

Required BP CommentsBrief description of job duties
Number of Scheduled Weekly Hours
Dates of Assignment
Date background check request was submitted, or note that a new check was not required.
Proposed rate
Attachment: Fall 2023 (or FY23-24) Work-Study Verification Form

Undergraduate Student Appointments 

Appointment Dates

If only working during the Fall: 9/1 – 1/15
If working during the Fall and Spring: 9/1 – 5/31

Student Eligibility

Students must meet the minimum enrollment requirements for student job titles.
- An exception to the 12- or 6-hour enrollment requirement is available for students who are on track to graduate at the end of the current term and who need fewer than 6 hours to graduate.

Undergraduate Student Sporadic Jobs

Sporadic employment is temporary work that will be performed inside or outside an employee's department for a limited time period, when the student is already assigned to their maximum allowable scheduled weekly hours. (see Limits on Work Hours for Employees in Student Titles)

Undergraduate student sporadic employment must be approved by Central HR's Student Employment Consultant, Charmarie Burke (char.burke@austin.utexas.edu) before the student can be hired for any type of sporadic employment.

Student Employee Sporadic Additional Job Form

Related Webpages

Required BP CommentsBrief description of job duties
Number of Scheduled Weekly Hours
Dates of Assignment
Date background check request was submitted, or note that a new check was not required.
Proposed rate
For Academic Titles, also include:Name of supervising faculty member
Funding information (account(s), including end date(s) for 26 accounts)

Graduate Student Appointments 

Appointment Dates

If only working during the Fall: 9/1 – 1/15
If working during the Fall and Spring: 9/1 – 5/31

Student Eligibility

Students must meet the minimum enrollment requirements for student job titles.
- An exception to the 6-hour enrollment requirement is available for students who are on track to graduate at the end of the current term and who need fewer than 6 hours to graduate.

Academic Graduate Student Employee Insurance

An Academic Graduate Student (AGS) employee is benefits-eligible if expected to work in one or a combination of the following titles for at least 20 SWH and for at least 4.5 months (135 calendar days). It is critical to review all jobs for AGS employees to correctly determine their eligibility and ensure AGS jobs have the correct employee type in Workday.

7/15-10/1: AGS employees must enroll in the AcademicBlue SHIP program during annual enrollment dates or within 31 days of a newly benefits-eligible position
- Only AGS employee’s coverage will automatically roll forward if still benefits eligible
- Must re-enroll dependents to continue coverage in new plan year

Part-Time & Full-Time Insurance Status is based on total SWH (Scheduled Weekly Hours in Workday)

Additional jobs, even if non-benefits eligible, impact PT/FT insurance status
- PT AGS employees are scheduled for 20-29 total SWH, with at least 20 SWH in AGS job titles
- FT AGS employees are scheduled for 30+ total SWH, with at least 20 SWH in AGS job titles
Supervisors and/or administrative personnel should check the All Jobs tab in Workday to remain aware of possible insurance changes
PT/FT changes that occur on the first of the month impact insurance enrollment effective that date
PT/FT changes that occur mid-month (after the first), impact insurance enrollment effective the first of the following month
Please, let the student know that their insurance will be changing if you are adding a job that will cause them to have 30+ total scheduled weekly hours (SWH).

For more information:

Academic Graduate Student Employee Insurance Options

TA/AI Requirements

College policy prohibits funding beyond a student’s sixth year, whether or not the student is from the employing department or another department. Requests for TA/AI assignments for students beyond the 6^th year must be submitted by the student’s home department and pre- approved by the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. The approval and date
must be referenced in the Workday BP.
TA/AIs should be assigned to a maximum of one course per long session. Prior approval is required from the Liberal Arts Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies for a TA or AI to be assigned to multiple courses.

Graduate Academic Student Rates

The rates in bold are the amounts to be input into Workday so that the student receives the intended stipend.

***Please note that these rates will prorate based on the entered scheduled weekly hours.

TA: $4522.89 monthly ($40,706 annual)
- Non-COLA TA: $3,555.56 monthly ($32,000.04 annual)
AI: $4,998.89 monthly ($44,990 annual)
- Non-COLA AI: $4,000 monthly ($36,000 annual)
GRA: Minimum $54,274.68 annual – 12 months at 100% FTE (40 SWH)
- Non-COLA GRA: Minimum $42,666.72 annual

Any non-standard (adjusted hours, different dates, etc.) TA/AI/GRA job for COLA students must include approval information from the Liberal Arts Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. The approval and date must be referenced in the Workday BP. The purpose of this is to ensure that students are not being put in a status that denies them health insurance/benefits and that they are not being overworked. With these two things in mind, in the request, include the student’s EID, justify the need for a non-standard appointment, and include any other support or funding (work appointments or fellowship, etc.) the student is receiving. Please confirm that student’s graduate advisor has approved this request as well.

*NEW* Funding Source for TA/AI Assignments

All COLA PhD students will be paid via their home department’s Graduate Cohort TA/AI account (14-16XX-2002). *Unless the student is employed outside COLA or assigned to a Signature Course.
All non-COLA students, MA students, PhDs beyond the 6^th year, and Signature Course TAs, will be paid via the employing unit’s regular Soft Money TA/AI account (20-16XX-2002). Signature Course funds will be deposited in the unit’s Signature Course account (14-16XX-2908); units will transfer appropriate funds to their regular Soft Money TA/AI account for any Signature Course TAs.

Converting Stipends to 12-month Rates for GRAs:

Important Reminder: Stipends are not rates. "Stipend" = an amount of money you want to pay someone. "Rate (or Salary)" = rate of pay = the amount of compensation for a job, affected by the defined annual pay-period (9-month for most faculty/AIs/TAs; 12-month for other job types); the duration of the job (dates); and the hours scheduled to work (SWH). Basically, the annual rate represents the full-time (based on a standard U.S. 40-hour work week) compensation for a job for a year of work. Student jobs are not 40SWH nor (generally) 12-months in length, but since GRAs are paid on a salaried basis, you have to know the annual rate in order to pay them correctly in Workday.

Example: Intended GRA stipend of $12,000 from 9/1 – 1/15

The academic year (9/1-5/31) is 9 months, therefore 1 semester (9/1-1/15) equals 4.5 months.
Divide $12,000 by 4.5 months = $2,666.67/month (the intended monthly stipend at 0.5FTE)
To convert this to a 12-month stipend, multiply by 12 = $32,000/yr. However, to get from a stipend to a rate, you need to take into account the number of hours the student will be working. Since the standard GRA appointment is for 20SWH or 50% time, you will need to convert the 12-month stipend to a 12-month (annual) rate.
Workday will prorate the salary based on the SWH entered, so if this appointment will be for 50% (20SWH) we would multiply $32,000 by 2 = $64,000, so that the salary will reflect the full-time (100% FTE) 12-month rate of pay. This is the amount (annual rate) you should enter in Workday, and the compensation will be prorated based on the SWH entered.
To double-check, you can follow the steps above in reverse: divide the annual rate by 12 (for the monthly amount), divide by 2 (for 50% FTE), and multiply by 4.5 (to get the semester's stipend amount.)

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) Requirements

GRAs appointed for at least 20 Scheduled Weekly Hours (either the GRA appointment itself, or in combination with other AGS positions) for a long semester (4.5 months or longer) are considered benefits-eligible and should be appointed with the Employee Type: Regular Benefits Eligible – Graduate Student Academic (Fixed Term).
Under Propose Compensation, GRAs should be on an Annual Basis (12 month).
- Departments, at a minimum, must base their GRA 12-month rates on the corresponding COLA TA/AI 9-month rates.
- Grant holders or department/units are expected to cover the 12-month tuition.

Any non-standard (adjusted hours, different dates, etc.) GRA job for COLA students (only) must include approval information from the Liberal Arts Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. The approval and date must be referenced in the Workday BP.

Graduate Student Sporadic Jobs

Student employees who will have an additional job for 31 days or less should be appointed with the Variable employee type at 0 SWH. This will help any AGS/benefits-eligible student employees from having their insurance PT/FT status change for these short-term sporadic jobs.

If the additional employment will last more than 31 days (32 days or more), use the relevant employee type and average number of Scheduled Weekly Hours (e.g. non-benefits eligible fixed term, 10 SWH).

Graduate student sporadic employment must be approved by the Graduate School (graduate_studies@utlists.utexas.edu) before the student can be hired for any type of sporadic employment.

Graduate Student Relevant Webpages

Required BP Comments

Brief description of job duties
Number of Scheduled Weekly Hours
Approval for non-standard appointment (if applicable)
Dates of Assignment
Date background check request was submitted, or note that a new check was not required.
Proposed rate (or stipend):
- Please be sure to note when a student is a non-COLA student for TA/AI rates. If no comment is made about this, we will assume the student is a COLA student.
- For GRAs: Providing the intended stipend for a GRA will help COLA HR determine the entered annual rate is correct.
For Academic Titles, also include:
- Course ID & Unique Number
- Name of Instructor/Faculty Supervisor
GRAs only: Funding information (account(s), including end date(s) for 26 accounts)
Attached approved petition (if applicable)

Mass End Employment Date Extension Process

Important Things to Remember

Prioritize the AGS population since the Mass End Additional Job/Termination process will run for the AGS population on September 1.
Deadline for Mass End Employment Date Extension submissions for Academic Graduate Student employees: Friday, August 25.
Deadline for Mass End Employment Date Extension submissions: Friday, September 1.

Current End Employment Date: The current end employment date for a job must be on or between 8/1 and 8/31.
Proposed End Employment Date: The proposed end employment date must be on or after 9/1.
Proposed Monthly Amount (NOT Prorated by FTE) for Anchor Jobs returning to Paid Status: Only used to transition a summer anchor job to the fall term. Enter the non-prorated monthly amount for the TA/AI.
Students moving between job profiles or moving between Supervisory Organizations must be processed manually (Ex: TA to AI, TA/AI to GRA, etc.).
Units can still participate in the Mass Extend process if they have fewer than 10 student appointments to extend; COLA HR will combine spreadsheets weekly before submitting to eBITS.

Mass Transaction Submission System (MTSS)

Important Things to Remember

The MTSS is for student new hires and additional jobs only.
MTSS requires at least 5 rows of jobs per batch; if you have fewer than 5 jobs, you can submit the spreadsheet to COLA HR to be combined with another unit’s batch.
MTSS bypasses some Student Eligibility Audits (SEE) and will allow student employees to go over 100% FTS across all of their jobs, so units must be diligent in monitoring the Student Eligibility Reports that are sent to Managers and HR Partners/Associates/Assistants.
Actions you can take on a batch:
- Validate: Check for errors
- Submit for Approval: Route batch to the approver
- Reupload Spreadsheet: Re-upload and re-validate a batch after correcting issues
- Delete Batch: Deletes batch in order to start over from scratch
- Recall from Approver: Moves batch from the Approver to the Creator
Please remember to send MTSS batches to approver sy5777 (Stephanie Yang).