| Career and Student Employment Services | Western Michigan University

Career and Student Employment Services

For Employers > Hiring Students

Authority to Hire
Definition of a Student
Selecting Students
On-line Transaction Forms
I-9 Form
Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate - Form W-4
Payroll Choices Program

HIRING STUDENTS

Authority to Hire

Since hiring a student is a commitment of departmental or university funds, please make sure that the person responsible for those funds is aware of your intent to hire and you have approval.

C&SES periodically e-mails or calls departments to determine if jobs are still open or on other student employment related questions, however, please call 7-2725 if you know a job is filled. We can then stop promoting the position and stop informing students.
By going to BroncoJOBS, you will be able to either create an account or use your existing log-in information. You also may sign in to BroncoJOBS to review the accuracy of your job at any time.

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Definition of Student

Only Western Michigan University students may be hired. For student employment purposes, that is defined as an individual

currently taking at least one credit-bearing course in any semester or session, OR.
If a new student, has applied and been accepted to the University and intends to enroll.

FICA exempt student employees are students enrolled half time with 6 credit hours/semester or 3 credit hours/session.
If a student withdraws from the university, graduates, is academically dismissed or is separated by any other method, he/she must immediately stop work. It is the supervisor's responsibility to monitor student enrollment. In the future you may do this by accessing a Banner screen. Individuals with either no courses showing, or with all "W" grades are not students.

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Selecting Students

As a supervisor your goal should be to hire the best-qualified applicants. You are under no obligation to hire any applicant. We recommend that you manage the selection process as you would for any other hiring.
You may require resumes or applications from those interested.
You may conduct job interviews and make your selection based on those qualifications presented by candidates in the interviews. Remember that interview questions should only cover those skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the job.
In addition to finding better candidates, asking students to apply and compete has the advantage of teaching students valuable job search skills.

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On-line Transaction Forms

An on-line transaction form must be filled out before a student can work on campus. Refer to Human Resources (HR) Web site for further information. If you intend to utilize a student’s work-study award, be certain to check the appropriate work-study box when completing the online transaction/hiring form. Supervisors are advised to refer to the student’s financial aid award letter to verify the amount and type of work-study funding prior to hiring. If the form is not completed properly, the student’s wages will be the responsibility of the employing department.

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I-9 Form

According to the Immigration Reform and Control Act, all employers must document that employees are American citizens or legal aliens at the time of hiring. We do this by seeing various forms of identification. Most students show Social Security card or birth certificate (to prove citizenship), and a university ID or driver's license (to show identity) when completing the Authorization.
International students complete the I-9 form with the passport from their country of origin, and any other required identification option. Since visa status and eligibility to work may change, these must be redone each new appointment period. All I-9 forms are kept on file at the hiring department.

I-9 Form Directions

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Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate - Form W-4

For forms of instructions, please refer to our Payroll Department.

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Payroll Choices Program

The Payroll Choices Program is an exciting new payroll solution that gives you the option to receive your pay via direct deposit or a Visa® Payroll Card. This program provides flexible, convenient and secure ways to access your pay. All new employees are required to enroll.

A Paycard Welcome packet will be available for an employee when receiving a payroll card for the first time. Student Paycard Welcome packets will be available for the student employee to pick up in the Payroll office beginning the Monday of the payroll payment week. The student employee will need to bring their Bronco card or picture identification when coming to the Payroll office. Once the employee has been issued a Payroll card, pay will be directly loaded to the card for future pay periods unless the employee changes their payroll choice to direct deposit.

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