Johnson School Administrative Service Center: Student Employment and Payroll Information

Administrative Service Center
235 Sage Hall
Phone : 607- 255-7541
Fax : 607-255-2823

Student Employment and Payroll Information

Forms for Student Employment

What is Needed to be Appointed

Before the Administrative Service Center can process your appointment, you will need to complete the following:

Federal Employment Eligibility Form (I-9)
- Requires documentation.

Appointment Information Form

Tax Document

U.S. Residents Need to Complete a W-4 Form

International Students Need to Complete a Foreign National Questionnaire

Direct Deposit Form

TA Guidelines Session

Attendance is required for all students working as a Teaching Assistant in the Johnson School. Sessions are offered at the start of each semester. To sign up, go to the Administrative Service Center, 234 Sage Hall, or e-mail humanresources@johnson.cornell.edu

All of the above mentioned forms can be found at http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/AdministrativeServiceCenter/FormsforStudentAppointment.htm.

Appointment Process

Being sure your Bursar's bill is paid. No one can be appointed if they have a debt with the University or if they are not registered and matriculated.Being sure you are registered for at least 12 credit hours.
Filling out the necessary paperwork available at: Student Appointment Forms.
Bringing the executed forms, along with your ID, to 234 Sage Hall.
Students hired must provide paperwork for each appointment at the beginning of every new semester, including those individuals who have worked in a prior semester.

The "appointment process" requires some effort on the individual's part. However, when the process is done early, it is relatively easy and straightforward. All too often students have worked several hours prior to being put on the payroll and are frustrated and annoyed when they are informed that before we can process their hours or pay them, they must be appointed. Such a delay can range anywhere from two to four weeks, and, unless they have completed the employment eligibility requirement (I-9), it is illegal for them to work.

All appointments are effective at the beginning of the semester and are terminated at the end of the semester. YOU MUST BE REAPPOINTED EVERY SEMESTER. If you are a doctoral student, you should discuss any restrictions with your Graduate Field Representative before accepting employment. Once the appointment process is complete, the Administrative Service Center will send you and your Supervisor an e-mail authorizing you to begin working.

Introduction to Student Employment

The Administrative Service Center sets its priorities to support the School's plan as it provides leadership and service in the areas of employment, employee relations, leadership, rewards and recognition and human resources management information. To meet these goals, the Administrative Service Center offers a number of support, management, development, consultative and employee assistance services for faculty, staff and students of the School. If you have suggestions on how we may better serve you or as to additional information you would like to find on this website, please send an e-mail to HumanResources@johnson.cornell.edu or contact us at X5-5037.Whether we are welcoming you as a new student, or a returning student, the information provided within the following links will hopefully respond to most of your basic questions about the School and your employment. There are, as at any institution, specific regulations to which we must adhere, and Student Employment is no exception. The following will help explain the processes. If you are registered full-time, in good standing, and attending class, you are eligible to work as a student employee. As an employee, you have responsibilities and requirements to assure trouble-free employment. You have rights, also. Student Employee Requirements-Rights-Responsibilities are outlined on the University's Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment web site at http://finaid.cornell.edu/Graduate/Exempt Student EmployeesStudents at the Johnson School have the opportunity to take advantage of a variety of employment positions. Upon securing a position, student employees must visit the Administrative Service Center to complete I-9 and W-4 forms prior to commencing work. Specific original documentation is required, as specified by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for all US and non-U.S. citizens. For a list of acceptable identification, please refer to our I-9 Acceptable Identification link or to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. If this is a second or continuing appointment, the I-9 process may be waived, but the Administrative Service Center will still need some information to process your reappointment.The work done by our graduate students complies with the criteria for professional exemption by the FLSA and is therefore more appropriately treated as an exempt versus hourly activity. They will be provided with a stipend based roughly on their expected overall effort. The dollar amount should be established between the student employee and his/her Supervisor. The Administrative Service Center will be happy to assist if contacted, by providing the Hiring Supervisor/Faculty member with information indicating past practices. Undergraduate/Hourly Student EmployeesThe information below is applicable to undergraduate student employees who, by FLSA regulations, are identified as hourly employees, unlike graduate students.Cornell's Office of Student Employment is solely responsible for establishing the levels and wages applicable for all student employment. Therefore, supervisors should not negotiate or make any financial commitments. The Johnson School, in consultation with the University's Office of Student Employment, has set its own wages for student employee positions. Please see below for Johnson School wages.

COLTS II - Recording Hours (Undergraduate Hourly Student Employees Only)If you have an hourly appointment, you will have to record your hours in COLTS II on a daily basis. If you have more than one job, please let the Administrative Service Center know! You will have more than one screen in which to record your hours in COLTS II, that is, a different screen for each position; i.e. professor/supervisor. Think of it like a bill for the work you are doing. Each screen is a different invoice for us to pay. It all ends up in your pocket, but we have to pay different invoices from different accounts. So by entering all your hours into Professor #1's screen, you are charging that individual for all of your work, when really, you should be charging Professor #2 for the work you did for him/her. If you are fortunate enough to have multiple positions, note that your total hours cannot exceed 20 in any given week throughout the academic year - this includes all positions combined or you run the risk of jeopardizing your student status. If one of the positions you hold is one for which you are being compensated by a fee payment, the Administrative Service Center needs that information as well.

COLTS II can be accessed on any computer through Bear Access or from the Internet. Please note that students are not eligible for overtime pay or increased rate holiday pay (even if you work on a holiday). COLTS Instructions show you how to record your time. Payroll is on a 2-week cycle (see Student Pay and Approval Calendar). You must APPROVE your time in COLTS II on each approval day - every other Thursday - (go to the Approval Tab and push the Approve button) and remind your Supervisor to approve your time and verify that he/she has done so.

If you did not approve your hours, you will not receive your money the following Thursday. You will need to go to the Prior Pay Period Correction screen and re-enter and approve those hours for the prior pay period. If you do that, you will receive that compensation in your NEXT paycheck two weeks later. The Prior Pay Period Correction option can be used if you:

Did not approve your hours in the current payroll period;

Did not enter your hours on time;
Or, to correct a mistake in the last pay period.

Paychecks arrive in the Administrative Service Center on each pay date (biweekly or semi-monthly) and are held for ten (10) business days. They are then returned to the University Payroll Office, as suggested by them, located at East Hill Plaza where they may be picked up with photo identification.

You are encouraged to validate the address on your checks to ensure it is your local address and where you receive US mail. The Administrative Service Center cannot change the address on your paycheck, regardless of the information that you submit at the time of your appointment. Just the Facts (located in Bear Access) is the tool used by students to change their address and peruse their Bursar bill or financial aid status, etc. It allows students to enter/change their W-2 address. This is the address the University Payroll Office uses to mail your W-2 tax information in January and is the address printed on your pay stub.

The most effective way to avoid any problems in locating checks is to sign up for DIRECT DEPOSIT and your paycheck will automatically be deposited into your bank account.

The law requires that individuals record "hours worked" in a timely fashion. This might be better understood if you realize that COLTS II allows employees to record hours previously worked going back only five (5) prior pay periods (two and a half months).

If you find yourself in a situation of needing to be compensated for retro hours - hours worked after your initial appointment terminated or, if you never completed and returned the appointment paperwork in the first place, please come directly to the Administrative Service Center, 235 Sage Hall and speak with the Director or a Payroll representative.Assuming you completed the appointment process prior to working and just did not record any hours, your I-9 paperwork is still valid (this documentation is kept on file for one year only). You will not need to go through the appointment process again. If that is not the case, you will have to be appointed. In either scenario, this is a manual process and you should allow for up to three weeks to receive the retro compensation.

Summary

Complete the necessary forms, appropriately signed by your supervisor and Graduate Field Representative, if applicable, and return everything to the Administrative Service Center, 234 Sage Hall. If original documentation is needed, as in the case with the Federal Employment Eligibility Form (I-9), be sure to have the necessary documentation when you stop by the Office; and
Apprise Human Resources if you have more than one job!

Undergraduates only - Once appointed (and the Administrative Service Center will advise you when everything is in order):

Record your hours in COLTS II daily;Approve you time every other week (approval weeks) by 8:00 a.m. on the appropriate Thursday; and
Pick up your check every other week (pay weeks).

If you have any problems contact the Administrative Service Center as soon as possible. If is easier to correct what's wrong sooner than later. Good luck!

Forms for Student EmploymentStudent Employment and Payroll Policies & Procedures

Internal Links

COLTS II Responsibilities (Student Employee, Supervisor, Payroll Reps)
Cornell University Student Employee Requirements
Rights and Responsibilities (as adapted by Johnson School)
Prior Pay Period Corrections in COLTS II
Student Appointment Forms
Teaching Assistant (TA) Guidelines
Volunteerism

ExternalLinks

COLTS Instructions (Prior pay period corrections, approving time, etc.)
Student Pay and Approval Calendar

Last Modified: May 9, 2008