POLICY STATEMENT

The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) provides part-time student employment opportunities to assist students in offsetting some of the cost of their education, to learn valuable skills, and to gain employment experience in an environment that respects attention to academic success. A student employee's primary purpose for being at the university is the achievement of a degree. The employment is temporary in nature and is incidental to the pursuit of an academic program. Student employees are not intended to be full-time employees; most work no more than 20 hours per week. After the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the campus took the opportunity to examine the number of hours student employees are working per week and has therefore established this policy which sets certain limits on the maximum number of work hours assigned to student employees at CU-Boulder.

This policy: (1) provides a definition of the student hourly employees who fall under this policy; (2) defines the maximum number of work hours for student hourly employees; and (3) sets out responsibilities for adhering to the policy and consequences for violating it.

DEFINITIONS

Student Hourly Employee:  An undergraduate or graduate student hired in a student employee position which is paid on an hourly basis, typically in job codes 4101 to 4106, or 4201 to 4202.  This includes both work-study and non-work-study positions.

Student Salaried Employee: An undergraduate or graduate student hired in a student employee position which is paid on a bi-weekly or monthly salaried basis, typically in job codes 1501 to 1508.

University of Colorado as an employer: All campuses and system administration of the University of Colorado and all departments, colleges, centers, divisions, or other degree or non-degree units are considered one employer under Internal Revenue Service rules.  This includes external agencies contracted with the university under the Off-campus Work-Study Program, in which students are paid by the university.

OVERSIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY

  1. All CU-Boulder colleges, departments, centers, units and all employees including student employees are required to comply with this policy.  All documents generated as a result of this policy are required to be maintained in student employment files and retained in accordance with the records retention policy.
  2. CU-Boulder Student Employment within the Office of Financial Aid, and the University of Colorado Employee Services Office will monitor student work hours for compliance with this policy and communicate to student employees and their supervisors when violations arise.
  3. Supervisors of student hourly employees are responsible for monitoring their student hourly employees' work hours to ensure compliance.
    1. Supervisors of student hourly employees who hold multiple positions are required to coordinate with the student employee and with the other supervisor(s) to ensure the student does not exceed the maximum work hours allowed.
  4. Supervisors of student hourly employees are responsible for communicating this policy to their student hourly employees. 
  5. Student employees are responsible for disclosing existing CU employment at the time of application to any other CU-affiliated position and for communicating with their supervisor(s) regarding any scheduling which may take the student above the maximum work hours allowed.

POLICY

  1. Maximum work hours allowed.
    1. The number of hours an undergraduate or graduate student hourly employee may work in all University of Colorado positions combined (the aggregate of a student employee's multiple hourly and salaried positions in multiple departments for any University of Colorado employer), is limited as follows:
      1. Fall semester:
        1. The maximum number of hours a student hourly employee may work is 25 hours per week or 50 hours per bi-weekly payroll period.
        2. The specific calendar of the fall semester varies from 18 to 20 weeks and shall be determined each year by CU-Boulder Student Employment. 
      2. Spring semester:
        1. The maximum number of hours a student hourly employee may work is 25 hours per week or 50 hours per bi-weekly payroll period.
        2. The specific calendar of the spring semester varies from 18 to 20 weeks and shall be determined each year by CU-Boulder Student Employment. 
      3. Summer semester:
        1. The maximum number of hours a student hourly employee may work is 40 hours per week or 80 hours per bi-weekly payroll period.
        2. The summer semester is defined as 14 weeks.  The specific calendar shall be determined each year by CU-Boulder Student Employment. 
      4. Departments who report students' hourly earnings in a given pay period using the Late Pay earnings code must maintain sufficient documentation to verify the actual pay period(s) in which the hours were worked.
      5. Work-study student employees should also monitor work hours relative to their earnings limit and contact Student Employment with any questions.
      6. Graduate student employees must comply with work-hour limits set by the Graduate School.
      7. International student employees must comply with work-hour limits set by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  Refer to International Student and Scholar Services for additional information.
    2. Multiple positions.
      1. For students who hold a combination of student positions which are salaried and hourly, the work-hour maximum applies to the total of all positions.  The percentage of a salaried appointment will be converted to equivalent hours (i.e. 50% time = 20 hours/week) and added to any hours paid on an hourly basis.
      2. Students working in more than one position at the University of Colorado (CU-Boulder and/or any other campus and/or system administration of the University of Colorado) are required to:
        1. Disclose existing CU employment at the time of application to any other CU-affiliated position.
        2. If hired into an additional CU position, disclose to each supervisor all CU employment immediately upon acceptance of an additional position.
      3. Supervisors of student hourly employees who hold multiple positions are required to coordinate with the student employee and with the other supervisor(s) to ensure the student does not exceed the maximum work hours allowed.
        1. On the rare occasion that student hourly employment is concurrent with employment in a classified staff, University staff, and/or faculty position, the aggregate of the multiple positions cannot result in full time equivalent (FTE) greater than 100%, which may further limit student work hours.

PENALTIES

  1. Student hourly employees who violate the maximum work hours as defined in this policy will be issued a written warning.  A written warning will also be sent to the student hourly employee's supervisor(s).
  2. A student hourly employee who works in excess of the maximum work hours in this policy may become eligible for employer-provided health insurance under the ACA.  If that is the case and the employee elects to enroll in the plan, the university's cost of the health insurance premium may be assessed to the department(s) with which the student was employed during the look-back period.

EXCEPTIONS

  1. An employing department head must  present to his/her dean or director, the following for each student hourly position requested for the applicable type of exception:
Business Purpose Exception Academic Purpose Exception
To qualify for a business purpose exception under this policy, the following must be presented: Only Graduate students may qualify for an academic purpose exception under this policy.  To qualify, the following must be presented:
  1. A business plan demonstrating why the objectives of a specific student hourly employee position cannot be completed within the work-hour restrictions contained in this policy and how the additional hours will not interfere with student success, and
  1. A letter from the Graduate student detailing how the additional work is an integral part of his or her graduate academic training, and
  1. An explanation as to why the duties of the student hourly employee position cannot be divided among two or more student hourly employee positions.
  1. An explanation as to why this experience cannot be accomplished by other means.
  1. If an exception is granted, the student employee may become eligible for employer-provided health insurance under the ACA.  If that is the case and the employee elects to enroll in the plan, the university may require reimbursement from an individual department for the university's cost of the health insurance premium.  Along with the documentation above, the requesting department shall include documentation that it agrees to and has sufficient means to pay the university's cost of the health insurance premium for the affected student hourly employee during his/her period of eligibility:
    1. A statement that indicates the employing department agrees to pay the university's cost of the health insurance premium in the event the affected student hourly employee is eligible for and elects to enroll in university health insurance and is not otherwise eligible for university health insurance due to employment in a benefits-eligible position;
    2. An acknowledgement that this financial commitment follows the student hourly employee even if he/she no longer works for the requesting department during the period the employee is eligible for health insurance; and
    3. University of Colorado financial statements to demonstrate cash or unencumbered budget on hand in an amount equal to one year of the University's cost for the health insurance premium.
  1. If the proposal for a Business Purpose or Academic Purpose Exception is approved by the dean or director, the proposal is forwarded to the Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer or his/her designee for budget review and final approval.
  2. There are no further exceptions to this policy.

RELATED POLICIES

The Affordable Care Act

CU-Boulder Student Employment Handbook

CU-Boulder Graduate School Funding Administration

All exemption requests for Graduate students must be accompanied by an approved Petition for Graduate Student Overload Appointment Form

Effective Date

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Approved By

Philip P. DiStefano, Chancellor

Author(s)

Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer