10.2.2 Graduate Student Hourly Employment

This Guide Memo outlines policies and procedures for employment of matriculated Stanford graduate students in positions other than assistantships. For employment of graduate students in research and teaching assistantships, see Guide Memo 10.2.1. For employment of matriculated undergraduate students, see Guide Memo 10.1.1.

Applicability:

Applies to the employment of matriculated graduate students in positions other than assistantships. This policy does not apply to non-matriculated graduate students (e.g., Visiting Student Researchers) nor to matriculated students who are not enrolled at the time of employment.

For policies that apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, refer to the agreements at Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining for details.

1. Definitions and Distinctions

1. This policy applies to students who are enrolled in a Stanford graduate degree program (any degree except the BA, BS, or BAS). For purposes of student employment, students enrolled in both undergraduate and graduate degree programs as coterminal students are considered undergraduate students while assessed undergraduate tuition and graduate students while assessed graduate tuition.
2. Stanford University uses graduate student hourly employment to hire Stanford graduate students into jobs that are specifically earmarked for matriculated students. Graduate students in hourly employment are supervised in their work, hired through the PeopleSoft HR system, and must record and obtain approval for their work hours. Compensation is established on an hourly basis, and the amount of pay is based on the actual number of hours worked in each pay period.
3. Hourly positions are typically reserved for assignments that are incidental to the student’s course of study with reasonable limitations placed during the academic quarter on the nature of the work assignment and the number of hours of employment. All Stanford University student employment is hourly, with the exception of assistantships, which are limited to graduate students (see Admin Guide 10.2.1).
4. Job Classification Codes (JCC) are used to categorize all jobs at Stanford. Enrolled students should be hired into the appropriate graduate student JCC. Hourly employment should never be used to pay a graduate student for work that is appropriately treated as an assistantship (see also section 2. Limits on Hours of Employment).
5. The Graduate Financial Support (GFS) system is the online application used to enter all research and teaching assistantship appointments, fellowships, and other stipend payments for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. It is not used to process hourly employment.

a. Distinctions from Hourly Employment

Graduate student assistantships. Graduate student assistantships are a form of student employment, earning a compensation package including both salary and tuition allowance (TAL) for the performance of research or teaching services to Stanford as part of the student's academic and professional training and development, see Administrative Guide 10.2.1. Hourly employment is not a substitute for an assistantship appointment.

Honorarium. An honorarium is a stipend payment to recognize a student for an accomplishment or a one-time event or project, such as a recruitment weekend. Honoraria are not used as compensation for employment. Graduate student honorarium payments are processed as stipends in the Graduate Financial Support system (GFS).

Student Residence Roles. Student residence roles are held by a core group of students that are responsible for managing the various programmatic components of life in their on campus residence. A nominal stipend to defray living expenses is offered in conjunction with many of these roles. These payments are processed as stipends in GFS. International students should consult with Bechtel International Center about the impact of this effort on restrictions related to on-campus employment.

Off-Campus Internships and Off-Campus Employment. Off-campus internships and off-campus employment are not covered by this policy. Students should be mindful that their primary obligation is to their academic program. International students must also adhere to visa requirements and should consult with Bechtel International Center before engaging in any off-campus employment or unpaid opportunity.

Contingent (Casual or Temporary) Employment. Contingent employment is used to hire an individual for a part-time or temporary staff position. Contingent employment must be used for hourly employment assignments for non-matriculated students, such as Visiting Student Researchers, and for matriculated students when not enrolled (e.g. when on a leave of absence). Contingent employment is not normally used for enrolled, matriculated Stanford students.

2. Limits on Hours of Employment

Graduate students are expected to devote sufficient attention to their studies. Therefore, graduate students are expected to coordinate the number of hours of employment with their academic obligations, including course load, number of registered units, and the academic expectations of their program. Additionally, students in hourly employment are expected to coordinate hourly employment with the other forms of financial support that they are receiving. Academic departments/programs, offices employing graduate students, and funding sources may impose additional employment limitations.

Limits on hourly employment and related enrollment limitations for graduate students are summarized in Table 1.

a. Limit on Hours

There are formal limits on the number of hours a graduate student may be employed when also financially supported by assistantships or fellowships. The source of the fellowship or the student’s academic department/program may impose additional employment limitations.

During autumn, winter and spring quarters, enrolled graduate students are limited to 28 hours of student employment, combining hourly employment and assistantship appointments. International students are subject to additional limitations, see 2c. For example, graduate students appointed to 50% (20 hours/week) assistantships may not be employed more than an additional eight hours/week; those additional hours cannot be in other assistantship positions. Graduate students with full fellowship funding are limited to additional employment of 8 hours/week hourly employment or a 25% assistantship, but not both.

During summer quarter, enrolled graduate students are limited to 36 hours of student employment, combining hourly employment and assistantship appointments. International students may be subject to additional limitations, see 2c. For example, students on 50% (20 hours/week) assistantships may not be employed more than an additional 16 hours a week; those additional hours can combine either assistantships or hourly employment. In summer, students who are employed more than 8 hours with a 50% assistantship are expected to reduce the number of units of enrollment commensurate with a larger percentage appointment, as shown in the TAL table for summer quarter (https://gfs.stanford.edu/salary/salary22/index.html). Graduate students with full fellowship funding are limited to additional employment of 16 hours/week hourly employment or a 50% assistantship, but not both.

b. Additional Limits on Hours

During break periods when school is officially not in session, Stanford does not limit the number of hours graduate students may be employed. Individual academic programs may define more restrictive policies. Students must check with their academic program for any restrictions.

For on campus employment, university guidelines on overtime pay apply. Note that graduate student research and teaching assistantships are made for a full quarter of three months and hours associated with assistantships include these break periods. Policy related to assistantships is located in Administrative Guide 10.2.1: Graduate Student Assistantships (https://adminguide.stanford.edu/chapter-10/subchapter-2/policy-10-2-1).

International students must contact Bechtel International Center for information about off-campus employment authorization (see Bechtel International Center’s website under “Employment (https://bechtel.stanford.edu/immigration/employment)”).

Individual university holidays, e.g., Presidents’ Day and Memorial Day, do not constitute a break as defined in this policy. Eligible break periods are defined below.

Thanksgiving Break. Restrictions on student work hours do not apply during Thanksgiving recess, beginning the day after classes end (as detailed on the official university academic calendar) and continuing through the day before classes resume.

Between-Quarter Breaks. Restrictions on student work hours do not apply beginning the day after the final exam period ends ( detailed on the official university academic calendar) and continuing through the day before classes begin the following quarter. For example: students’ employment hours are not limited between the Saturday after autumn quarter final exams, through the Sunday before winter classes begin.

Summer Quarter. Summer quarter employment rules vary depending upon student enrollment and visa status. Refer to the information and chart below for additional information.

c. Additional Limits on Hours for International Students on F-1 or J-1 Visas

International students on F-1 or J-1 visas are subject to both university policies on employment and visa regulations that limit employment; in all cases, the more restrictive limitation will apply. International students are eligible for on-campus employment if they are maintaining F-1 or J-1 visa status. J-1 students must obtain work authorization from the Bechtel International Center for both on-campus and off-campus employment.

During the academic year (autumn, winter and spring quarters), enrolled students on F-1or J-1 visas are limited to a total of 20 hours of employment per week (except during break periods), including on-campus hourly jobs, assistantship appointment(s), and any off-campus employment that they may have been authorized to perform.

During summer quarter, most international students are subject to the general university policies for summer graduate student employment, and their F-1 or J-1 visa does not further restrict their hours of employment. However, any graduate student who is required to enroll full time in summer quarter in order to maintain legal visa status, such as newly admitted students who will start their program in the summer, or those students returning from a leave of absence in the summer, may not work more than a combined total of 20 hours/week.

During university defined break periods as defined in section 2b above, neither the university nor federal regulations limit the number of hours international graduate students may be employed, provided they are eligible and intend to register for the next academic quarter.

Further information regarding employment limits for students on F-1 or J-1 visas is available from the Bechtel International Center (https://bechtel.stanford.edu/navigate-international-life/visas/f-1-and-j-1-student-visas).

Table 1: Maximum Number of Hours of Hourly Employment Permitted per Week

Funding source or the student’s academic department/program may impose stricter limits. Footnotes describe the related limitations on enrollment.

1. Students with a 50% assistantship are limited to 10 units, TGR, or graduation quarter enrollment.
2. In summer, students are expected to reduce enrollment below full-time status if they accept an assistantship of more than 50%, or they accept a combination of assistantship and hourly work that total more than 28 hours per week.
3. Enrolled students cannot work more than 36 hours a week. More than 36 hours per week requires the student not be enrolled and hired as a contingent (casual or temporary) employee through Human Resources.
4. Some international students are required to enroll full-time due to visa requirements and immigration law (see Enrollment Requirements (https://bechtel.stanford.edu/navigate-international-life/visas/f-1-and-j-1-student-visas/maintaining-status-f-1-and-j-1-0) on the Bechtel International Center website). Students should consult with Bechtel International Center regarding their individual enrollment requirements.

3. Hiring, Paying and Supervising Students

a. Hiring

The supervisor notifies the human resources administrator to make the appropriate system entry. The students should be hired into the appropriate job classification code (JCC). The student must be hired into PeopleSoft HR before beginning work. Students who are hired during summer quarter, but who are not enrolled, must be hired as student hourly employees using the appropriate summer student JCC. This step is required even if the student is continuing a work assignment that started during the academic year.

Before hiring a graduate student for hourly employment, a graduate student assistantship, or any other type of appointment through Human Resources the hiring department should contact the student’s academic home department/program to review the appointment (see the GFS School contact (http://financialaid.stanford.edu/faculty_staff/gfs/contacts.html) list). The hourly appointment must be reviewed for eligibility, taking into account:

• the student’s academic obligations, including course load, number of registered units, and other expectations;
• other forms of financial support that the student is receiving, including fellowships and assistantships (funding sources may impose limits on hourly employment);
• any limits that the student’s home academic department/program imposes (e.g., program may limit hourly student employment); and
• limitations placed on international students.

Students who receive a university award that includes funding to hire graduate students to complete hourly work (e.g., coding, transcription, or other effort associated with academic projects) are subject to these policies. In such cases, the department should manage the funding and hire the student hourly employee.

b. Wage rates

For hourly employment covered by the collective bargaining agreement, refer to the applicable agreement at Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining. For non-bargaining unit members, there is no suggested hourly wage rate.

When setting the hourly wage rate for a graduate student, the following may be taken into consideration:

•  The tasks required of the student, including the level of independence, judgment, and expertise;
• The student’s experience in similar work assignments;
• Wage rate paid to other graduate students in the department for comparable work.

Consult the graduate student hourly job classification codes (JCCs) for more information.

c. Payment

Departments pay graduate students in hourly employment from their own sources of funding.

Hourly student workers must record actual hours worked in their Axess Timecard each pay period. Each month has two pay periods: The first day of the month through the 15th, and the 16th through the last day of the month. Paychecks are issued on the workday that falls on or immediately prior to the seventh calendar day after the end of each pay period.

d. Supervision

One person should be named as the student’s immediate supervisor and should be directly accountable for overseeing the student’s work and approving the hours worked in Axess.

e. Work Schedules and Requirements

A graduate student in hourly employment is expected to establish a schedule of working hours,  exercise punctuality, and abide by professional guidelines as established by the hiring department with regard to performance and behavior. Most on-campus employers build in some flexibility in hours given students’ exam schedules, but that is not always possible, and students are expected to carry through if they have agreed to be at work.

f. Sick Time

Sick time provides a mechanism to pay graduate student hourly employees when they are unable to perform their work responsibilities due to illness or for other related reasons, as detailed below. All Stanford graduate students in hourly employment receive sick time benefits. Arrangements for any variations in work hours, including time off for illness or related uses of sick time, should be made individually with the student hourly employee’s supervisor. To the extent possible, students in hourly employment are encouraged to make arrangements outside of their working hours, and supervisors are encouraged to offer flexibility in work hours.

For information about the accrual and use of sick time for student hourly employees, see Administrative Guide Memo 10.3.1 (https://adminguide.stanford.edu/chapter-10/subchapter-3/policy-10-3-1): Sick Time for Student Hourly Employees.

g. Job Listing

Stanford departments wishing to hire graduate students may use Handshake, the system administered by Stanford Career Education (CareerEd), to list their job openings. Departments may also use their own means of recruiting and identifying student employees.

h. Non-Discrimination

Non-discrimination policies applicable to regular staff, as stated in Guide Memo 2.1.2, section 2.a. (https://adminguide.stanford.edu/chapter-2/subchapter-1/policy-2-1-2#anchor-22831), also apply to student employees.