Student Workers

Student Worker Policy & Procedures

One Page Reference

Purpose

The College of Journalism and Mass Communications believes that every person and every interaction matter. We are committed to providing fair and equitable student employment opportunities that benefit college operations while providing students with the opportunity to gain skills and experience that will benefit them in their future careers.

We are guided by our strategic plan including our aim to establish a culture of life-long learning and professional development (Aim 7) through the creation of robust and comprehensive professional development programs for all employees including onboarding, career development and clear career ladders and paths to promotion (strategy 6).

We are committed to:

• Utilizing our student worker resources effectively and efficiently to achieve the greatest benefit for all
• Providing clear expectations for all student workers
• Providing compensation levels that are competitive and appropriate to the work performed
• Recruitment and hiring practices that are open, fair and equitable and that encourage a diverse pool of applicants
• Providing regular and consistent feedback that will help student workers grow and develop as emerging professionals
• Recognizing and rewarding good work with wage increases
• Providing student workers with professional development opportunities

Funding

College Funding Allocations Request for allocations from the college’s student worker budget to support student workers must be submitted by the first Friday in May for the upcoming year – Fall, Spring and Summer. Request should be submitted using the Annual Student Worker budget template. Requests must be for approved student worker positions that benefit college-wide programs. The initially approved student worker positions are:

• Ambassador
• Dean’s Office Associate
• Checkout Room Attendant
• Communication Design Lab Assistant
• KRNU Sports Staff
• Experience Lab Student Lead
• Research Assistant

All requests for student worker funding will be aggregated and reviewed by the college’s executive committee. The executive committee will determine final student worker funding allocations for the upcoming year and notify supervisors by July 1.

Requests to add additional positions to the approved student worker list for college funding can be submitted by sending a position description and justification to the Director of Operations. The Director of Operations will classify the position, analyze the budget implications and forward to the executive committee. The request will be reviewed and approved by the college’s executive committee.

Other Funding Faculty and staff who secure other funding to support student worker hires, must submit their project budget to the CoJMC director of operations. Other funding would include external, university and college grants, professorships and/or project donations. The budget should be uploaded to the Annual Student Worker Request form. Supervisors can utilize one of the established worker position descriptions or create their own.

It is expected that supervisors will budget for annual increases on student worker positions if the position lasts longer than one year.

Position Descriptions

A job description is required for all student worker positions and must include a summary of the positions, a listing of the duties and responsibilities of the position and qualifications for hire. The college maintains standard student worker descriptions for the positions above. These descriptions should serve as the basis for student worker positions but can be amended to meet the needs of a particular program or situation. Additionally, supervisors who secure external funding can submit alternative job descriptions for needed positions. Alternative job descriptions should be submitted, along with the budget, to the Director of Operations.

Classification

Student worker positions will be classified as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 based upon an evaluation of the required knowledge, skills, abilities, the level of problem-solving and decision making required, the interactions of the positions, supervision both given and received and the impact of the position on college operations. Classification will be determined using a standard rubric developed by the Student Worker Task Force for use in all student worker positions. Final classifications are determined by the Director of Operations. Starting salaries will be determined based upon position classification. Current starting salaries are:

Starting salary levels can be amended by the college’s executive committee to keep pace with market demand and campus trends.

Recruitment and Hiring

Advertisements

To ensure equal access to opportunities, all student worker positions, regardless of funding, must be advertised across the college through the Jobs & Internships Newsletter and Handshake for a minimum of 5 business days. Advertisements must include:

• Job summary
• Duties/Responsibilities
• Qualifications
• Application Instructions
• Application Deadline
• Starting Pay Rate

Applications

All student workers must apply for student worker positions using the established application process. Students who fail to complete an application may not be considered for student worker positions.

Application Reviews

All applications received by the advertised deadline must be reviewed for qualifications. It is encouraged that supervisors engage their faculty and staff colleagues in application reviews.

Interviews

Interviews for student worker positions are encouraged but not required. Should interviews be conducted, they should be conducted consistently across selected applicants to ensure an equal opportunity is provided to each candidate.

Communication

All applicants, selected and not, should be notified of the outcome of a student worker search in a timely fashion. The supervisor is responsible to ensure proper notifications occur.

Appointments

To initiate a student worker appointment, supervisors should send the applications, resumes and cover letters of selected students to the Big Red Business Center for processing. The business center will communicate with the student to complete all required paperwork and will process the student worker appointment. The timeline for this process can vary depending on the candidate’s status as an employee anywhere on the UNL campus. Student workers cannot begin work until their employment is entered into the university payroll system and the employee appears for the supervisor under the MyStaff tab in Firefly.

No student worker appointment will be processed unless the supervisor has a student worker budget approved by the Director of Operations. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to monitor their student worker appointments to ensure they do not exceed their approved budget.

Although student worker budget requests occur annually, student workers are appointed for only one term at a time unless the position is temporary and for a fixed period. Request for appointment extensions must be submitted as part of the review process. Extensions will not be processed without a submitted review. A new application is not required to extend a current student worker

Reviews

All student workers will be reviewed at the end of each semester of employment. Students employed in temporary positions for a defined timeframe should be reviewed at the end of their term. The standard college review form and process should be utilized.

Review Process:

• Student completes the employee review form independently
• Supervisor completes the supervisor review form and recommendations for development on the review form
• Student and supervisor meet to discuss performance and opportunities for development
• Supervisor submits the review form for signatures and student sign review form to acknowledge receipt
• Copies of review form are sent to student, supervisor, and the CoJMC Dean’s Office

Review Deadlines:

• Fall Semester: Dec. 1
• Spring Semester: May 1
• Summer: July 1

The review will include a request to extend the students' appointment in the student worker role, if needed.

If the student has successfully gained an additional year of service to the college, the current review and previous reviews during the year will be used to determine the student’s raise.

Raises

Student workers can earn an experience increase and a merit increase after each year of service in their student worker position. Experience increases of $.25 are given for adequate performance for the previous year. To earn an experience increase, student workers must achieve an overall assessment of at least meets expectations on all reviews during the past year. An additional merit increase of $.25 can be earned for exceptional performance for the previous year. To receive the additional merit, increase the student must earn an overall assessment of exceeds expectations in all reviews during the past year. The maximum annual increase a student may earn is $.50. Students who fail to demonstrate adequate performance and achieve an overall assessment of needs improve on any review during the year will not receive an increase and may be subject to corrective action, up to and including termination. Raise recommendations are due at the same time as the student’s term review and will take effect on the following dates:

• For students who start in Fall: Recommendation Due: July 1, Increase Starts: Aug. 1
• For students who start in Spring: Recommendation Due: Dec. 1, Increase Starts: Jan. 1
• For students who start in Summer: Recommendation Due: May 1, Increase Starts, June 1

Professional Development

HuskerWork

The college is committed to providing student workers with Professional development opportunities. All supervisors who receive college student worker funding must participate in the campus HuskerWork program for all students in their first or second year of employment. Students in their third year of employment need not participate. Supervisors with external funding are encouraged, but not required to participate.

It is expected that supervisors will communicate the value of the HuskerWork Program to students, provide them with time during working hours to complete modules and participate in a reflective discussion with students about their learning.

It is expected that completion of the monthly modules will be required for all student workers in their first or second year as a condition of adequate performance in their role. Student workers are expected to complete the modules in a timely fashion, reflect on their learning and engage in discussion with their colleagues and supervisor about the program.

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