Project Supervisors and Department Managers

All Work-Study projects must:

• Qualify as a “research assistant” or “research support” position
• Include a description of duties and qualification requirements
• Have 140 hours’ worth of work for the student to complete

Projects that are “other non-continuing” are not eligible for Work-Study.

Students will be awarded 140 hours of Work-Study and cannot be scheduled for more than 140 hours over the term, for overtime, or for work on Statutory holidays or on University closure days.

Schedules must be flexible and Work-Study hours are to be scheduled around the individual student’s schedule.

Work-Study should be conducted primarily on campus, but remote work is permitted at the discretion of the supervisor and if in compliance with SFU's Hybrid Work Arrangements (HWA) Program. All required forms must be completed.

SFU Faculty members and other supervisors (must be SFU employees) are invited to submit Work-Study project proposals online during the following time periods:

Fall: June 1 to June 30
Spring: October 1 to October 31
Summer: February 1  to February 28

1. Supervisors must return the Declaration for Work-Study Project Supervisors form annually.
2. You will be notified via email once your project has been posted on the Work-Study position website for student viewing.
3. Students will contact project supervisors directly using the email address provided on the project submission form.

Eligible Work-Study students will receive a Work-Study Welcome notification by email to confirm that the student is conditionally eligible to participate in the Work-Study program. Projects are filled until the placement cutoff date or until available funding has been committed to eligible Work-Study students (whichever comes first).  More positions will be posted than filled, and you are not guaranteed to find a student for your position.

1. Once you have selected a student for your project, confirm that the student wants to commit to your project and has not already committed to another project. Students can only participate in one Work-Study project per term.
2. Send your hiring request to faws@sfu.ca (subject to final Financial Aid and Awards approval)
3. Financial Aid and Awards will complete a portion of the Payroll Appointment Form (PAF) and return to you.
4. Coordinate the completion of the hiring package with the person in your department who will enter hours to Work-Study student timesheets in the SFU Payroll System (HAP)
5. Your department will send the PAF and payroll forms directly to the HR Research People Team once complete.
6. The HR Research People Team will send the student an offer contract via DocuSign which they must sign before they begin work.
7. If either the student or project supervisor wants to end the placement, please contact the Work-Study Program immediately.

Note:  If you select an international student, you must ensure that they have a Study Permit that is valid through to the end of the placement and obtain a Social Insurance Number (SIN) prior to the start of their placement to be eligible for entry into the payroll system. Please refer students to http://www.sfu.ca/students/isap/resources.html to the Employment and Work Permits section for more information on how to receive a Social Insurance Number.

1. Once added by Payroll, your Work-Study student will appear on the PeopleSoft web-based timesheets for your department as an hourly employee.
2. Your department's timekeeper will submit their actual hours worked in the pay period using the PeopleSoft HAP web-based timesheets.
3. You must carefully record the hours worked by the student to ensure that the student's cumulative hours do not exceed 140 hours over the term. Any earnings over 140 hours will be charged back to the department.