Number: 04-04.0
Office of Record: Human Resources
Issued By: Director of Human Resources
Approved By: Dr. Kay Schallenkamp, President
Effective Date: 02/14/2012
Replaces: 

Policy

Black Hills State University has established a student employment wage scale to help maintain equitable hiring practices across the University.  BHSU's policy is to compensate these services using the salary schedule below. The schedule provides wage ranges for different levels of responsibility without dictating specific pay rates for each job.  The schedule reflects the Federal and State minimum wage; differing knowledge, skills, and abilities; and to the degree feasible, the market demand for the area. This schedule will be modified to reflect any future changes in Federal and State wage scales.

The Human Resources Office is responsible for the classification of student jobs, with input from the Career Specialists in the Student Success Center. The Pay Classes are designed to compensate students for special knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a particular position. At no time can a student's pay rate exceed the maximum of the Pay Class, except in Pay Class III, and only with the approval of the respective Administrative Team member and the Vice President for Finance & Administration.

When students move from one position to another, the rate earned will fall within the Pay Class of the position to which they are transferring.

To insure equal pay for equal work, all student employees shall be paid according to the rates listed regardless of the source of funds from which they are paid. Compensation for student employees beyond the maximum per hour rate in Pay Class III will only be authorized with the approval of the respective Administrative Team member and the Vice President for Finance & Administration for extraordinary circumstances where expertise and the labor supply require higher rates.  The wage rate must be appropriate and reasonable in light of such factors as type of work performed and the proficiency of the employee. Pay Class IV is reserved for those cases where Black Hills State University is participating in a program involving outside entities at predetermined hourly rates.

Balancing work and responsibilities to the student’s academic program is paramount in determining the student’s work schedule.  When students are employed by more than one department on campus, it is the responsibility of those departments to coordinate hours worked and student earnings. In the rare circumstance where the student works more than 40 hours per week, the departments will share the overtime cost, the payment for which is required by federal law.

Student employment is a large part of the learning process, creating meaningful work experiences for students on campus is a key element in an overall strategy designed to foster student achievement & success.   Empirical research suggests that students who work 20 hours or less a week on campus report higher levels of engagement.  Student employees also benefit from feedback regarding their performance and its relationship to the department’s goals and mission.  The Center for Student Success has developed a tool to assist you in setting Student Employment Learning Outcomes, which is available under Forms on the HR Web page.  Wage increases at the beginning of each academic year are encouraged to recognize the students’ contributions to the mission of the department and to encourage employment retention.  Departments are encouraged to use objective criteria in determining the increase.  Either a percent increase or a set amount ($0.25/hr or 3% is typical, but is not mandated) is acceptable.

Procedures

Supervisors who wish to create/fill a student labor position must complete (or have on file) a BHSU Jacket Job Link Form and send it to Human Resources for evaluation/classification into Pay Class. Classification should be determined prior to the time of the job listing, and must be completed before a student is interviewed/selected for the position. Once a position has been established, it will be assigned a position number. In general, a position will be reviewed prior to the start of each academic year at the request of a department.  The student labor position will exist until the department requests that it be eliminated.

Departments will continue to seek approval for spending through the use of a Student Authorization  or ePAF.

In the event that a department plans to work a Federal Work Study student in excess of their FWS award, they must identify, in advance, the source of additional funds on a PAF, which will transfer the student to an Institutional Student position.  Any budgetary transfers from Operating Expenses (OE) to student labor lines must be approved by the corresponding Administrative Team member and the Vice President of Finance & Administration.  Requests for supplemental funding for student labor should be routed through the appropriate Dean or Director and then Administrative Team member.

Following are hourly wage ranges and classification descriptions for the four student wage classifications. Some examples of jobs that fall into various classifications are included in the following table. Wage rates for the classifications are subject to change due to increases in the Federal or State minimum wage.

*Wages above the maximum of Class IV require mandate by University or Board policy (Life Draw Models & Technology Fellows) or explicit approval by the Vice President for Finance & Administration.

The following table demonstrates the impact of increasing the wage rate on the number of hours per week the student will be able to work in order to spread the Federal Work Study award across the entire academic year. It is based on a $2,200 Federal Work Study award, and 32 weeks in an academic year, and is meant to serve as a guideline only.

Examples of Positions

The following are examples of position classifications. Depending on specific duties required, it is possible, for example, for a science lab assistant to be classified into Pay Class II if the position requires the individual to work independently, completing work that requires discretion, independent judgment, and latitude in decision-making.