Fitchburg State College
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Payroll: Student Workers


Student Worker Guidelines

Students may not work more than 20 hrs per week when classes are in session and 40 hrs per week when classes are not in session. (i.e. school vacation, winter break, etc.)

Student Pay Rates:
  • $8.00/hour Fall/Winter/Spring
  • $9.00/hour Paraprofessional
  • $9.50/hour Summer
  • $10.50/hour Summer Paraprofessional

Students claiming exempt status on their Federal Taxes must complete a new W-4 form each calendar year. Students on school break (e.g.,summer) over 5 weeks are subject to Medicare tax unless enrolled in summer school for at least 3 credits.

All International Students must meet with the International Office and an International Student Payroll Verification Form must be completed and submitted to the Payroll Office along with completed tax forms. Form 8233 may be required as part of a treaty agreement. Any stipends paid to International Students must be broken down into hourly increments to be in compliance with USCIS.


Paperwork

Before a student can begin work, required forms (listed below) must be completed and submitted to the Payroll Office.  Download from Forms Section.

  • Student Authorization For Employment
  • Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification with copies of valid IDs
  • Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate 
    IRS regulations require employers to remind employees to review their W-4 status annually and to file a new W-4 if necessary. Click on the following link to find helpful tools: W-4 Notification (PDF)
  • Form M-4 Massachusetts Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate. 

Direct Deposit

Students are encouraged to sign up for direct deposit. It's free and easy. No more lost, stolen or misplaced checks. Your paychecks will be automatically deposited each payday into your bank account. Direct Deposit forms may be downloaded from the forms section and must be submitted directly to the Payroll Office. Coming in July, electronic pay advices will be available as a companion to direct deposit.

Students have the option to pick up their pay checks in the Payroll Office after 12:00 noon on Friday of pay week. All paychecks and paper pay advices are held for one week and mailed to the student's home address the following Friday.

All student workers must complete an "Authorization For Employment" form prior to working. Supervisors are responsible for completing the form including signatures of both the Supervisor and Employee with appropriate dates and account numbers. A form must be completed for each position held and a new form must be completed at the beginning of each fiscal year. Fiscal year is from July 1, through June 30th of the following year.


Time Sheets

Since Students are paid only for hours worked, a student will not be processed on a payroll without a signed Personal Services Voucher. Work must be completed and vouchers signed by supervisor. All payment vouchers must be submitted to the payroll office on the Monday following the end of the pay period no later than 9:00 AM.

The Voucher must include:

  • Hours Worked
  • Hourly Wage
  • Account Number
  • Employee's Signature (If applicable*, see below for guidelines)
  • Supervisor's Signature
  • Dates

*Guidelines for student signatures: In order to make the attendance process easier for Supervisors, a weekly time log or attendance sheet with the student signature may be maintained at the department level. Please be aware that if the Department chooses this option, these signed time logs and records must be maintained for a minimum of seven (7) years for auditing purposes as mandated by law. If an attendance log is not maintained, students are required to sign the "Personal Services Voucher" prior to submitting to the Payroll Office.

The Personal Services Voucher is a two-part attendance record. The white copy should be submitted to Payroll for processing and the yellow copy should be retained by the originating department for their records. Only Supervisors or College Staff (not students) may deliver the vouchers to the Payroll Office. Blank vouchers may be obtained from the Payroll Office as needed.


Personal Information Changes

Changes to your personal information, (such as name change, address change, etc.) must be reported to the Payroll Office as soon as possible.

Address Correction/Change Form (Download from Form Section)


Payroll Schedule

The Student Payroll is currently processed using ADP on a bi-weekly schedule. The following printable calendar lists payroll dates for ADP paid employees.  Please note, the pay weeks are listed with even numbers. (i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8).

ADP Pay Calendar for 2008 (PDF)