An individual enrolled as a degree-seeking student and holding an hourly appointment that supports a college or business unit within Cornell University.

A student employee serves only during the period for which he or she was hired. Employment during any period creates no expectancy of future employment. 

Part-time, hourly student employment opportunities are posted to the student job board in Workday.  HRWKD 3400 Workday Student Employment and HRWKD 3500 Workday Student Recruiting are courses intended for Cornell employers that wish to recruit and hire student employees for internal jobs at the university. Additional support, including job aids and training videos, is available on Working at Cornell – Workday Help Managing Student Workers. The use of Federal Work Study funding requires that the student employee is hired from an approved job requisition. Please visit Work-Study to learn more. 

Students search for and apply for part time jobs in Workday on the student job board. Locating the student job board in Workday is simple – type “Find Jobs Student” in search bar on Workday and click on the search result to view part-time, hourly jobs for students at Cornell University. 

During the initial thirty-day period of employment in each university department, a student employee serves in a probationary status. An employing department may extend the probationary period for an additional thirty days. At any time during the probationary period, a student employee may be terminated at the sole discretion of the university. Such a termination is not an act of discipline. 

Students are responsible for reporting to work on time for every scheduled shift. If a student cannot work because of an illness or an emergency or will be late to work, the student must notify their supervisor as soon as possible before the shift begins. Departments may require a student who is unable to work during any portion of a regularly scheduled shift to find a substitute. Occasionally, situations arise in which a student employee must miss work for reasons other than sickness, the most common such reason is an academic conflict. Student employees are expected to make every effort to plan academic, personal, and work schedules that do not conflict. Potential conflicts should be discussed well in advance with supervisors. Tardiness and failure to provide adequate notice of absence (as determined by the supervisor) are considered grounds for disciplinary action.

Student employee work shifts and work assignments are determined at the discretion of the employing Cornell department. Departments requiring students to work over fall, winter, or spring breaks must inform student employees of this requirement at the time of the job offer. Similarly, if students are expected to continue to work past the end of the term or return to work before the beginning of a term, departments are required to inform students of this at the time of their offer of employment.

Student employees that require an accommodation to perform their job duties should visit Student Disability Services.

Rates of hourly student employees are determined by the student employee Job and Wage Classification System. The system provides for several job levels into which all hourly student jobs are classified. Students who are rehired to a position at the same level must receive a wage that is not less than their previous wage plus any merit increments that were awarded during their former tenure in the department

Job levels are categories encompassing general duties, expectations of responsibilities, and job titles. Each job level has a range wage. A promotion occurs when a current employee is appointed to a position at a higher job level. If a promotion occurs within the same department, the student employee will be appointed at a wage within the basic wage range of the new job, or at the wage of the old job, plus any increments, plus $.05 per hour, whichever is higher. A student who receives a promotion by accepting a job at a higher level in another department is hired at a pay rate within the discretion of the university. A current employee who accepts a position in another department at a lower job level is appointed at a pay rate within the basic wage range of the lower job level. A student who is appointed to a lower job level within the same department must be paid a rate within the basic range plus all the increments that they have been previously awarded. Changes in job levels may be processed at any time during an employment period.

Cornell employers may elect to award merit increases to student employees. A student’s performance during the fall, spring, or summer term that is judged to exceed job expectations may be considered for a merit increment. In job situations with routine tasks, qualities such as reliability, dependability, attitude, and motivation should be taken into account in determining whether a student employee will receive merit increment. Managers should seek approval from their respective college or unit leadership before awarding a merit increase to a student employee.
 

The university reserves the right to compensate student employees at rates of pay other than those expressed in the wage scale as, in its judgment, special circumstances may require. Exceptions to the wages and merit limits set by the student employee wage scale require approval by the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment before an offer of employment is made to a student. Requests should be made in writing to the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment. The final decision on all wage exceptions rests with the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment. Wage exceptions may be made for an individual student or for a particular job within a department.
 

Student employees are required to enter the hours they have worked in Workday. For a student to be paid, the hours worked must be entered, submitted, and approved by the supervisor or payroll representative according to the published payroll schedule. Those actions are the responsibility of the student. The time entered must be an accurate account of the hours worked. Supervisors must certify the accuracy of the time entered. The supervisor who approves the employee’s time must have personal knowledge of the hours worked by the employee. Deliberate falsification of a timecard by any student employee is grounds for dismissal.
 

The standard work week for the university begins Thursday at midnight and ends at 11:59 p.m. the following Wednesday. Employees are paid on a biweekly basis, with checks issued on alternate Thursdays. Students, like other overtime-eligible employees, will receive their paychecks one week after the close of the pay period.

Cornell employers are strongly encouraged to conduct periodic evaluations of their student employees’ performance. The method of evaluation is determined by the employment department. The criteria on which student employees are to be evaluated must be available to student employees. Evaluations of job performance should be conducted by the employee’s immediate supervisor. 

Employers who want to use a standard performance appraisal instrument may obtain sample copies of such a form from the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment.

Student employees must have an opportunity to comment on the evaluation of their job performance. In addition to providing regular feedback on job performance, evaluations are used in determining merit increments to a student employee’s hourly wage. A student who did not receive a written performance evaluation from their supervisor and was not awarded a merit increment may request a written evaluation. The substance of this evaluation of student employee job performance is not subject to grievance procedures.
 

A student employee who takes a break from work for twelve months or more is generally considered to be a new hire on returning to a previous department and therefore will be appointed at a pay rate within the basic wage range for the job. Departments should request exceptions in writing. The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment must approve such exceptions. Students who have a break in service of more than 12 months must complete a new Form I-9.

The employment of a student may be terminated at any time for financial or program reasons as determined at the sole discretion of the department. Departments whose hiring of student employees depends on the student’s eligibility for wage subsidies (i.e., Federal Work Study funding) must inform the students at the time of their appointment to the payroll. Students who want to resign their positions should provide at least two weeks’ notice to their supervisors.

In cases where disciplinary action is required because of unsatisfactory performance or attendance, or because of misconduct, the following procedures should be used.

Initial action should be in the form of oral discussion and warning. Such action is encouraged before a formal written disciplinary notice is prepared. That notice should detail the extent of the problem, suggest courses of corrective action (where appropriate), the time period for resolution, and the penalty or sanction to be imposed. At the time the notice is prepared, the employee is to be advised that they may request confidential counseling at the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment concerning the problem. A notice that contains a penalty or sanction may be the subject of a grievance action (see Student Employee Grievances).

When deemed appropriate by the employing department, a student employee may be suspended without pay; the suspension must be in writing. In no event should a suspended employee be permitted to return to work before an investigation is made and a consultation with the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment occur.

Discharge, the final disciplinary step, ordinarily must be preceded by a discussion with the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment. Major offenses, however, such as insubordination, assault, or theft, are grounds for immediate discharge. The commission of such major offenses must be documented.
 

Student employees and Cornell employers are encouraged to discuss any work-related problems before commencing disciplinary action or a formal grievance. The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment and the Office of the University Ombudsman are always available to assist in resolving work-related problems. Should informal methods of resolution fail, a student employee may formally grieve an alleged violation of student employment policies under the terms of the student employee grievance procedure. 

Student employees are paid overtime at a rate of one and a half times the regular rate of pay for work in excess of forty hours in a standard work week. The standard work week begins Thursday at midnight and ends the following Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. A student employee who works for more than one Cornell department must be paid overtime if their total service to university departments during a work week exceeds forty hours. According to university policy, the position(s) that exceeds 40 hours a week will be charged for overtime payments. Overtime earnings will not be funded through Federal Work Study funds; any overtime accrued will be reversed from the FWS account and charged back to the employing department at 100%.

The New York State Paid Sick Leave law establishes the right to paid leave for all individuals who receive an IRS Form W-2 from a private sector entity in New York regardless of industry, occupation, part-time status, and overtime exempt status. To learn more about NYS Paid Sick Leave, please visit Working at Cornell – Time Off and Leaves Holiday and Accrued Time Off. 

Workers' compensation provides benefits to employees for injuries or illnesses arising out of and in the course of employment. Contact Medical Leaves Administration at 607-255-1177 or wcds-mailbox@cornell.edu, in the Division of Human Resources, for more details.

Short-term disability benefits provide income continuation for employees who are unable to work due to a non-job-related illness or injury. Contact Medical Leaves Administration at 607-255-1177 or wcds-mailbox@cornell.edu, in the Division of Human Resources, for more details.

Telephones and all other university materials and resources present at a work site are for business use only and are not to be used for personal matters. All proprietary and other information concerning the business and affairs of the university and its clients should remain private and confidential and should not be repeated to others or used for personal gain. With a founding principle of “... any person ... any study,” Cornell is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

During work hours, student employees are required to perform their work assignments. Homework, reading, and other personal work are not permitted during work hours.

Student employees must also adhere to the University Policy 8.7, Smoking and Using Electronic Cigarettes.

Requirements for attire are determined at the discretion of the employing department and should be communicated at the time of the job offer.

Under New York State Law, the department must provide and the student employee must take a meal period as outlined under these guidelines:

Lunch Periods - Students are allowed at least thirty minutes for the noonday meal. The noon-day meal period is recognized as extending from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. An employee who works a shift of more than six hours, which extends over the noon-day meal period, is entitled to at least 30 minutes off within that period for the meal period.

Other Meal Periods - Students employed for a period or shift starting before 11:00 a.m. and continuing later than 7:00 p.m. shall be allowed an additional meal period of at least 20 minutes between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

If a particular work schedule is not covered in the above examples, then whenever a student works a shift of more than six hours, a minimum 30-minute meal period must be taken approximately mid-way between the start and end of that shift.

Sexual harassment, such as unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, or unwanted conduct of a sexual nature (e.g., verbal, graphic, physical), is a violation of federal and state laws and Cornell Policy 6.4, Prohibited Bias, Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual and Related Misconduct. The Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX and the Office of Workforce Policy and Labor Relations are available to assist all student employees with questions or concerns about sexual and/ or gender-based harassment. Students may also make a report at the Cornell Guardian.