Student Employment

Unless restricted by program requirements, all students are eligible for all on-campus jobs, regardless of their financial status. International students (non-resident aliens) may not work off-campus unless they have applied for and received work authorization from the United States government. An F-1 visa does not grant work authorization. Off-campus work study positions are available only to US citizens on financial aid with a federal work study component.

All students are required to complete an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form and a W-4 federal tax withholding form at the Student Employment Office after they’ve been offered employment but before they begin working.

Here is a list of acceptable documents (mandated by the Department of Homeland Security) necessary to complete the I-9 form. Please note that the documents you choose to provide must be unexpired and we must see them in their original form; photocopies will not be accepted. Bring these documents with you when you come to the Student Employment Office to complete this paperwork. Students cannot work or be paid until this paperwork has been completed.

Students employees get paid semimonthly on the 7th and 22nd of every month; but, if the pay date falls on a weekend, students will be paid the Friday prior to the weekend. All students get their pay through a direct deposit that is directly routed to their bank account. However, students will get their first check payment in the mail, so please make sure to deposit this check. All other checks should be direct deposit but a voucher/pay statement will still be sent to the student’s mailbox. If you want to go paperless, you can do so by selecting the Go Paperless option in your timesheet account (accessible through the internal Portal).

Federal Work Study is awarded to students as part of their financial aid package. Awards are based on financial need and available funding and it comes from the Office of Financial Aid. Having Federal Work Study does not guarantee on-campus employment; students must participate in the recruitment process by applying to current on-campus job opportunities.

Any student awarded Federal Work Study is eligible to work on campus. Since there are limited jobs available for students, there is no priority given to those with a Federal Work Study. There is no guarantee of a job for a student with Federal Work Study. The student will have to apply as other students to find a job.

Students that are awarded Federal Work Study can get paid for an off-campus internship for as long as they have funds available. Students with an off-campus internship paid with Federal Work Study funds must submit paper timesheets. The timesheets will be provided by the Human Resources office per each semester.

Students are able to keep more than one job, but may only work up to 20 hours a week while enrolled in classes during an active session.

Students are limited to 20 hours of work per week during the academic school year; however, the limit increases to 40 hours a week when school is not in session. It’s important to note that the amount of hours you can work per week is also dependent on the type of job you have. The availability of hours will depend on the budget of each area.

Soka provides free transportation within a five-mile radius from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The shuttle departs every 30 minutes and may travel a bit further than a five-mile radius if a special request is filled out beforehand through the internal Portal.

In order to get hired and paid, you will need to provide your social security number. Human Resources will provide you with the necessary letters to apply for a Social Security card once you have been offered a job on campus.