Important Guidance for Hiring Federal Work-Study Students in FY27

Dear Colleagues,

As the 2026-2027 Federal Work-Study (FWS) academic year gets underway, we want to provide additional guidance regarding the hiring and onboarding of Work-Study students.

The process for hiring a student through the Federal Work-Study system has not changed. However, there are important changes to how Work-Study appointments are reflected and managed in the HR/PeopleSoft system (PAC). We recognize that some of these changes were not communicated as clearly as they could have been when the new process was introduced earlier this year, so we are providing additional clarification below.

Hiring a Work-Study Student
Departments should continue to post positions and hire eligible students through the Federal Work-Study system (JobX/TimesheetX).

Departments should not initiate a separate PAC hire for the student's Work-Study position.

When completing the hire in JobX, departments should carefully review the information entered for the student, particularly the Department Number and funding information. This information is transmitted to PAC and is used to establish the student's Work-Study appointment and combo code.

Once the student is hired through the FWS system:

1. The JobX hire information is transmitted through a daily interface.
2. The information provided in JobX is used to establish the student's Work-Study appointment in PAC.
3. The appointment is established under the hiring department, using the Department Number and funding information entered during the JobX hire.
4. Once the appointment has been processed, the student's job will be visible to the department in PAC.
    

Because the information entered in JobX is used downstream in PAC, departments should verify that the Department Number and funding information are accurate before completing the hire.

IMPORTANT: The departmental work-study combo code must have a natural account of 54400.  Please ensure that you select the correct combo code.  If the combo code has a different natural account, the department portion of the student payment will be defaulted to the department’s suspense account.

Tax Forms
The hiring department/supervisor is responsible for providing and collecting the student's federal and state tax forms (W-4 and applicable state tax forms).

Once the student's Work-Study appointment is available in PAC, the department should submit the completed tax forms through MSS Paper Transactions.

A PAF is not required with the tax forms. The student's hire has already been established through the Work-Study interface, so only the applicable tax forms need to be submitted through MSS Paper Transactions.

I-9 Processing
The I-9 process remains with the Federal Work-Study Office.

The Work-Study Office will continue to contact students regarding I-9 requirements, complete the I-9 process, and approve the student's hire in the Federal Work-Study system.

Departments should therefore distinguish between:

• Tax forms (W-4/state forms): Department responsibility
• Form I-9: Federal Work-Study Office responsibility
   

Time Entry and Approval
For on-campus Work-Study students, students enter and submit their time through TLAM, and supervisors review and approve Work-Study timesheets through TLAM.

Off-campus Work-Study students will continue to enter and submit time through TimesheetX, and supervisors will continue to approve time through the FWS system.

During the academic year, students may work no more than 20 hours per week across all active University jobs, unless otherwise permitted during designated break periods.

Questions regarding Work-Study eligibility, the FWS system, or I-9 processing should continue to be directed to the Federal Work-Study Office at [email protected].

For any questions not addressed here, please contact the Human Resources Service Desk at (212) 851-2888 or via https://columbia.service-now.com/navpage.do.

Quick Reminder
The most important points to remember are:

• Hire the student through JobX - not separately in PAC.
• Verify the Department Number and funding information before completing the JobX hire. This information is used to establish the appointment and combo code in PAC.
• W-4 and state tax forms are the department's responsibility; the I-9 remains with the Work-Study Office.
• On-campus Work-Study students use TLAM for time entry and approval; off-campus Work-Study students continue to use TimesheetX.
   

Please refer to the accompanying Federal Work-Study Hiring & Onboarding Quick Guide for a process overview and answers to frequently asked questions.

Thank you for your partnership and for helping ensure a smooth start to the academic year.

Regards,

Sheila Amato
Executive Director, HRPC
HR Information Services

Nida Williams, CPA, Ed.D.
Executive Director, SFS
Accounting & Business Management