L&S Student Hourly Positions

The College of Letters and Science follows campus policy on whether someone is eligible for employment as a student hourly employee at UW-Madison: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-5003.

The department is responsible for verifying the student hourly employee's eligibility and maintaining documentation of verification. 

The College of Letters & Science student hourly minimum rate is $10.00 per hour and the maximum rate is $25.00 per hour. Decisions to pay more than $20.00 per hour should only be considered if the student worker will be performing advanced level work that requires specialized knowledge, skills or abilities. If the work requires the skills of a graduate student, then a student hourly appointment is not appropriate. 

A graduate student can be employed as a student hourly as long as the expertise of a graduate student is not needed to carry out the assigned duties. If the expertise of a graduate student is required, then the student should be employed as a project assistant (graduate assistant appointment) rather than student hourly. If a position was once filled as a project assistantship, it should not subsequently be filled by a graduate student as a student hourly unless the original designation was incorrect or the work is substantially different. If the position is appropriate as a project assistant, and it is a short-term position or an FTE cannot be set for the appointment, an “H-Basis” Project Assistant may be possible. These appointments do not have an FTE assigned to them, they are hourly nonexempt status, and the person fills out a timesheet and is paid only for hours worked. Please contact HR Associate Director Laura Fisk in these situations for review and approval.

It is extremely important that every department have a process set up to ensure that graduate students are not inappropriately paid as student hourlies (e.g., department could continue to require faculty to submit justification to the payroll staff for all student hourlies whose rate is over $20.00 per hour). Please consult with Laura Fisk if there are questions about the appropriate employment designations.