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L&S Student Hourly Positions
This document contains information about Student Hourly positions.
Many departments employ student hourly assistants. These appointments are often essential to departmental functioning and, at the same time, provide an important means of support for students.
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 and the maximum rate is $15.00 per hour without prior approval. Requests to pay more than $15.00 per hour will be considered only if the student worker will be performing advanced level work that requires specialized knowledge, skills or abilities. However, if the work requires the skills of a graduate student, then a student hourly appointment is not appropriate. Send student hourly rate requests that exceed $15.00 to your HR Associate Director.
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 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 a short-term position, an hourly Project Assistant may be possible; please contact Laura Fisk in these situations.
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 $10.00). Please consult with Laura Fisk if there are questions about the appropriate employment designations.
Last updated 1.21.2022