Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Work-Study requires financial need, as determined by your financial aid application. Get a quick overview of work-study at CU Boulder.

Students are allowed to work for more than one employer using the same work-study funding; however, it's the student's responsibility to notify both employers and to keep track of earnings. The Student Employment office is not responsible for monitoring work-study earnings for students with multiple jobs.

The campus policy limits hourly student employees in all University of Colorado positions combined to a maximum of 25 hours per week or 50 hours per bi-weekly pay period during the academic year including exam weeks, spring break, and winter break; and to 40 hours per week or 80 hours per bi-weekly pay period in the summer.

If a student exceeds 25 hours one week, and compensates for it by working fewer hours the next week to stay at or below 50 hours for the entire two-week payroll period, the student will not be in violation of the policy.

All graduate students must adhere to the Graduate School policy limiting work to 20 hours a week (equivalent of 50% time) during the academic year. Further details on Graduate School policies for student employees may be found in the Graduate Student Appointment Manual.

In general, F1 and J1 international students maintaining status at CU Boulder can work on campus a maximum of 20 hours a week during school. Refer to International Student and Scholar Services for additional information.

Yes, the limit applies to any hourly student employee earning work-study and/or regular campus hourly pay (see previous notations for Graduate and International student employees), including students who work for agencies contracted under the off-campus work-study program.

Students and their supervisor(s) are responsible for ensuring that students work no more than 50 hours per pay period (80 hours per pay period in the summer) across all CU positions. Student Employment and the Office of Employee Services work together to monitor students' hours when payroll is processed and to notify students, supervisors, and payroll liaisons any time the maximum is exceeded. It's up to the student and supervisor(s) to work out a schedule that will comply with the policy.

Student Employment and the Office of Employee Services collaborate to identify students who have reported time in excess of 50 hours total for the pay period (80 hours per pay period in the summer). We will send a written warning to the student, their supervisor(s) and their payroll liaison(s) upon each violation. Repeated violations may warrant notification to the appropriate Vice Chancellor or division head.

Yes, there are two exceptions allowed by the policy: Business purpose and Academic purpose. Complete details of who is eligible and how to request each type are in the policy.

The Business purpose exception is intended for requests which are pre-planned and will be ongoing over the course of a semester. However, there may be unplanned, emergency circumstances or work of a very short duration (maximum of two pay periods) for which an exception may also need to be requested. In these situations, rather than following the procedure outlined in the policy, requesting departments may instead submit an Exception Request for Student Employee Work Hours form.

No. In the absence of an approved exception for business or academic purpose, the maximum work hour limits apply throughout the fall and spring semesters including exam weeks, spring break, and winter break.

No. Students are invited to work on campus before and/or after their time abroad, but the maximum work hour limits apply based on the period of time the student is working (i.e. fall, spring or summer).

Student employees have the flexibility within the policy to work up to 50 hours within a single bi-weekly pay period. A student employee could work up to 40 hours in one week and only 10 hours in the next to accommodate the increased need of a given week. If the total of hours does not exceed 50 for the bi-weekly pay period, the student will not be in violation of the policy.

A department may also choose to submit an Exception Request for Student Employee Work Hours form to request an exception for unplanned, emergency, or short-term needs based on documented business requirements.

Students must be paid for all hours worked, regardless of this policy. No matter the circumstances, a student who qualifies for overtime pay must be paid overtime.

Monthly appointments are assigned a percentage time and that percentage will be converted to a number of hours per week. To convert percentage time to hours, multiply the percentage time by 40. The result will be added to any hours reported on an hourly basis for that week. For example, a 50% appointment is 40 x 50% = 20 hours per week, plus 5 hours from an hourly position = 25 hours per week.

Yes, the limit applies to any hourly student employee earning work-study and/or regular campus hourly pay (see previous notations for Graduate and International student employees), including students who work for agencies contracted under the off-campus work-study program.

Yes, the limit applies to any hourly student employee earning work-study and/or regular campus hourly pay (see previous notations for Graduate and International student employees), including students who work for agencies contracted under the off-campus work-study program.