Student Employment Guide for Students:

Student employees may work a maximum of 19 hours per week on average. Students may have more than one position on campus; however, the combined hours may not exceed the weekly maximum. During quarter breaks you may work up to fulltime (40 hours per week) if you were enrolled fulltime the previous quarter and will be enrolled fulltime the following quarter.

The 19 hour requirement has its roots in several different sources:

1) Research indicates that students working fewer than 20 hours per week perform at least as well academically as students who do not work. While some students choose to work more than 20 hours per week using off-campus employment situations, it would be inconsistent to have an institutional employment policy that is potentially detrimental to the academic progress of students.

2) Public higher education institutions are permitted to use a Student FICA exception if a student qualifies for the exception from the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax. Among the conditions to use the FICA exception is the requirement that student employees are not career employees. Evidence that demonstrates a student employee is not a career employee includes part time employment at fewer than 20 hours per week.

3) The 19 hour per week employment policy is consistent with the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) regulation that requires State Work Study students to work no more than 19 hours per week.