Student Employment Manual

This Student Employment Manual provides information related to hiring and working with student employees. If you are not able to find the answer to your question here, please contact MSU Student Employment.

Definition of a Student Employee

A student employee is a part-time employee who is an active student at Michigan State University and whose primary purpose for being at the University is the achievement of a degree or certification. During summer semester, an individual may be a student employee if s/he has been admitted/readmitted and is active for summer or fall semester classes. Student employees are considered at-will employees, and their employment is interim or temporary and incidental to the pursuit of a degree or certification.

This definition excludes students who are employed as academic support personnel such as Graduate Assistants, Undergraduate Assistants, Assistant Instructors, and Academic Advisors. Questions concerning the employment of students in these categories should be directed to the Office of the Provost, the appropriate Vice President, or Dean.

Last Workable Days of the Semester

Since the Campus Solution integration, we no longer have a “date” in which a graduating student can remain in a student position. Upon degree conferral and the subsequent status of a student changing from active to inactive will result in a termination notification from Human Resources that will be sent out to the employing unit(s).

Units do not have to wait for degree conferral to move students into a TOC position. The change from student to temporary or on-call employment can be processed using the Student to TOC exemption process. The exemption process can be done without a posted position, so long as the position is in the same org with the same duties and there is no break in service between the two positions.

Introduction

MSU Student Employment assists students in obtaining jobs to help defray the cost of a college education; to provide an equitable personnel-practices program; to efficiently bring together the available student work force with the jobs available; to provide students with career-related work where possible; and to provide an equal opportunity to all students seeking employment. MSU Student Employment functions include:

• All student employee hiring;
• Presenting workshops on various student employment-related topics;
• Acting as a liaison to resolve student employee work-related concerns;
• Coordinating the annual Student Employee of the Year Recognition Program;