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Student Employment

Handshake

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Apply for on- and off-campus jobs, make advising appointments, and view job application resources.

Student Timesheets

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You can enter your hours worked for payroll via the student timesheets. See also timesheet due dates and pay dates.

ADP

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View pay and tax statements and make direct deposit elections. Not familiar with ADP? Check out the user guide.

The Student Employment Handbook offers complete guidelines to working on campus. Brief summaries of important topics are below.

Still have questions? Contact campusjobs@bennington.edu.

Work Eligibility

All students may apply for jobs on campus, but students with work allotments as part of their financial aid package (which includes Federal Work Study recipients as well as international students with work awards as part of their financial aid) receive early access to opportunities, in the summer prior to the start of their campus job. Students without work allotments may apply in early Fall. Students must be studying on-campus to hold a campus job. Nearly all campus jobs have been restructured as year-long positions, meaning that work-eligible students will be automatically rehired to continue their fall campus job(s) in the spring.

Each eligible student may be approved for one job, or a maximum of 7-8 hours/week. If a student or supervisor is unable to meet these weekly hours on a regular basis, please contact campusjobs@bennington.edu so that we can note this and assist with any needed scheduling adjustments. For students who wish to work more hours, a second job is permitted, totaling 16 hours per week. If needed to make up for work shift coverage, students are permitted to flex hours in a given week up to 20 hours per week, which is the cap set in TimesheetX--but the ongoing weekly student cap is 16 hours.

For students with allotments, student employment is an eligibility based on financial need and must be earned. Because students are not required to accept their work eligibility, these funds are not applied to tuition and fees but will be paid to the student on a biweekly basis in accordance with the number of hours worked. Earnings from student employment are theirs to spend on supplies and personal expenses. If a student does not earn the full amount indicated by their financial aid package, it will not be replaced by other forms of aid.

If you have questions about your work award status, please contact financial aid or review your aid award on My Financial Aid.

Finding a Job on Handshake

All available campus positions will be posted on Handshake—no positions will be hired outside of the Handshake system. From Handshake, go to the “Jobs” tab and click “On-Campus” directly below the search bar. Just click on the title of any job you are interested in to learn more about an available position, including wage, skills required, hours available, supervisor name, and application considerations.

Positions on campus are for one year only (fall and spring term; summer and winter hired separately) unless otherwise specified. Between academic years, all students must re-apply for positions.

Applying for Jobs on Handshake

Handshake makes it easy to apply for jobs—just click “Apply” and follow the instructions for each position. All positions require resumes, and some may require cover letters and extra documents such as course schedules. For support in writing or editing your resume, book an appointment with a member of the Career Development and FWT Office on Handshake, or drop into the Office to work with our staff during our weekly drop-in hours. 

Hiring coordinators will review all submitted applications and select finalists for each role. If you do not hear back from the positions to which you applied, you may want to broaden the scope of roles that you apply to, as some positions are in very high demand. If you have questions about the status of your application, please contact  the supervisor(s) for the position(s) for more information, using the supervisor contact details provided in all Fall 2023 listings.

For some positions, a hiring coordinator may want to set up an interview if interested in your application. As with your resume, how you interview is a key factor in a hiring coordinator’s decision. We strongly encourage you to book an interview practice session with a FWT advisor and/or to check out our interview resources.

Getting Paid

Before your first day of work and in order to be added to the payroll, you must complete three federal forms and provide relevant ID (see below) and upload this paperwork via the Eligibility to Work Form. First-year international students: The International Student Services Office will be in touch with you with details about obtaining your U.S. Social Security Number so that you can complete the required paperwork. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Alison (Young Eun) Cho, Associate Director of International Student and Scholar Advising. Students who have worked on campus in the past do not need to file these forms every year. They only need to re-file the W-4 form if they previously filed “exempt,” or if their tax status has changed significantly in some other way.

Form W-4. This is a federal tax-withholding form and all students who are working must have one on file. Essentially, this is how you tell the government how much should be withheld from each paycheck for tax purposes. The College cannot tell you how to complete this, so if you can, complete it before arriving with help from family or an accountant/tax advisor. Print the W-4 form, complete it as instructed, and bring the original to campus. Remember to keep a copy for your own records. Complete this form in ink. Hand signature is required on this form.

Form W-4VT. This is a state tax-withholding form and needs to be completed in addition to the federal W-4.

Form I-9. This is an employment-eligibility form that is generally required by the government for everyone who is employed in the U.S. In order to complete the form so you are eligible to work, you must bring original identification documents with the form to campus in the event you need to turn it in. If requested, we will need to see the actual documents and cannot accept photocopies or faxes. There is a complete list of acceptable identification types attached to the form.

Successful processing of your I-9 and W-4 will allow you to submit your timesheets online and collect wages. You can record your hours throughout the week and save the form each time, but note that timesheets will not be processed for payment until you submit them. If you are interested in direct deposit, you can select that option in your ADP profile; in the absence of direct deposit, paychecks are delivered to campus mailboxes. See list of timesheet due dates and pay dates.

Using a Campus Job as a Field Work Term

The following students may submit a campus job worked during the academic year (fall and spring), winter or summer for consideration as a Field Work Term. Students can only submit a campus job ONCE during their four years at Bennington:

  • First Years (winter and summer only); international students must wait till summer to be CPT-eligible
  • Second Years and Juniors (academic year, winter or summer) who have not previously registered a campus job as a FWT experience

Seniors graduating in May 2024 who need to make up a deficit in FWT experiences in order to graduate on time (academic year only)
(Note: this will not be an option for future graduating classes)

NEW Deadline for Registering Campus Jobs as FWT

STEP 1: Students intending to submit a campus job as FWT must:

  • Meet with their supervisor to discuss this*
  • Submit their registration on Handshake by October 1, 2023

STEP 2: The Career Development and FWT Team will review and approve the registration

STEP 3: The campus job supervisor will approve the registration

In order to count as a FWT, a campus job must meet all of the usual requirements, including connection to a student's learning goals, and completion of at least 200 hours over the course of the academic year.

*The campus job supervisor, when asked to supervise a student seeking a FWT experience, is required to provide additional mentorship and evaluative responsibilities beyond those  of some campus jobs. If the supervisor does not feel able to supervise a FWT, the student should reach out to the FWT Office  for help securing a different FWT option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have more than one job?

Campus jobs are designed to each offer 7-8 hours per week, which is the maximum number of hours each student may work, and the number of hours needed to reach the typical $1,150-per-term campus allotment. This is intended as a support to students so that you can meet your work allotment through a single job. To help meet hiring gaps, work-eligible students who wish to obtain a second 7-8 hour weekly job (totaling 14-16 hours weekly) can now be approved to do so, after completing the two-question Google Form that was shared with all eligible students.

What is the hourly rate of pay?

The great majority of campus jobs are paid at Vermont's minimum wage, which is $13.18. A small handful of campus jobs that carry supervisory responsibilities pay more than minimum wage, and this is marked on their Handshake listings in cases where it applies.

How many hours can I work?

Students can work a maximum of 2 jobs per term. Most positions offer 7-8 hours/week, which is also the number of hours needed to reach the typical $1,150-per-term campus allotment.

How do I get paid?

As you work during the term, complete your online timesheets showing the hours you have worked during the current (usually two-week) pay period. Make sure to click "submit" on your timesheet(s) by the payroll deadline. Please refer to the full payroll schedule. Your paycheck is sent to your College mailbox, or you may have your check deposited directly in your bank account. To view your past pay statements, log in to your ADP account.

Can I work if I don't have a work allotment in my financial aid package?

All students may apply for jobs on campus, but work-allotted students have early access to available jobs and can apply in summer. Students without work allotments will have access to campus jobs closer to the start of the academic year.

Can I work if I am studying remotely?

For students with allotments, student employment is an eligibility based on financial need and must be earned. Because students are not required to accept their work eligibility, these funds are not applied to tuition and fees but will be paid to the student on a biweekly basis in accordance with the number of hours worked. Earnings from student employment are theirs to spend on supplies and personal expenses. If a student does not earn the full amount indicated by their financial aid package, it will not be replaced by other forms of aid.

Can I do Federal Work Study (FWS) during the winter/summer break or Field Work Term?

By federal policy, FWS funds are not available during FWT and summer. A limited number of campus employment positions are available on campus over FWT and summer, but are paid as regular-pay wages. If you are hired for a job over FWT or the summer, the money you make will not count towards your FWS allotment.

Are my earnings, even Federal Work-Study (FWS), taxable?

Yes. Student earnings, including FWS earnings, are considered earned income and are therefore subject to all applicable taxes. Additionally, please be aware that earnings appearing on your tax statements also affect your FAFSA, and may therefore affect your financial aid status. If you are concerned about this happening, please consult the Financial Aid Office for details.

Can I work off campus?

International students should see International Student Services to discuss their eligibility for working off campus. The U.S. students who wish to supplement their campus earnings, or who are not eligible to work on campus, can seek employment in and around Bennington and search for remote opportunities on Handshake. There are also a few local off campus organizations that offer FWS-eligible positions. Because they are FWS-eligible, they will be listed on Handshake as “On-Campus” jobs even though they are off-site.

What is the College’s nondiscrimination policy?

Please review Bennington College's nondiscrimination policy