Student Hiring Information

Additional Resources

Handshake Information and Login

Student Employment Portal

Form I-9 Acceptable Documents

Approving Hours in eTime

Navigating eTime

Student Employee Hours Process

Student Employee Hiring & Onboarding Process Training

Onboarding Checklist for Student Employees

Helpful Videos

Creating an Employer Account on Handshake

How to Post an On-Campus Job

Job Posting

Investing in the job posting preparation is the first step in finding and retaining the best candidates. This includes creating, reviewing and/or updating the job posting, registering as an employer on Handshake, posting the position, and finding creative ways to spread the word about the job opportunity.

Create a job posting to describe the responsibilities, minimum and preferred qualifications, rate, hours, and duration of the job to attract the best student candidates.
Use Handshake, WCU’s online job portal where undergraduate and graduate students can apply for both non-Federal Work Study and Federal Work Study positions.
Start by registering your employer profile in Handshake to promote your position and engage with students at WCU.
Post the position on Handshake.
We also encourage you to spread the word about the position in other ways.

Selection

During the selection process, the Hiring Manager reviews applications and interviews candidates using job-related qualifications. Selection should be timely, consistent, and efficient to secure the strongest candidates and leave applicants with a positive impression of employment at WCU.

Be intentional when creating interview questions. Questions should be job-related to assess the knowledge, skills, abilities and experiences of the students.
Think fair and equitable. All candidates should be asked the same interview questions and allotted the same amount of time.
Schedule and complete interviews.

Offer

Once the Hiring Manager has selected a candidate, an offer can be made. When the student accepts the offer, the Hiring Manager should submit a hiring request through the Student Employment Portal to initiate the onboarding process.

Extend the offer and communicate job details such as start date, end date, hours, pay rate, dress code, and other job-related information.
Submit a Hiring Request through the Student Employment Portal once the offer is accepted to initiate the onboarding process.

Onboarding

The onboarding process integrates students into their positions and can include steps like signing contracts, completing hiring forms, background check clearances, in-person I-9 verification, departmental onboarding, and trainings.

A contract is an employment agreement that must be signed and returned to accept a Federal Work Study (FWS) position or Graduate Assistantship. Operating Budget and Grant Funded positions do not receive a contract. A student will not be onboarded in our systems until the contract is signed.
Tell students to look for emails from DocuSign. All forms are sent through DocuSign and must be completed before a student can start working. If a student has questions hire forms, please encourage them to contact Student Employment or visit the Office of Human Resources.
Tell students to check their WCU email account for emails from the WCU Compliance Department and CBY Professional Services, automation@instascreen.net. Students who are required to complete background check clearances and do not have valid clearances on file from previous employment through WCU payroll or PASSHE will be prompted with emails to start the clearance process. The three (3) mandatory clearances are: PA State Police Clearance, PA Child Abuse Clearance, and FBI Clearance.
For the student employment positions that require background check clearances, no employee is permitted to begin work until all three (3) clearances (Child Abuse Clearance, PA State Police Check, and FBI Check) are completed and submitted to the Compliance Department for review. The Compliance Department will not accept any clearances conducted outside of the WCU process.
Remind new student employees to bring the original (unexpired) copies of their I-9 documents to Human Resources to verify their employment eligibility in person. Many students do not have their original copies on campus so please emphasize that in-person verification of original documents is needed on or before the first day of work.
There are three locations available to complete the in-person I-9 verification:
- Visit the Office of Human Resources Monday through Friday from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm with your I-9 document(s). No appointment necessary; OR
- Visit the WCU Philadelphia Center with your I-9 document(s); OR
- Visit a local notary with your I-9 document(s) to complete the in-person I-9 verification process. WCU will accept an original, notarized Form I-9 because the notary is verifying the original document(s) on our behalf. Please be sure copies of identification are included. The completed, notarized I-9 should be sent to WCU-HR, 201 Carter Drive, Suite 100, West Chester, PA 19383.
Departmental Onboarding helps new employees understand the culture, expectations, operational procedures, and communication preferences within their hiring department. Employees learn the performance expectations of their new role and how it contributes to departmental goals that support the University’s mission. This important step helps new employees feel welcomed into their new positions and part of something bigger. We encourage you to discuss job expectations, work schedule, pay, dress code, parking, time off practices, best ways to communicate, and any departmental specific information to set your student employees up for success.
All employees are required to complete Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) training. The Student FERPA Training module is assigned in D2L and should be completed in the initial days of employment. West Chester University has a legal obligation to ensure compliance with the FERPA, which governs the release of, and access to, student education records.
Student employees will be assigned mandatory compliance training in the Vector Solutions platform. To complete the training, students will follow the link in the Vector Solutions email to begin the self-paced training modules.

eTime

After students complete the required onboarding steps, they are processed in WCU’s payroll systems and eTime, where they can enter and sign their hours worked.

Notify the new employee of eTime processes.
Mark your calendar to review and sign the student employee’s hours each pay.
Remind the student to sign their hours.
Check out "APPROVING HOURS IN eTime”.

Human Resources