Budget and Finance Policy and Procedure Office
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
The Office of Student Aid at The Pennsylvania State University (“University” or “Penn State”) manages most types of student financial aid, including scholarships, grants, loans, and Federal Work Study (FWS). Students apply for most financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Some Penn State and private scholarships require a separate application.
Penn State participates in the FWS Program to help students with financial need earn money through part-time jobs. These jobs are funded through a combination of federal, state, and University budgets. All federal FWS funds flow through University general ledger account 43030100, Federal Student Support.
The Office of Student Aid works with colleges and business areas to create and approve FWS positions and awards funds to eligible students. Job postings and hiring are managed through the Workday system.
This procedure explains how Penn State manages hiring, payroll, reconciliation, and reporting for the FWS Program.
Upon initial awarding at Penn State, all students who indicate an interest in participation in work-study on their application for enrollment are considered for the FWS Program for the fall and spring semesters. Continuing students are considered if they earned FWS funding in the prior award year. Students who are not offered work-study during the awarding process may request consideration.
To be considered for summer work-study, continuing students must be enrolled in at least six (6) credits and request consideration.
Students who are approved for a FWS award are notified by Student Financial Aid Award Notification (Exhibit A) issued by the Office of Student Aid.
Business areas that want to participate in the FWS Program must create a job requisition in Workday. Job titles must include the words “Work-Study.” The worker subtype must be set to “Student,” and the correct job profile code must be selected. Additional required language will be shared as needed.
The creation of a job requisition/position implies that the business area has agreed to the terms of the work-study program. Job postings should be reviewed regularly and updated or removed when no longer needed.
After a job is posted, business areas may interview students who have received a FWS award. Student eligibility can be confirmed in Workday under “External Student Data.” Eligible students may then be moved forward, declined, or selected. Offers are initiated in Workday.
Business areas should work with Human Resources to complete the hiring process and confirm start dates. Once the student completes on-boarding and passes the required background check, they may begin working.
See the Requisition and Hiring for Work-Study jobs job-aid for complete details.
Most FWS students are paid on a biweekly payroll schedule. Wages are paid through direct deposit.
Each business area must have a process for tracking hours worked. Supervisors are responsible for reviewing and approving student hours worked. Students enter their hours in Workday, and time is approved by department timekeeper or FWS manager. See the Submitting Time job-aid for students logging their hours in Workday.
Payroll processing results in the following:
Payroll vouchers are stored in eDDS and are available after payroll is completed. FWS earnings are posted to the System for Integrated Management, Budget, and Accounting (SIMBA) through the biweekly payroll file using the appropriate cost objects and general ledger accounts.
The Auxiliary Enterprises Fringe Benefits Report shows total salaries and wage expenses for each auxiliary area by month. FWS earnings are included in the "wage" totals.
Department staff use this report to prepare journal entries that charge fringe benefit costs to auxiliary enterprise budgets. Fringe benefits are charged on 100% of regular wages, and 10% of the FWS wages. Business areas may review payroll vouchers to confirm FWS wage totals.
Departments participating in FWS may access budget reports that show work-study wages, adjustments, and related activity.
The Office of the Bursar monitors FWS activity in GL account 51208750 to ensure proper use of federal funds. Monthly budget reports are reviewed, and any incorrect entries are researched and corrected. If errors are found, the originating department must correct them through a labor distribution or journal entry. See Procedure RA2060 Labor Distribution for details.
Each month, the Office of the Bursar prepares a Fund Management Report showing FWS funds available and spent. This report is shared with the Office of Student Aid during monthly meetings.
Approved FWS funds are requested from the U.S. Department of Education through electronic transfer (G5). The Office of the Bursar records and reconciles these funds in SIMBA.
Annually, the University FWS expenditures and transactions for the entire fiscal year are reported on the Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP) Report. Additionally, the individual student cumulative calendar year FWS earnings are reported to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system. Both are U.S. Department of Education reporting requirements.
The Office of the Bursar and the Office of Student Aid are responsible for ensuring that procedures pertaining to the accountability and safeguarding of all cash receipts, cash funds, and other assets are established and followed in accordance with approved University policies and procedures. Regular audits relating to advances, cash, travel, equipment accountability, and other expenditures provide a means to protect University assets. The Office of the Bursar and the Office of Student Aid are responsible for working with Internal Audit when audits are being performed in the administrative area. Audits relating to sponsored activities or other audits performed by external auditors may also be performed. The Office of the Bursar and the Office of Student Aid would also be responsible for collaborating with the external auditor and/or a central university office related to these procedures.
University Records must be retained and managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management and the University’s Records Retention Schedules.
Additional questions may be directed to the Office of Records Management.
For questions and/or additional details for this procedures, please contact the Executive Director, Student Aid.
To request changes to this procedures, please contact the Budget and Finance Policy and Procedure Office by submitting a Technical Support Request form.
March 20, 2026