English Department Policy on Student Employees

Effective Date: July 11, 2019

The English Department of Southern Utah University has developed the following policy to ensure that student assistants are utilized effectively and treated fairly by faculty and given equal opportunity for employment, when qualified, within the Department of English.

Faculty/Supervisor Responsibilities

  1. The English Department will adhere to all guidelines established in SUU Policy 5.32 – Student Employment. A copy of this policy is available on-line or through the English Department Office.
  2. All supervisors must provide their student workers with a contract explaining job responsibilities, specific tasks, deadlines for completion, and pay scale. The contract must be filled out by the supervisor and signed by both instructor and student, before being filed with the English Department. Both supervisor and student should see this document as a binding contract. Students are responsible for letting supervisors know in advance if they can’t fulfill their responsibilities. Student employees not meeting their responsibilities are subject to termination by their supervisor.
  3. Teacher’s Assistants assigned to individual faculty members (versus main office workers and tutors) should work no more than 5 hours per week on average unless approved in advance by the department chair.
  4. Tenure-track faculty teaching a 4-4 assignment with a heavy emphasis on composition courses will be given preference. Additionally, such faculty, with the approval of the chair, may exceed the 5 hours per week average.
  5. All faculty members (including non-tenure track) intending to hire Teacher’s Assistants must fill out a Google Form (provided by the Department Administrative Assistant) at the beginning of each semester including the following information:
    1. The course or special project for which the student is being hired;
    2. A brief explanation of the student’s duties;
    3. The amount the student will be paid per hour; and
    4. The number of hours per week the faculty member expects the student to work.
    For budgetary reasons, these proposals are subject to approval by the department chair. After approval, the student must go to the department administrative assistant for instructions about required hiring paperwork.
  6. Teacher’s Assistants should not be used to evaluate major essays (e.g., research essays) nor should they evaluate work totaling more than 20% of the final course grade. Given the relationship among English majors/minors, graders should not be used in upper- division classes except in rare circumstances and with the department chair’s approval.
  7. Teacher’s assistants should not be used to proctor exams in the instructor’s absence. The department administrative assistant is available for this purpose when needed.
  8. Pay Scale: The department chair will determine the pay scale for student assistants based on the type of job and the qualifications of the student in question. The current approved pay scale is as follows:
    • Receptionist clerical work: Starting $7.50; experienced, $8.00
    • Teacher’s Assistants: Starting $7.50; experienced $8.00

Student Responsibilities

  1. New Hire Information: New student workers must go to the SUU Human Resources Office PRIOR TO beginning work to complete the New-Hire Packet. By federal law, students are not allowed to begin work before they complete this paperwork and they will not be allowed to submit hours to be paid before this paperwork is complete. The completion of this paperwork represents their official “Start Date.” If a student has worked on-campus within the past year, this paperwork does not need to be filed again. It is the student’s responsibility to keep their official documentation up-to-date with HR.
  2. Non-Discrimination/Anti-Harassment Policy: Student workers are required to complete Title IX training before beginning work. Training video can be found on your My SUU Portal. It is the student’s responsibility to follow university policy and report any infractions of the policy. The campus harassment policy (5.27) is available on-line or in the Department Office for review.
  3. Drug Free Workplace Policy: It is the student’s responsibility to follow university policy. The campus drug-free workplace policy (5.09) is available on-line or in the Department Office for review.
  4. Confidential Information: Student assistants are required to complete FERPA training before being exposed to confidential information. Training video can be found on your My SUU Portal. Student assistants must be instructed to avoid discussing student grades or other confidential information with anyone other than their supervisor. The penalty for such behavior will be immediate dismissal.
  5. Minimum GPA: All student assistants are expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA overall and a 3.5 GPA in the major/minor. Students who drop below the required GPA will be placed on probation for one semester and their hours reduced. If their grades do not meet this standard after one semester, the student’s services will be terminated.
  6. Effective Use of Time: Homework is an acceptable use of down time you may have during work hours. Other personal activities should be approved by your supervisor. Visitors or personal phone calls are not prohibited during work hours except in an emergency.
  7. Abuse of Department Resources: You will be asked to respect the resources of the English Department including use of office supplies and equipment. Students who misuse or steal English Department property will be subject to termination.
  8. Course Schedule Required: All students are required to provide a copy of their current course schedule to their immediate supervisor and the English Department Office. Under Federal Law students are not allowed to work during the times they are enrolled in class. Supervisors will work with students to develop a work schedule that does not require students to work during their scheduled class hours.
  9. Number of Jobs Limitation: ALL student assistants will be limited to no more than two positions within the department/university. Faculty should inquire how many departmental and campus jobs a student has before hiring. Faculty should also remind students that they may not work more than 20 hours per week on campus. These measures will enable more students seeking employment within the department to find positions. They will also help ensure that faculty members have the commitment of their student assistants and that the students are not overextending themselves at the expense of their studies.
  10. Time Sheets: Student workers are paid twice monthly on the 10th and 25th of the month through the SUU Payroll Department. All student workers are responsible for filling out electronic timesheets in Banner through MySUU Portal and submitting them no later than midnight on the 15th and last day of the month. (For more details, see Timesheet Procedure instructions.) If electronic timesheets are not submitted in Banner on time, the student worker must complete a late timesheet which can be accessed on your MySUU Portal. Late time forms will delay your paycheck.

Contact

Department of English