Work-Study
Federal Work-Study (FWS)
FWS is a need-based financial aid program, and therefore requires that you file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to be considered for the award.
The dollar amount of FWS a student is awarded represents eligibility for working on campus or in an FWS eligible off campus job through one of Baylor's non-profit community service partners. Students who are offered FWS are not committed to a job nor guaranteed a job on campus, but receive priority to find and accept a job on campus during the first several weeks of the application phase. The FWS award amount listed in BearWeb does NOT apply to charges billed by the university. Rather, student employees are paid directly on a bi-weekly basis for their hours worked and can use their earnings for any education-related expense. Students must apply, interview, and be given an employment offer for a position before beginning work.
Federal Work-Study earnings to do not count towards a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) value in future years' FAFSAs. Though earnings are reported to the IRS for tax purposes and listed as income in subsequent FAFSAs, income earned through an FWS position is not considered when determining a student's eligibility for federal or state need-based aid.
Undergraduate and graduate students are offered Federal Work-Study if they demonstrate financial need beyond the amount of scholarships, grants and need-based loans they receive. Law students are not offered Federal Work-Study as part of their financial aid offer, but will be reviewed for FWS eligibility upon request. (Law students are strongly discouraged by the Law School from working while enrolled.)
Prospective student workers are encouraged to review the list of required documents for the hiring process, qualifications for employment, and student responsibilities to achieve and maintain eligibility to work on campus at baylor.edu/student_employment.
Selection and Awarding of Students
Recipients must have submitted a valid FAFSA, have unmet need, and meet all minimum eligibility requirements for recipients of Federal aid programs.
- Undergraduate Students: FWS is automatically offered if the current FAFSA indicates interest in (or are unsure of) the program or if the student earned $200 or more via FWS in the preceding year.
- If a student does not meet the criteria for an automatic FWS offer, eligibility will be reviewed upon request.
- FWS offered awards may range from $100 - $3,200 for the academic year based on the student’s remaining need after scholarships, grants, and Subsidized Direct Loan eligibility. Students will not receive an FWS offer exceeding their demonstrated financial need.
- Larger award amounts will be considered for an individual position, depending on the student’s remaining need, pay rate, and number of hours worked.
- If larger amounts cannot be extended due to lack of need, the student can proceed to work, but will no longer be doing so under the FWS program. Students that expire their maximum FWS award will automatically be moved to the Baylor University Work Study Program.
- Students can accept or decline their FWS offer in BearWeb. The FWS offer must be accepted before a student can receive an employment offer and begin work.
- Students may choose not to accept their Federal Work-Study (FWS) award and instead reject the offer in BearWeb. This action means the student will be ineligible to work on campus - Rejecting FWS indicates a student does not plan to participate in student employment of any kind for the school year in question. Students can still receive FWS eligibility in future school years pending FAFSA results.
- If a student contacts the Student Financial Aid office to reduce their Federal Work Study (FWS) award below the originally offered amount, the student will only be allowed to work up to the adjusted value. Once the amount is hit, the student will need to terminate employment and will not be allowed to continue working until the original amount is reinstated (if possible).
- In general, if the student makes any requests or changes to their FWS award, the student is accepting the newly adjusted amount as the amount they will use. However, if a student sees changes to their FWS award caused by the addition of outside scholarships or departmental awards there will be no impact to the student's employment eligibility.
- To protect student academic pursuits and maintain compliance, it is important that students:
- DO NOT work during any scheduled class period.
- DO NOT Work more than 20 hours a week, unless receiving approval. Please review the Additional Student Work Hours Request Form.
- Students must display Satisfactory Academic Progress to maintain FWS eligibility.
- Please see Student Responsibilities for more information.
You can learn more about student employment and see the positions available to currently enrolled students at:
Baylor also participates in the Texas College Work Study program. Learn more here.