Recruitment Toolkit

Student Employment

student with book


Student employees are temporary employees registered for classes and whose primary function is to obtain an education with USF. Students can be employed by the university in a wide variety of jobs, such as clerical and support functions, which are not necessarily in their field of study.

Eligible Student Positions & Job Codes

Departments must determine the method to employee students, which include the following job codes:

9190 – Student Assistant (including Federal Work Study)

9550 – Graduate Instructional Assistant

9990 – Resident Assistant

9181 – Graduate Research Associate

9182 – Graduate Research Assistant

9183 – Graduate Teaching Associate

9184 – Graduate Teaching Assistant

9185 – Graduate Assistant

Full Recruitment through Handshake

Hiring departments are encouraged to make their student employment opportunities available to all students. If your department chooses to advertise a student job opening you can partner with USF Career Services to advertise your opening(s) on Handshake.

Getting Started with Career Services

Human Resources Student Recruitment options

Hiring Departments are encouraged to make their student employment opportunties available to all students however, student appointments are not required to undergo a full recruitment. Instead, their appointments can be processed:

  1. Through CHR's data center or Branch Campus HR by submitting an offer letter (utilizing an approved offer letter template available on the Forms Library), and if applicable ASF.
  2. Through CHR's Targeted Recruitment Procedure or;
  3. Through a Status Change. 

Targeted Recruitment

Eligible Student Postions

  • Graduate Assistant (GA). Pertains to individuals who are graduate students enrolled in a graduate program operated by the hiring unit/department. A GA may also be a Teaching Assistant (TA) or a Research Assistant (RA).
  • Medical Residents. Pertains to medical school residents and fellows (trainees) who are hired through a match process.
  • Student Assistants. Pertains to actively enrolled USF students and are hired for a student assistant position.
  • FWS Student Positions. Pertains to actively enrolled USF students who fill a student position and are being paid through Federal Work Study (FWS) funds.

Process

Hiring Department Representatives (HDR)

The individual responsible for the recruitment and hiring functions for a department, college and/or division. Responsible for the following:

  1. Create a Target Recruitment in GEMS and email the link to the applicant.
  2. Ensure the applicant completes the employment application and upload any required documents (e.g. reference checks, employment verifications).
  3. Accurately disposition the applicant through all required steps in GEMS. This must be completed before the job offer is approved.
  4. Individuals hired as presenter/speakers in continuing education-type programs of short duration [not to exceed ten (10) days within a twelve (12) month period] are exempt from the usual requirement of obtaining employment reference checks, employment verifications, and education verifications, unless such documentation is specifically required by the USF department administering the continuing education program at issue
  5. Ensure the background check is completed and approved prior to the individual’s first day of employment.

Central Human Resources (CHR)

Any CHR employee who is responsible for reviewing all Targeted Recruitment requests and determining if all criteria are met prior to approving. Responsible for the following:

  1. If applicable, instruct the HDR to complete a Target Recruitment request in GEMS.
  2. Ensure the applicant completes the employment application and upload any required documents (e.g. reference checks, employment verifications).
  3. Ensure the HDR has completed all required dispositioning prior to approving the hire in GEMS.
  4. If applicable, complete the background check, and communicate to the HDR when the employee is eligible to begin employment. If CHR is not responsible for processing the background check, review the results once complete and determine if the applicant is eligible for employment.
  5. Each targeted recruitment must be processed through GEMS before the hire. All education verifications, employment verifications, employment references, and all other recruitment information must be uploaded to the Activities and Attachment section of the job opening in GEMS.

Typically, each applicant processed as a targeted recruitment will be associated to a unique job opening (one-to- one relationship). Targeted Recruitments are limited to ten (10) openings per posting. Targeted recruitments with multiple openings will be considered only if they are for the same job code, same salary, same title, same department, etc.

All other University recruiting policies and procedures will still apply.

CHR reserves the right to request additional information to confirm the validity of the targeted recruitment.

Status Change

There are situations when a student experiences a status change, and cannot be actively employed using a student job code. In these instances, it is permissible for:

  1. Student appointments to transition to related non-student temporary (OPS), without a full and/or targeted recruitment or
  2. Non-student appointments to transition back to related student temporary (OPS), without a full and/or targeted recruitment

When applicable, you may submit an ASF and offer letter directly to CHR’s Data Center to process this change.

Student appointments that require a criminal background check will be required to utilize targeted recruitments.

Status Change & Rehire Policies

USF Policy 0-615 requires hiring departments provide notice to prospective employees that a criminal history background check will be conducted as a condition of employment.
If the new job requires a background check one must be completed.

Additionally, if there is a break in service of more than 120 days and the individual is being hired into a job requiring a background check, one must be completed.

Finally, if the student has not worked in more than one year from the last appointment, the student will be required to complete the Right Start paperwork.