Controller's Unit Policy Program

* This information replaces PAY 200 Payment of Student Employees

Payment of Student Employees

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT EMPLOYEES

These are students enrolled at and employed by OSU.  Enrollment requirements and hiring procedures are available in the Student Employment Policy and Procedures Manual.

201-01 PAYMENT PROCESS

• After logging onto the Oregon State Central Administrative Resources (OSCAR) use the Job Tasks menu to initiate pay authorization for initial student hires or to change hourly pay rates.
• Each Business Center creates, routes and approves the Job Tasks via EPAF processing.
• Enter monthly timecard date in PYAHOUR for all hourly paid students.  See the HRIS time entry manual on the HRIS website.
• Archive a copy of the time sheet as specified by Archive Law.  Department / Business Center copy is the official copy of record .  See the Archives website for retention periods.

201-02 JOB AND LABOR DISTRIBUTION TASKS

201-02a New Hire / Job Change Task

• The Job Tasks menu is used to authorize pay for initial appointments, and report hourly pay rate changes.
• After logging into the (OSCAR) website, go to Business Center Tasks and complete the appropriate online task.
• Each Business Center creates and routes the Job Tasks via EPAF processing.

201-02b Labor Distribution Task

• The Labor Distribution Task is used to report changes to prior, current, or future distributions.  
• To access this task, log onto OSCAR, click on "Payroll Changes" and click on "Job Labor Distribution Change" (excel format). It can also be found in the Downloadable Forms.
• Redistributions are entered by the Business Centers in PYAREDS and where the copy of record is kept.

201-03 PAY METHODS - HOURLY PAY/DEFAULT

201-03a Hourly Pay

• Hourly pay is used for nearly all student pay.
• Pay is issued for the period from the 16th of the prior month through the 15th of the current month and identified as current month pay.
• Payroll data is entered in PYAHOUR during time entry each month.  Refer to the Payroll Calendar for specific dates.
• Refer to Undergraduate Student Earn Codes for the correct Earn Codes and Account Codes to use.

201-03b  Default Pay

• In very limited instances, Default pay is used to pay students a monthly salary.
• For help in calculating the correct rates and appointment percents to enter, see the Monthly Salaried Student Emloyees webpage on the Business Affairs website for additional information.
• Pay is issued for the period from the first of the month through the end of the month.

201-04  SOCIAL SECURITY/MEDICARE (FICA) EXEMPTION

Student employees, enrolled in Oregon State University at least half-time, are exempt from both Social Security and Medicare withholding tax, based on Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). For FICA withholding purposes ONLY, half-time enrollment is defined as:

• Undergraduate Students ……6 credit hours per term
• Graduate level Students…….5 credit hours per term

201-05  ACCOUNTING FOR LABOR CHARGES

Labor is charged to specific indexes and account codes.  Use of activity codes is the choice of the department.

201-05a  Index

• Must be an open and valid index owned by the employing department.
• The index should remain open through the last day of the month pay is issued to the employee.  Otherwise, it may error out when posting to finance.
• Refer to Undergraduate Student Earn Codes for account code information.