Update on Student Employment
Dear members of the Kenyon College community,
Kenyon recognizes the valuable contributions student employees make to the College, as well as the importance of campus employment in meeting students’ financial needs. To address the unique issues arising from COVID-19, the College has reviewed its student employment policies and made adjustments for the 2020-21 academic year.
We want to assure all student employees, especially those for whom work-study is part of their financial aid package, that we understand the importance of student earnings in meeting basic needs and paying essential bills. The College remains committed to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated need, whether that is through student employment, grants, loans, scholarships or a combination of these.
The following policies were developed in partnership with a COVID-19 Student Employment Working Group and Kenyon College senior staff to address the potential circumstances that student employees and employers may face.
Quarantine or Isolation
In the event that a student employee is required to quarantine, employers should provide contingency remote projects to the student employee. If remote projects are not available, the supervisor will work with the student employee to find a suitable alternative shift to recuperate lost hours. If neither remote work nor an alternative shift is possible, the student employee will receive pay for the unworked hours while in quarantine. Students are to indicate unworked hours while in quarantine under the “COV” heading in their Banner timesheet.
For students who miss work while in isolation due to COVID-19, Kenyon’s normal student employment sick policy will apply and unworked hours will not be compensated.
Student employees will be expected to communicate with their supervisors immediately upon learning that they will be entering quarantine or isolation, and again prior to and after their release.
Shelter-in-Place or Suspension of Residential Program
Kenyon employers should proactively create contingency remote student employment projects that add value to their offices or departments in the event that Kenyon is required to either shelter in place — in which case students may not be permitted to work on-site — or vacate campus. In these situations, student employment will continue in a remote capacity through the remainder of the semester or until the position’s end date, whichever occurs first. Student employees will be paid according to the positions pay tier or, in the event that campus is vacated, the minimum wage of the state in which they complete their work if that wage is higher than Kenyon pay rates.
If an employer cannot provide contingency remote work projects to fill the student employee’s scheduled hours, the College will compensate the student employee for their regularly scheduled hours. If a position does not have regularly scheduled hours, the employee will be compensated based on the expected weekly hours listed in the Handshake job posting. This process will remain through the remainder of the semester or until the position’s end date, whichever occurs first. These hours are considered paid leave and would be compensated according to the position’s pay tier regardless of the student’s residence.
Students who are compensated for unworked hours will enter these hours under the “college closed” heading in their timesheet. Remote worked hours will be indicated in the timesheet as normal.
All future student employment positions for 2020-2021 academic year will be hired for one semester at a time.
Remote Positions
Student employees living and working within the United States are able to work remotely. If the minimum wage is higher in the state in which a remote student employee works, the student’s pay will be adjusted to match the minimum wage of that state; student pay never will be reduced below Kenyon pay, only raised in order to comply with state minimum wage laws.
Employer budgets will be expensed the base pay of the position only. Employers do not need to consider external minimum wages when hiring and scheduling student employees.
Regrettably, the student employment payroll system is unable to accommodate the required processes to facilitate the pay of remote student employees working outside of the United States. Student employees living and working outside of the United States are unable to be paid and therefore unable to work until they reenter the United States.
Student employees who are living somewhere other than their permanent address on file in mybanner should contact the Payroll Office at payroll@kenyon.edu.
Quiet Period
No on-site student employment is permitted during the quiet period unless the student employee is considered essential. However, remote student employment is permitted during the quiet period.
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We hope that these new policies will address immediate and near-term questions and concerns about student employment at Kenyon. Over the course of the coming year, the College, under the leadership of Campus Senate, will explore broader questions about the various goals and best practices of student employment, including how best to achieve the educational goals of the program.
Finally, we would like to thank the Working Group on Student Employment whose recommendations have informed the policies mentioned above.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Bowman
Provost
Lee Schott
Dean of Career Development