Important Note: Timesheets and Pay Periods

Important Note: Summer Work-Study

2025 – 2026 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY (FWS) PAYROLL SCHEDULE

Payroll Schedule Tracker Worksheet (PDF)

Legal Holidays when the College is Closed

No Classes Scheduled – College Open

Conversion Days

Form I-9 Process Step Guide

Step 1 – Access, Download and Print USCIS Form I-9

Access USCIS Form I-9 from the USCIS website and download and print the PDF form. If you do not have a printer at home you can use the Brooklyn College library. Learn how to print on campus.

Step 2 – Review the Form I-9 Instructions

Review the instructions for Form I-9 to ensure you understand how to complete the form.

Step 3 -Student Completes Section 1 of Form I-9

Student completes Section 1 of the Form I-9. You must complete all fields in that section. Pay special attention to the following:

• Date of Birth – make sure it follows MM/DD/YYYY as indicated on the form.
• Social Security Number – make sure all 9 digits are listed in the correct order. Refer to the student’s Social Security Card to ensure its correct.
• Signature of Employee – Do not leave blank. You also cannot type your name in this signature space, this is not considered a signature. You must sign the printed Form I-9 with a pen using blue or black ink.
• Date of Signature – make sure to date the form the same day that you sign it. Do NOT leave this blank.
• Make sure the name on your supporting documents match the legal name reported in CUNYfirst.
• Make sure your U.S. Passport (if you are using it as a document to confirm eligibility to work) is signed. If it is not signed the Form I-9 process will be delayed.
• Make sure your Social Security Card (if you are using it as a document to confirm eligibility to work) is signed. If it is not signed the Form I-9 process will be delayed.

Step 4 – Student Brings Form I-9 to FWS Interview

Student brings Form I-9 and the original unexpired documents proving eligibility to work in the U.S. (see Form I-9 page 2) with them to their interview with the Federal Work-Study Supervisor.

Step 5 – Supervisor Confirms Documents and Completes Section 2 of Form I-9

An FWS Supervisor who wants to hire a student in an FWS position must:

• Submit a hire request in the JobX system in response to the student’s application for the position. Form I-9 information will be reviewed based on the submission of the hire request in JobX.
• Review the student’s original unexpired acceptable documents (as noted on page 2 of form I-9) to confirm that they prove the student’s eligibility to work in the United States
• Complete, sign and date Section 2 of Form I-9. Supervisors must sign the printed Form I-9 with a pen using blue or black ink.

FWS Supervisors should complete all fields in Section 2 EXCEPT the “first day of employment” field. FWS Supervisors should pay special attention to:

Record employment eligibility document information under the correct column. For example a U.S. Passport falls under column “List A” and must therefore be reported under column “List A”. Reporting this under column “List B” or “List C” will require the form to be corrected thus delaying the hiring process.

Note to FWS Supervisors – if you are unsure which document falls under which list please refer to page 2 of Form I-9 or the appendix below which outlines the “List of Acceptable Documents” and which document(s) should be reported in which corresponding column.

Step 6 – FWS Supervisor Tenders copies of Form I-9 and Documents to Student

FWS Supervisor should make a copy of the completed Form I-9 and the original documents used to verify eligibility to work in the U.S. and give the copies to the student to submit electronically to the Office of Financial aid via the Dynamic Forms System.

Step 7 – FWS Supervisor Retains Original Form I-9 and copy of documents.

FWS Supervisor must retain the original completed Form I-9 and a copy of the original documents used to verify eligibility to work in the U.S. This is required for auditing purposes and for institutional compliance with federal law. Failure to do so may result in fines to the institution.

Step 8 – Student Completes the NY State Labor Form

Student completes the Notice and Acknowledgment of Pay Rate and Payday Under Section 195.1 of the New York State Labor Law—Notice for Hourly Rate Employees (PDF) (also called the “Labor Form”). The student will need this to complete the next step.

The form is prefilled in certain areas. You will need to indicate the “Employee’s Rate of Pay” on the NYS Labor Form. You can find the rate of pay on your job description in the JobX system. Do not enter any information under the “Preparer’s Name and Title” section. That line is used for office staff only.

NOTE: This form is only completed by the student and Financial Aid Office staff. It should NOT be signed by the FWS Supervisor.

Step 9 – Use Electronic Form to Submit Form I-9 and Documents to Financial Aid Office

Students access the electronic “FWS I-9 Document and New York State Acknowledgment Upload Form (DF)” through CUNYfirst and navigate to the Student Center> Tasks and Holds> To Do List >Federal Work Study I9 Form and click on the linked text “Click to Upload your I9“. Login with BC WebCentral credentials.

Student completes the electronic form and uploads the following:

• Completed and signed Form I-9
• Document(s) used to verify eligibility to work in the U.S.
• NY State Labor Form

Step 10 – Financial Aid Office Review

Student Form I-9 submissions will only be reviewed by Financial Aid Office staff if a hire request was summitted by an FWS supervisor in the JobX system. If no hire request has been received the electronic Form I-9 upload form will be returned to the student. The student will need to resubmit after contacting the supervisor and ensuring that the hire request has been submitted.

Step 11 – Next Steps

If all documents are determined by the Financial Aid Office to be acceptable then the student and FWS Supervisor will receive the hire approval email. See steps 12-16 of the Federal Work-Study Student Process Guide for the remainder of the FWS placement and hiring process for students.

APPENDIX: Form I-9 Page 2 List of Acceptable Documents

This article is an 11 minute read.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT EMAIL

Step 1 – File your FAFSA

Complete the FAFSA! Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a Federal Student Financial Aid program. You must first determine your eligibility by filing the FAFSA for the academic year in which you are seeking financial aid.

Step 2 – Check your Financial Aid Package

Log in to your CUNYfirst account to see if you have an FWS offer on your Financial Aid Package. Refer to the CUNYfirst Student Financial Aid Guide or the FWS Orientation in BrightSpace for instructions.

Step 3 – Accept your FWS Offer

If you have an FWS Offer in CUNYfirst, you must accept it before you can use it. Refer to the CUNYfirst Student Financial Aid Guide or the FWS Orientation in Brightspace (see below) for instructions.

Step 4- Complete The Orientation in Brightspace

You must complete the FWS Orientation for Students in Brightspace before you will be able to submit the FWS Fact Sheet and Placement Form. You will need to upload your certificate of completion as part of your submission of the form.

How to access Brightspace and Self-Enroll in the Orientation

Step 4:1 Log in to Brightspace using your CUNYfirst Username and Password

Access Brightspace. The link will take you to login to Brightspace with your CUNYfirst login credentials.

Once you login click the “Discover” link from the top menu bar. It will take you to search for all courses in Brightspace for the entire CUNY. You can filter by college. However, the easiest way to find the course is to type “Brooklyn College: Federal Work Study” into the search bar.

If you already enrolled in the course skip to step 4:4

Step 4:2 Confirm the Organization Name and Enroll

Type “Brooklyn College: Federal Work Study” into the search bar. Click on the link for the Brooklyn College: Federal Work Study – Students course.

It will open a new window allowing you to enroll in the course. Confirm the course name at the top and then click the blue “Enroll in Course” button towards the bottom of the page. A pop up message will appear confirming you are now enrolled in the course. Click the “OK” button to go to the course.

Step 4:3 Start the Course

The screen will show the name of the course and will display a blue “Open Course” button. Click on the “Open Course” button to access and start the orientation.

Step 4:4 Start the Orientation

When you first access the course you will be taken to the “Announcements” page. This page has information about the course and how to get started.

If you need to stop and return to the orientation later you can access the course again under the “My Courses” section of your home page after you login to Brightspace.

Step 4:5 Review Orientation Materials and Take the Quiz

Click on the “Content” link from the menu bar to access the orientation materials and the quiz. Each content item is a clickable link. Click on the “FWS orientation test” link when you are ready to take the quiz.

You can also access the quiz using the “Assessments” menu. Make sure to click the “Start Quiz” button to start the quiz.

Step 4:6 Access and Download your Certificate of Completion

Once you successfully complete the quiz with an 80% or higher download a copy of your completion certificate (see example below). It is accessible under the “More” dropdown from the top menu under the “Awards” link.

Once there, you will see the icon for your certificate and will need to click on the “Brooklyn College” link at the top of the certificate. A pop-up will displayed that provides the certificate information. Click the “Generate Certificate link, which will automatically download your certificate for you. You will need to upload the certificate when completing your FWS Fact Sheet and Placement Form in Step 6 of the FWS Process below.

Step 5 – Check your To Do List

Step 6 – Complete the FWS Fact Sheet and Placement Dynamic Form

Step 7 – Receive Notification that you can Start Looking for a Position

Step 8 – Apply for Jobs, Ace the Interview and Get Hired

You must apply for FWS positions in the JobX system in order to be interviewed. If the person interviewing decides they want to hire you they must send a hire request via the JobX system to the Office of Financial Aid.

How To Apply for a Job in JobX

Step 9 – Meet with your supervisor to complete Form I-9

Step 10 – Complete the NY State “Labor Form”

Step 11- Upload the Completed I-9 and Other Required Documents in Dynamic Forms

Step 12 – Receive the Hire Approval Email

Step 13 – Start working and Complete your Timesheet

Schedule Reminders

Step 14 – Make sure your Supervisor Approves and Submits your Timesheet

Your supervisor must approve and submit your timesheet by the deadline indicated on the FWS Payroll Schedule (available on our forms page). If your supervisor submits the timesheet late it will mean that your payment will be delayed until the next pay period. Therefore, make sure to check in with your supervisor each payroll period to ensure that your timesheet has been approved and submitted on time.

Step 15 -Get Paid

Enroll in Direct Deposit to make sure that your payments reach you as quickly as possible.

Review the FWS Payroll Schedule (available on our forms page) to see when you might expect to receive payment for a period that you worked.

Review your timesheet each pay period to ensure you have logged and submitted it on time. To view your timesheet and confirm it has been submitted, logon to the TimesheetX website and click on Applicants & Employees > Dashboard > the job title (example: Office Assistant) > Go to time sheet for the applicable dates

IMPORTANT: Make sure to download and save a copy of each timesheet for your records.

Step 16 -Stop Working

FWS is not like a regular job that offers full year employment. There are certain conditions that require you to stop working even mid-year.

6 Things to Know about Federal Work-Study