Learning-Aligned Employment Program FAQ
Hours and Pay
- How many hours is a student allowed to work?
- If I hire a LAEP student, what are their maximum earnings?
- Am I responsible for keeping track of the student's LAEP earnings?
- What if I am late turning in time sheets?
- If I want to give my student a pay raise, what should I do?
- Can students with Work-Study qualify for LAEP?
- Can students work a Work-Study job and a LAEP job at the same time?
- Do student’s LAEP funds carry over into the next academic year if not used entirely?
- Do LAEP awards affect students' overall financial aid package?
Posting Jobs
Employer Application Process
- I’ve already hired a student into a research position, can the job be funded by LAEP if the student is eligible?
- Do employers apply to the LAEP program each year? When does the application period open each academic year?
- What am I agreeing to as a LAEP Research Mentor?
More questions? Contact the LAEP Coordinator at ucscel@ucsc.edu
How many hours is a student allowed to work for my organization?
The maximum number of hours a student may work per week is fifteen hours during the academic year. The maximum hours a student may work per week during a quarter break is 40 hours.
If I hire a LAEP student, what are their maximum earnings?
Each eligible student receives a LAEP award amount that represents the maximum amount the student may earn under the program. This generally does not exceed $6,000 for an academic year. If a student employee's earnings exceed their LAEP award as authorized by the UCSC Financial Aid and Scholarship Office, your organization will be charged for 100% of the wages that exceed the award amount. It is the research mentor’s responsibility to track the student's remaining LAEP balance by looking at the work-study balance tab of HIRES.
Am I responsible for keeping track of the student's LAEP earnings?
Yes. The employer and the student share the responsibility for monitoring the amount of LAEP money earned. The employer can view the student's remaining LAEP balance by looking at the work-study balance tab of HIRES. You or your organization are responsible to pay 100% of wages earned above the student's earning limit.
In addition, it is your responsibility to ensure that student hours are distributed equally throughout the academic year. In most cases, students will be enrolled for three quarters, so we encourage you to plan their hours in advance.
To ensure the student receives the maximum benefit of the LAEP award, it would be helpful for the employer and the student to estimate the maximum number of hours the student can work each week during the academic year (usually 10 weeks for each quarter) based on the award amount and the student's pay rate.
What if I am late turning in time sheets?
As an employer, it is your responsibility to approve time sheets before the established deadline. If the time sheet is received after the deadline it will result in a one-month delay in your LAEP student's paycheck.
If I want to give my student a pay raise, what should I do?
To change an employee's pay rate, please submit an email to Career Success at ucscel@ucsc.edu AND your SHR timekeeper AND the Financial Aid and Scholarship office, please include the following information:
- Employee's name
- New rate of pay
- Effective date of the change
- Reason for the raise
The change will take approximately one month to complete.
Can students with Work-Study qualify for LAEP?
Students receiving Work-Study may qualify for LAEP if they are a California Resident and meet all eligibility criteria. Encourage the student to submit a Request Work-Study or LAEP eform in MyUCSC to determine if they are eligible for LAEP. See our student facing page to learn how students can access the eform.
Can students work a Work-Study job and a LAEP job at the same time?
No, students cannot work both types of jobs concurrently. Students can work a LAEP job and another on-campus, non-work-study job (however, work and school load should be considered).
I'd like to hire a student through either LAEP or work-study. Can I make just one job posting or would these have to be posted separately?
Post these jobs separately. Each job should designate the type (“LAEP” or “Work-study”) in the job title. This is the main way in which students can differentiate these opportunities within Handshake.
I’ve already hired a student into a research position, can the job be funded by LAEP if the student is eligible?
Not in the original position. A new LAEP hire must be completed. First step is for the employer to fill out a Posting Request Form to determine if the job role is eligible to participate in the program. Given approval, the LAEP job would then need to be advertised via Handshake. The LAEP program is intended to create pathways of equitable and open recruitment for underrepresented students looking to gain research experience. We hold the expectation that open recruitment via a Handshake posting occurs for all LAEP jobs. If after recruitment, the student already working for you is still the best candidate, the student can be hired into the new LAEP job described in the Posting Request Form. Handshake posting IDs are essential to several parts of the hiring process to ensure open recruitment has occurred for LAEP jobs.
Do employers apply to the LAEP program each year? When does the application period open each academic year?
LAEP employers must reapply every year for their research jobs to participate in LAEP. The application period is open every year on a rolling basis via the Job Posting Request Form. Once approved, recruitment via Handshake can begin immediately. Please request to participate in the 2023/2024 LAEP beginning in Summer 2023.
Do student’s LAEP funds carry over into the next academic year if not used entirely?
No, LAEP is a part of the student’s financial aid package. Each student receives a unique financial aid package every year. All spending for LAEP must end by the last day of spring quarter, the end of the academic year.
Do LAEP awards affect students' overall financial aid package?
Yes, adding a LAEP award may affect financial awards from other sources. LAEP awards are added to a student’s financial package when they submit a Request Work-Study or LAEP eForm. Students then must accept the offer before they can view LAEP jobs in Handshake. Students should consider how adding and accepting a LAEP award may affect their overall package by consulting with the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office before submitting their Request Work-Study or LAEP eForm.
What am I agreeing to as a LAEP Research Mentor?
The following required conditions must be met for the duration of the Agreement for all LAEP student participants. Each learning-aligned employment position shall be reviewed by the appropriate institutional staff to determine whether it satisfies all of the following conditions:
- Research centers and institutions operated by the Institution, UC Santa Cruz, may only employ LAEP students if their learning-aligned employment opportunities provide participating students with direct opportunities to participate in research. As with any LAEP position, a student shall only be placed in an educationally beneficial position that relates to the student’s area of study, career objective, or the exploration of career objectives.
- The work performed by the student shall not be related to the activities of any sectarian organization or to any partisan or nonpartisan political activities.
- The employment of a LAEP student shall not displace workers currently employed by the research mentor or impair existing contracts for services.
- The learning-aligned employment position shall not violate any applicable collective bargaining agreements or fill any vacancies due to a labor dispute.
- The student shall be paid at a comparable rate to that paid for comparable positions with the research mentor. If the employing organization has no comparable position, the student shall be paid at a rate comparable to that paid by other organizations in the field for work involving comparable duties and responsibilities. The positions shall be compared on the basis of the nature of the work performed and the background and skills required for the position, and not upon the employee’s part-time or student status.
- The number of hours of learning-aligned employment the student is allowed to work shall be determined by the Institution in accordance with its standards and practices, taking into consideration the extent of the student’s financial need and the potential harm of the combination of work and study hours on a student’s satisfactory academic progress. The institution determined the number of hours cannot exceed 15 hours per week. The research mentor shall provide the Institution with an accurate accounting of hours worked and wages earned.
- The research mentor shall provide the student with reasonable supervision.
- LAEP funds shall not supplant any state, federal, or institutional funds used to support existing paid positions for students in for-profit or nonprofit organizations.
- The total compensation received by the student pursuant to LAEP shall not exceed the total amount authorized by the Institution.
- LAEP funds paid to students may only pay student wages and may not include sick leave, vacation pay, holiday pay, fringe benefits, workers’ compensation, retirement, transportation costs, or other benefits. Any of those costs must be paid by the research mentor, not the institution.
- LAEP funds pay for 100% of the students’ wages (excluding the categories described in j.) until the students’ LAEP award is exhausted. The research mentor will be responsible to pay 100% of the wages after the LAEP award is exhausted. It is a best practice and strong recommendation that research mentors continue to provide employment through the full academic year if a students’ award is exhausted prior to the end of the academic year.
- The research mentor is responsible for reviewing and approving timesheets on a biweekly basis for the LAEP student. Therefore, the research mentor is responsible for tracking the student’s award amount.
- In general, students are not permitted to work in LAEP positions during scheduled class times. Exceptions are permitted if an individual class is canceled, if the instructor has excused the student from attending for a particular day, and if the student is receiving academic credit for class time spent in a LAEP position. Any such exemptions must be documented.
- All jobs must end on or before the last day of Spring quarter each academic year. LAEP funds issued for this academic year cannot be applied to any jobs after the last day of Spring quarter. A research mentor agreement must be submitted for each student that is hired and must be re-submitted on a yearly basis.
