CMU is launching an internal mechanism for voluntarily sharing student workers across departments. Many departments on campus do not employ student workers, but have projects that student employees in other units could assist with. Likewise, some departments have periodic large projects that may require more student employee hands on deck. Many times, these projects do not even require the student to report to a different location than their normal work location as the work can be done remotely. It is also an opportunity to give student workers multiple learning opportunities without needing to hold several different positions on campus.
A Student Worker Sharing form will allow student supervisors to request help with tasks/projects, as well as volunteer their student employees for tasks/projects. Participation is completely voluntary, but you are encouraged to consider maximizing the student employee time for the benefit of the institution, as well as to enhance their on-the-job learning experience. In order to participate in this initiative, supervisors will first need to opt in to receive emails of posted requests. Opting in does not commit you to participation if there is a not a good match. You can opt-in to receive those emails here: Opt in to Student Worker Sharing Form
Then, to request student employee assistance from another department or volunteer a student(s) employee, the supervisor will fill out a short form that can be found at: https://coloradomesa.wufoo.com/forms/z1hab1ha0x9wztg/
Here are some basic ground rules for participation:
- Requests for assistance or for volunteering student employee(s) or submissions volunteering student employees must be submitted on the appropriate form. The form, which will request project parameters, will be routed via the opt-in email list serve. Once posted, interested supervisors can contact the requestor and the two departments can informally connect to work out the details of the arrangement.
- Each task/project will be approached as an individual transaction; the two supervisors—the one requesting assistance and the one volunteering assistance—will negotiate the terms of the sharing (task assigned, amount of time, length of project, etc.)
- Students will continue to report to their supervisor of record. The supervisor of record is still in charge of student scheduling, timecard approval, and funding all hours worked, regardless of sharing arrangement. This is done to maintain a simple sharing model wherein money is not transferred between orgs and the student is not paid from multiple orgs.
- Supervisors of record involved in sharing are encouraged to consult the other department about student performance and provide feedback about overall job performance.
Since this is a new initiative, we are anxious to receive your feedback and suggestions for improvement. Please pass along any comments or questions to Ashley Brenner at [email protected].