Work On-Campus
On-campus student employment provides paid work-experience for Cabrillo students and ensures that Cabrillo departments fill roles that support campus operations with student assistants. In addition to valuable work-experience and a paycheck, student employees also receive benefits like a flexible work-schedule and the opportunity to develop relationships with staff who provide mentorship and ultimately may serve as professional references. On-campus departments benefit from the unique perspective of student staff, who as both students and employees are able to create better connections between the work and services provided at Cabrillo College. This employment program is coordinated by the Student Employment team, which is part of the Employment & Internship Office.
Hiring A Student Assistant
Departments are responsible for locating and identifying student assistant candidates. If your department is eligible to receive work-study funds (either Federal or CalWORKS) assistance may be provided through those programs in identifying eligible students.
Posting on the Job Board: Student Assistant openings should be posted on the Seahawk Job Board powered by Jobspeaker. However, if the candidate is already identified, please do not solicit applications from other student candidates who will not receive the job. Instructions for posting on the Seahawk Job Board can be found on the Employers Recruiting page. Contact the Student Employment Coordinator to have your account designated as “On-Campus”. The Employment & Internships Office can also provide example job postings, job descriptions, and sample interview questions that can be used throughout the hiring process. These are not required, but recommended to ensure a fair search.
Assignment Form: Once a candidate is identified who can meet the student assistant criteria, a Student Assistant Assignment Form needs to be completed. The student completes section 1 and the department/supervisor will complete section 2. Once both sections are completed, this form is submitted to the Student Employment Coordinator via studentjobs@cabrillo.edu.
The Student Employment Coordinator will confirm the candidate’s eligibility and assess what employment paperwork (if any) is required based on the incumbent’s status. More information about paperwork required can be found below. Once all requisite items are collected and the Student Employment Coordinator has confirmed the incumbent is eligible to work, the Employment and Internship Office will issue clearance, including an approved start date, to the supervisor. Employees may not begin work until clearance has been issued by the Employment and Internship Office.
Pay Rates for Student Assistants
- $16.00
Student Assistant I
This is the entry/trainee level position. Duties are those which may be readily learned by an individual with limited or no previous knowledge or experience in the work assignment. Works under close supervision and receives training on the job. Students in this category may be assigned to any department or program on campus. Performs related work as required.
- $16.50
Student Assistant II
This is the intermediate level position. Duties generally require a semi-skilled individual with some training or experience. May require previous knowledge of the work area and/or experience with tools, equipment or computers. Works under close supervision. Performs related work as required.
- $17.00
Student Assistant III
This is the specialist level position. Duties generally require an individual with specialized skills or abilities and experience in a specific college program or project area. Often requires ability to communicate skills or expertise to others. Works under general supervision. Performs related work as required.
- $17.50
Student Assistant IV
This is the technical and specialized level position. Duties generally require an individual with technical and specialized skills or abilities and experience in a specific college program or project area. Often requires ability to communicate skills or expertise to others. Works under limited supervision. Performs related work as required.
How to Qualify As a Student Assistant
Student Assistants are students first. Cabrillo's Board Policies (including Administrative Procedure 7270) lays out many of the policies surrounding work eligibility as a student assistant on campus including:
Maintaining student status: This means at least half-time enrollment (typically 6 units) in the Fall and Spring or at least 1 unit in the Summer for Summer-only employment.
Good Academic Standing. This includes both GPA and course completion.
May not have other work assignments at Cabrillo. The student assistant classification cannot be combine with other employment classifications, including, but not limited to Short-Term Hire, Adjunct faculty, and/or consultants.
Able to meet other employment requirement, including, but not limited to Federal Employment Authorization (I-9).
Paperwork Required
The following are some of the items that will be collected from student employees:
- Fingerprinting/Background check with DOJ
- Required state and federal tax forms
- Worker’s Compensation Predesignation
- Work History
- Additional information required to be reviewed prior to starting
All forms and information will be provided to the student candidate by the Student Employment team. Most can be completed online through NeoEd (accounts will also be issued by the Student Employment team).
Again, clearance will be granted by the Employment & Internships Office once all items are completed satisfactorily. Further, some employees may be required to re-complete some or all of these items if they have had a break in employment at Cabrillo. The Student Employment Coordinator will provide further information to the incumbent.
Once an employee is approved to start work by the Student Employment team, the supervisor/hiring department should:
Maintain a safe work environment and provide all necessary training, equipment, and materials to perform the requirements of the student work assignment
Monitor the student's work hours to ensure the student's work schedule does not exceed the limits (more information below)
Provide on-site supervision - there must be a designated staff member (cannot be another student assistant) available to the student employee while they are working on-campus
Approve timecards, collect administrator signatures, and submit to the appropriate department in a timely manner every pay period
Monitor the employee's course enrollment to ensure they meet the unit requirements and are in good academic standing
Check-in on required training, New Hire Orientation attendance, and other expectations that will be issued by the Student Employment team
To provide a positive learning environment, it is also recommended that student employee supervisors engage in the following best practices:
Conduct mid-semester check-ins with all employees. These are to provide opportunities for students to ask about navigating school resources, share about any workplace issues or recommendations they may have and provide an opportunity for relationship building, as it relates to future references.
Complete evaluations each semester. Evaluations are not meant to be a punitive process, but rather be an assessment of growth and skills within the workplace.
For teams of students assistants (where multiple student employees complete the same/similar job in the same department), regular team meetings provide an avenue for teambuilding and discussion of observations and ways to support each other.
Not every job or supervisor may be able to follow each of these practices, but the Student Employment Coordinator is available to assist and consult based on your unique team. Further, an evaluation template can be provided by the Employment & Internship Office.
Required Trainings for Student Assistants
As of Fall 2021, there are three trainings required of all student assistants:
- Cabrillo/CalOSHA IIPP/Workplace Safety Training (IIPP=Injury & Illness Prevention Program)
- Cabrillo/CalOSHA COVID-19 Safety Training
Please Note: Cabrillo College currently requires all persons to wear masks at all times in indoor spaces and when outside and not socially distant.
- Student Employee Title IX & CANRA (Child Abuse & Neglect Reporting Act) Training
Each training has different frequency rates for completion. New employees are provided this information at New Hire Orientation. Any re-certification will be announced via the Student Employment Team.
When Employees Can Work
- Schedule
We encourage departments to do their best to provide flexibility in creating a work schedule that does not distract from a student assistant's responsibilities as a student. In addition, the following schedule restrictions need to be met, cumulative across all student assistant positions an employee holds.
While in classes, student employees may not work more than 20 hours/week. When not in classes (breaks - including winter and spring breaks), employees may work up to 30 hours/week, provided there is departmental need.
In all cases, student employees may not work more than 8 hours in a single day.
Student employees also may not work more than 5 days in a row, in a single week.
Finally, for every 3.5 hours worked, employees are eligible for a 10 minute paid break. When this is 4 hours or more, it is bumped up to a 15-minute paid break.
For any shift greater than 5 hours, an unpaid break of 30 minutes must be provided.
For payroll purposes, please round all shifts/scheduled hours to the nearest quarter hour.
- When in the Academic Year can Students Works
New students are eligible to start work one week prior to the semester in which they are starting classes.
Graduating or transferring students from Spring or Summer Semesters are eligible to work up until one week after the Summer Semester is over following their graduation. Graduating/transferring students from Fall semester are eligible to work up until the business day prior to the start of Spring Semester.
Continuing students (defined as being enrolled at least halftime in the previous semester and registered in at least 6 units the subsequent Fall or Spring semester) are eligible to work continuously during any breaks during semesters.
This means student assistants do not need to be enrolled in summer classes to work over the summer. They either need to be graduating/transferring after Spring/Summer or be enrolled in both the Spring semester before the Summer Term and the Fall Semester following.
- Sick Leave
Cabrillo’s hourly employees, including Student Assistants, accrue sick leave at a rate of 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked.
Sick leave is not available until the pay period after the student employee reaches 90 days of being employed or 30 calendar days of work, whichever is later.
Sick leave accrual is capped at 48 hours total.
Sick leave is to be used in cases of individual illness for pre-arranged shifts, not to exceed the usual schedule requirements.
Student assistants do not receive a pay-out of sick leave once leaving employment at Cabrillo. However, should the employee return to work at Cabrillo within 3 years, any accrued sick leave is returned upon rehire.
Time Cards
The division or department is responsible for sending completed time cards to the Payroll Office or the appropriate Work-Study Office for processing, on or before the closing date each month (usually the 20th). If a student has multiple work assignments in different departments, they must complete a separate time card for each department. Total combined hours must be less than 8 hours a day and 20 hours a week. There are two different time cards utilized on campus:
Student Assistant Time Cards
Federal Work Study or CalWORKs Time Cards
Time Cards are issued by the Business Office on campus to administrators. Student Supervisors can also access these through the Business Office's Internal Forms (requires Cabrillo account sign-in). Once downloaded, fillable pdf timecards can be distributed to student assistants directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Student Employees
Yes, you can work more than one job on campus. However, the total number of hours you work weekly may not exceed 20 hours/week, more than 8 hours/day, nor more than 5 days in a row cumulative across all positions. If working more than one job, it is important that your supervisors are aware of your other job so your schedule is not in violation of these requirements. You also may not work two jobs at the same time and claim the same time on multiple timecards. Violation of these requirements could be grounds for dismissal.
Maybe! The Student Employment team needs to re-appoint all student employees every year. You will be requested to complete a Student Assistant Assignment Form to ensure your information is up-to-date at that point. Further, if you have any kind of break in employment, or are working under a specific program (Minor with a work-permit, F-1 International Student, or CalPERS member), you may have additional paperwork required to complete or re-complete at the time of rehire. The Student Employment team will issue any necessary items to you and will notify your supervisor when all items are collected.
Yes, you can work more than one job on campus. However, the total number of hours you work weekly may not exceed 20 hours a week, more than 8 hours in a day, more than 5 days in a row Monday through Sunday. If working more than one job, it is important that your supervisors are aware of your other job so your schedule is not in violation of these requirements.
Yes, any generally accepted reason to discontinue employment may result in your employment with the college being immediately terminated, including:
- Misrepresenting yourself on your application or hiring materials
- Poor performance
- Failure to work scheduled hours
- Lack of available funding
- Not following College rules and regulations
- Submitting false hours on a time card
- Working more than the hours allowed by the Student Employment Program
Employees are at-will and can be let go without cause.
Notify your supervisor as soon as possible. Your supervisor should have specific "call-out" instructions for you. If your absence is because of a personal illness, you may be eligible to use sick time to still be paid. See the information above about accrued sick leave and/or log-in to your Self-Service account to view your Leaves balance.
You must maintain enrollment in 6 or more units to meet work eligibility requirements. Failure to complete 6 units with a passing grade or continuing to work after dropping below 6 units may preclude future employment as a student employee. Please notify the Employment & Internship Office as soon as possible if you are considering dropping below half-time status so we can work with you to preserve your employment, if possible. Not notifying us in advance may require you to immediately stop working.
Student Employees are not eligible for staff parking permits. You can use your student parking pass, when eligible, to park in the student parking lots, or locate (free) street-parking around campus, such as on Soquel Drive.
Yes! Employees are entitled to a paid 15 minute break for every 4 hours worked. For any shift greater than 5 hours, employees are entitled to an un-paid meal break of 30 minutes. Work with your supervisor to discuss how you access these breaks (are they scheduled for you or can you choose the times to take the break). Refer to Labor Code Section 512 for more details.
California law and Cabrillo College policy require it of all employees. As we are a education institution with minors (under-18) who you may interact with as part of your work, these laws & policies are in place to protect our campus community. If you have questions about your eligibility for employment based on the LiveScan requirement, please feel free to consult with the Employment & Internships Office as we are happy to discuss if there may be an appropriate job placement on campus for you, regardless of background. The cost of getting fingerprinted is paid by Cabrillo as it is a requirement of your employment.
All student and hourly employees must be supervised by contract staff, faculty, or management. Hourly and student employees are not allowed to be supervised by other hourly or student employees. Your supervisor or their contract employee designee must be available on campus whenever the student or hourly employee is working.
In the event your on-site supervisor is not physically present on campus while you are working, you should know who your "appointed" contact is who serves as your on-site supervisor in the event of an emergency. The temporary supervisor should be informed whenever they are responsible for you, and you should know who they are and how to contact them. Student employees are not authorized to open or close facilities and are not issued keys.
It depends on the nature of the job. Your supervisor will work with you and ensure you have the materials needed to complete your job if a mutual agreement to work remotely is decided upon. Keep in mind, student assistants are not eligible for VPN access, so non-confidential data is all that can be interacted with remotely. This may require some positions to be on-campus, again depending on the type of work being completed.
It is recommended that a Telecommute Agreement be completed for any work being done remotely to ensure both the student employee and department are on the same page about communication expectations. The Agreement template can be found on Human Resources' website.
On Campus Supervisors & Departments
New hires typically have never worked for Cabrillo previously. Rehires are typically returning Cabrillo employees. However, some rehires need additional paperwork to be completed before they may start work. This is why it is not your responsibility to assess the hire "status" of your employee as the Employment & Internships Office will determine what, if anything, is needed for your employee to work.
In all cases, wait for clearance from the Employment & Internship Office to be sent to you, the supervisor, to confirm the employee is approved to be working.
There are a myriad of federal, state, and local employment laws, in addition to Cabrillo District policies and procedures that are related to employment. The Student Employment team is checking to make sure each and every one of these requirements can be met for an individual student employee before they are authorized to start work. Allowing an employee to start work before the Student Employment team has granted clearance means Cabrillo, as an employer could be in violation of any number of legal requirements and also opens up the student employee to unsafe employment, as they could be working without protection (i.e. Worker's Compensation).
The Student Employment team provides clearance, whenever new assignment forms are submitted for an individual within the Fiscal Year. Clearance needs to be re-provisioned each Fiscal Year (July 1). If you have not received clearance yet for an employee, encourage the student employee to check with the Employment & Internship Office about any outstanding items that may need to be completed. Your advocacy and reminders to encourage students to check with our office are helpful in ensuring all necessary items are collected before someone starts work.
This is a Board policy requirement. You do not need to be in the student employees' line of sight, but rather need to be present on campus and available to support in the event of an emergency. If you are unable to be on-campus with your student employee(s), then you must designate another staff member (needs to be another Cabrillo employee who is not another student assistant) who is your employees' on-site contact.
There are several reasons why we need to cap work at this limit, the first being that working no more than 20 hours/week is part of the Cabrillo College District Administrative Procedure that defines the classification of Student Assistant. Further, 20 hours a week is a generally accepted "best-practice" for college students who are working while in school and the literature supports this. Most colleges and universities across the country have a similar hour restriction in place for any on-campus positions.
In addition, some of our student employees are minors who have the same hour restriction as part of their work-permits. Some of our student employees are F-1 International students whose visa stipulates a similar restriction, and some of our student employees are CalPERS retirees who are also limited in how many hours they can work. In sum, ensuring student assistants do not work more than 20 hours/week while in classes helps protect additional labor laws and requirements that our students may be subject to.
Lastly, implementing a limit of 20 hours of work/week helps us demonstrate that we support our student assistants as students first. We want their coursework and students to be the primary effort at Cabrillo, with work a secondary benefit and learning experience. Please be mindful of all of your student's needs when it comes to creating schedules that work for everyone.
When collected timecards from your employees, please review them for accuracy. Timecards are considered a legal record so it is important that we are being diligent about accurately recording when employees were or were not working. Once you have signed off as a supervisor, it goes to the applicable Administrator for the budget that you are using. Please consult with your Appropriate Administrator around departmental deadlines for timecard submission, about your budget, and to receive the timecards themselves from the Business Office, if needed.
If details surrounding the employee's pay (Pay Rate, budget, and/or work-study status) are changing for an existing, cleared employee, please submit a Student Employee Change Form with the pertinent details. If you are making this change with the Fiscal Year, simply update the information on the new Student Assistant Assignment Form that is submitted for any start date of July 1 or later of the Fiscal Year, appropriate Fiscal year.
If you need to end a student's position early, update the supervisor of record, or have other questions about the student's status, please contact the Student Employment team at studentjobs@cabrillo.edu to ensure your updates are recorded and all necessary information is collected.
Commonly Used Forms for Student Employees
I-9 (start in NeoEd, finish in Employment & Internship Office)
Student Employee Handbook (slightly out of date - please refer to this webpage for the most up-to-date information)