Scholarship Payment

Status Forms

A Status Form must be processed for each of the following:

• A primary position
• Each secondary position
• A break-period position

A secondary or break-period position must be approved before a student can begin work, and a primary Status Form must be on file before a student can begin working in any position. All positions are contracted through the online Status Form system, available at lsf.berea.edu.

Starting with the 2027-2028 academic year, secondary positions will no longer be available, and a secondary Status Form will no longer be needed. See Secondary Positions under Position Assignments for more detail on this change.

Position Codes

Every student position within a department has a specific position code. When a position code is assigned (for example, S12345), it is linked to specific position information, including the department, WLS level, and position title, and corresponds to an approved position description. A department does not need to assign a different code to each individual student; instead, each student should be assigned the code that reflects the WLS level of their position, which means multiple students may share the same code.

Term Codes

The College’s administrative record system uses a special code to designate the academic year and term. Term codes are created by combining the year number and the term number (fall term=01; spring term=02; summer term I- 03; summer term II - 04). For example, the fall term 2022 would be coded as 202211.

Holds

Students are not permitted to register for classes or confirm enrollment for a term or summer period until the following have been completed:

• Upon entering the College, the student submits the Enrollment Agreement and an I-9 form
• Before the start of an academic year, term, or summer period, the department submits a Status Form once the student has secured a position, and the student reviews and approves the form in the system
• In the spring, the student completes the Work-Learning Experience Evaluation (WLEE)

This process is monitored through an electronic hold system that prevents access to registration or confirmation if any of the above remains outstanding. A hold is removed once the required item is completed.

Note: A graduate who has not met their required work-learning hours may also receive a hold on their account until an appropriate number of community service hours, usually equal to the hours shortfall, are completed and recorded after graduation. In this case, the hold prevents the graduate from receiving official transcripts until it is removed. The Work College Program Office maintains the procedure for establishing this community service requirement.

Timekeeping

The TRACY UltraTime timekeeping system is a comprehensive time management system that allows supervisors to track attendance, hours, and performance. Participation in the system is required of all students and labor supervisors.

Student Time Entry

Students must enter their time at the start and end of each work-learning shift, using a designated timeclock or TRACY UltraPunch. Only in special circumstances, such as an emergency where an RA must address a situation immediately, or where access to a timeclock or UltraPunch is unavailable, may hours be entered after the work-learning has already taken place.

If a department's timeclock goes down and UltraPunch is also inaccessible, the department should notify the Work College Program Office right away. Paper timesheets are not in alignment with program policy and should not be used as a routine substitute. In the rare event that all systems are unavailable, time may need to be recorded on paper temporarily, but this should be uncommon and must be approved by the Work College Program Office before a department resorts to it.

Supervisor Certification of Student Time

Supervisors are responsible for the certification and oversight of hours worked by students in their department. This responsibility holds true even when a supervisor uses a proxy, such as another staff member or a student manager, to assist with time management and approvals. This certification responsibility is also referenced under Timecards in Core Program Functions, as one of the required duties of every supervisor.

Important Supervisor Notification
Approved May 21, 2011, by the Audit Committee of the Berea College Board of Trustees

1. It is the responsibility of the designated staff or faculty supervisor to certify the work hours of their student(s).
2. The responsibility for reviewing and certifying time worked remains with the designated supervisor, even when that supervisor authorizes a student manager to assist with time reporting.
3. Failure to certify students' time worked during a term will result in the withdrawal of the position(s) allocated to that supervisor, and the affected students will be reassigned to another supervisor. Reinstatement as a supervisor will require a signed agreement to assume time verification responsibility going forward.

Scholarship Payment Schedule

Unrecorded Time Form

The Unrecorded Time Form is used to report scholarship payment hours in cases where:

• Hours are being submitted for payment through Labor Pool;
• The student was paid an incorrect scholarship payment.

The Unrecorded Time Form can be accessed by contacting the Student Payments Manager.

Students and supervisors must submit time by the designated due dates on the Payroll Schedule. If time worked was not submitted to Payroll via Tracy, payment is subject to delay or denial. All unrecorded time must be submitted and confirmed by the Labor Supervisor by the payroll due date. Unrecorded time may not be added to future pay periods. Unrecorded time requests must be submitted within two pay periods of the unrecorded time. Any time submitted outside of this deadline will be denied upon request. This policy requires students and labor supervisors to take responsibility for all time worked and protects the College’s finances. Failure to submit students’ time can result in a decrease in allocations and/or removal of students from the department.

Direct Deposit Requirement

Berea College requires all student scholarship disbursements to be made via direct deposit. Direct deposit can be set up with a bank account regardless of its location. Many local banks offer free checking accounts to students, along with debit cards and free ATM access. A student who does not have a bank account may consider a prepaid card as an alternative; the Work College Program's can help a student evaluate options and choose one that fits their needs.

The Work College Program Office can answer questions about direct deposit or assist a student in setting it up with their bank. When setting up direct deposit, a student will be asked to provide a voided check or a bank statement that clearly shows their account information. Handwritten account numbers are not accepted.

Banking Hours

Departments are not permitted to "bank" hours, meaning hours worked in one week or pay period cannot be held and paid out in a different week or pay period. A student must be paid for the hours they actually work within the scholarship disbursement period in which those hours occur.

Release/Position Adjustment Form

A release form is used to discontinue an existing position and is available at lsf.berea.edu. The same deadlines that apply to changing a position, as outlined under Last Day to Change a Position, also apply to releasing one.

A student should not be released from their position without consultation with the Work College Program Office. See Releasing Students During the Term under Core Program Functions for the full process supervisors must follow before a release can take place.

Departments should be in communication with the Work College Program prior to completing the release form in the system. 

Tax Forms and Tax Liability

Student scholarship payments received are not subject to withholding or FICA. However a scholarship tax liability might apply and is dependent on the total amount of non-qualified aid received during the year. The Financial Aid office provides students annually with a tax letter that assists the student in determining the amount of taxable aid income received.