Faculty Aide Program Guidelines

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning at the start of each semester and then again in April for the upcoming summer term.

Eligibility

Faculty Aides must be full-time registered undergraduate students serving as research assistants to Harvard faculty members. The Faculty Aide's work must be bona fide research and must not consist of routine maintenance or clerical tasks. The Faculty Aide Program does not award students who are eligible for the Federal Work Study Program or students who working under the Harvard College Research Program. Students eligible for the Federal Work Study Program generally have a higher earnings ceiling than the Faculty Aide Program award amount. In addition, employers pay only 35% of a FWSP student’s wage, compared with 50% for that of a FAP student.

Application Deadlines

Due dates for 2008-2009 are as follows:

Summer: On a rolling basis starting Monday, May 5, 2008

Term-Time: On a rolling basis starting Monday, September 8, 2008

Application Procedures

Harvard faculty members may approach a student directly or to post a Faculty Aide position via the Student Employment Office, please follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit the Jobs Database and Request a Login.

Step 2: Upon approval, which usually takes 1-2 business days, go to Job Management Login. You will need your e-mail address and the password which you requested in Step 1.

Step 3: Add a new job for your department. Select Faculty Aide Program as the category and complete the job posting template. Your posting will be posted within 1-2 business days.

Step 4: Once a student has been hired, submit the FAP application form for final approval by the Student Employment Office. When your application is approved, we will send you an e-mail confirmation.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but posting your Faculty Aide position early in the fall or in April increases your chances for finding the right student. Faculty members will receive an e-mail upon approval of their application. Approved applicants are awarded one $1000 grant to be used by one student or divided among several. Faculty may not receive more than one Faculty Aide award of $1000. Each dollar earned by the Faculty Aide(s) must be matched by the faculty member.

The faculty member's matching share may come from a grant, funds attached to an endowed chair, a restricted account in FAS, funds outside FAS, or personal funds. It may not be paid from the unrestricted budget of FAS. The account number for the faculty member's share or the professor's intent to pay with personal funds must be clear on the application. As a student, you have two ways to take advantage of the Faculty Aide Program:

1. Approach a professor with whom you would like to work and ask to be hired under the program. Do this early, as the application due dates come quickly. While most faculty members have heard of the program, be prepared to explain it. Bring along a print out of this page and tell the professor to apply electronically at http://www.seo.harvard.edu/resprog/faideapp.html!

2. Visit the Student Employment Office Jobs Database where faculty members post their Faculty Aide positions and follow the steps below.

Choose Funding Sources

Select the funding source(s) that are available to you. This will determine the jobs that display in your search results. You can modify funding source selections later from the Quick and Advanced Search pages. (see following example of choices)

Off-Campus Non-WorkStudy
Off-Campus Work-Study:
On-Campus Non-WorkStudy
On-Campus Work-Study

Step 2: Find a Job

Select Faculty Aide Program in the Quick Search and begin your search!

Step 3: Apply for a Job

Contact the faculty member directly and once hired, the faculty member will need to apply to the Faculty Aide Program electronically at http://www.seo.harvard.edu/resprog/faideapp.html

Payroll

Students on the Faculty Aide Program are hired and paid by the faculty member’s department on Harvard’s payroll system. If your department does not have access to the Harvard payroll system or you are using personal funds, please complete the additional billing information on the application form. In the event that you do not have access to the Harvard payroll system or are using personal funds, the Student Employment Office will process 100% of students' payroll and bill you at the end of the period of employment.

Each week, charge half the student's hours to the Faculty Aide Program Account Number:

370-32280-6110-000001-625100-0000-00000 (term)

370-32280-6120-000001-625100-0000-00000 (summer)

Charge the other half to your account number listed on the application. For example, to pay a Faculty Aide at $9.00/hr for 10 hours of work, you would charge 5 hours to the Faculty Aide account and 5 hours to the professor's account, both at the same rate of $9.00/hr. The student will receive one check with the funds drawn from both accounts.

There is no set pay rate for the Faculty Aide Program. You may wish to be consistent with the Federal Work-Study Program pay range of $9.25-$12.15 per hour or with the Harvard College Research Program pay rate of $9.00 per hour. Payments in excess of the Faculty Aide award, which are not matched by allowable restricted funds, will be charged back to the faculty member/department through a journal entry in the University accounting system.