Columbia University Student Financial Services

An earnings limit is established by the student’s financial aid office. The student and the employer are responsible for monitoring the student’s earnings. The FWS Office will assist in this process by providing bi-weekly reports for both the employer and the financial aid office that show each student’s cumulative earnings. Please share these reports with your student employees.

Students can also monitor their earnings and award balance on SSOL and in the My Timesheets section of the FWS online system.

Once the student’s FWS award limit is reached, the student will not be paid through FWS unless the the award is increased by the financial aid office before the pay period deadline.

Employers will receive a letter stating the FWS allocation for the year granted by the Provost's Office. To monitor the amount of money available throughout the year, deduct gross earnings that are authorized on the FWS timesheets from the allocation.

Students may only be paid through FWS if the employer and the student have not exceeded their  allocation/award.