LARC Student Staff Administrative Tasks

Here you will find information about break periods, payroll, emergency procedures, training expectations, and more.

Union Rules about Lunches and Breaks

• Student employees working a consecutive 4-hour work period are entitled to take one paid ten-minute break. Break periods are not recorded on payroll vouchers. Please notify desk staff and/or your supervisor before going on a break.
• A meal period of no less than 30 minutes is required for a work period of more than 6 hours. Meal periods are not considered paid time.​
• Running to the restroom or to get water does not count as an actual break. However, you should still notify desk staff and/or your supervisor that you are leaving the space.

Hiring Procedures

Hiring Paperwork:

Once hired, your supervisor will submit a hiring form to Faculty Affairs and a list of all student employees to Human Resources. If you are working as a tutor, an SI Leader, or an Advisor, you are considered an Academic Student employee and your classification is an Instructional Student Assistant. If you are working as a Student Ambassador or Social Media Coordinator, your classification is a Student Assistant.

Hire Checklist (for all new and returning employees):

• ALL EMPLOYEES (except Student Assistants): Faculty Affairs will send you an informational email with your appointment form. 
• ALL EMPLOYEES (except Student Assistants): Your supervisor will send you an electronic version of your Description of Duties form. You will review the form, digitally sign it and then a copy is given to you and one is kept by the LARC.
• NEW HIRES ONLY (including Student Assistants): A new employee sign-up is required for all new employees or those who have not worked at Sonoma State University within the past three years. Human Resources will email you a AdobeSign PDF hiring packet to complete. There will be documents that you need to complete, sign and return to HR. These are IMPORTANT documents including your tax withholding form and your employment eligibility (I-9) form. Once you have your acceptable document(s)*, please contact Human Resources to request your new employee paperwork and schedule an appointment to meet with an HR Representative. Please have your paperwork completed prior to the meeting. At this meeting, you will be required to present your acceptable documents and will have the opportunity to ask any questions. *Please note: you will need to present one item from list A, OR a combination of one item from list B and list C, using the list linked above

LARC Employee Training Expectations

Preterm Asynchronous Work:

Each semester, pre-term asynchronous work will be assigned through your Canvas course. Some assignments will be view-only; others will require a response and/or the upload of materials. We expect that this work will be completed in a timely manner. This time is paid, and the expected time to complete the asynchronous work will be outlined each semester. The pre-term work will serve as the building blocks for the in-person orientation/training as outlined below.

Beginning of Term Orientation/Training:

As mentioned in the job posting and the letter of intent you signed during the hiring process, pre-term orientation is required. This training will take place over the course of one-two days, and is paid time. The orientation will cover job responsibilities, the scope of work, and general policies and procedures, along with training focused specifically to each program, and building on the pre-term training. For tutors to receive College of Reading & Leaning Association (CRLA certification), they will need to attend the full orientation. Meals/refreshments will be provided as well.

Staff Meetings:

Staff meetings will generally be held every week in the fall semester, and every other week during the spring semester, and they may be specific to the programs. Student Ambassadors will meet approximately once per month during each semester, with the potential for more meetings at the beginning of the semester for additional training. These meetings will serve to further build community, and are a place for all staff to share ideas, achievements, challenges, and more. They will also provide ongoing staff development and learning opportunities, and will allow the Admin staff to keep all LARC Student Employees updated regarding events, payroll deadlines, campus information, and more. We do expect all staff to attend these meetings, though exceptions will be made for class or outside work conflicts. If you are unable to attend a staff meeting for any reason, you will need to follow up with your direct supervisor.

How Do I Get Paid? Payroll Policies & Procedures

Overview:

The official pay period for student employees generally begins on the 1st of each month and ends on the last day of the month. Student employee paychecks are usually available on the 15th day of the month following the end of the pay period. We highly recommend that you sign up for Direct Deposit (see below). Otherwise, you have two options:

1. If you do not want to pick up your paycheck in person: send an email to payroll@sonoma.edu with your name and the address on file in MyHR. Please check MyHR to ensure the mailing address on file is correct. Payroll cannot send paychecks to any other address.
2. Paychecks will be available for pick up at the Seawolf Service Center on the 15th of each month. This is ONLY for those who do NOT have direct deposit. Seawolf Service Center is located on the first floor of Salazar. For pick up: A photo I.D. is required or the last 4 of your social security number.

To sign up for direct deposit, please follow the steps to register with Cal Employee Connect (CEC) (full instructions can be found through the link).

Payroll is submitted through your personal Google timesheet and through the SSU MyHR button in PeopleSoft. Payroll is due at the end of each month and you will receive several reminders through Canvas and email. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A LARC STAFF MEMBER TO ACCURATELY AND HONESTLY TRACK AND RECORD YOUR HOURS. Tutoring and SI Leader/ positions are ISAs - Instructional Student Assistant positions. Student Ambassadors and Social Media Coordinators are SAs - Student Assistants. If you have more than one position in the LARC, you need to report time separately for each job under the correct record number. Please also remember that you cannot work over 20 hours between ALL campus jobs. It is your responsibility to make sure that you adhere to this requirement.

Google Timesheets:

A Google timesheet will be shared with you at the beginning of your employment with the LARC, and at the beginning of each successive year of employment. The spreadsheet contains a tab for each month, and calculates monthly total hours, and gross pay, automatically. There is also a tab with complete, step-by-step instructions, and a shortened version is available in the Payroll Module of your assigned Canvas course.

If you have any questions about your Google timesheet, or notice that any errors are occurring, please contact Gillian Estes.

Self-Service Online Payroll Submission (through MyHR):

**Your Canvas Course Payroll Module has these instructions and the official HR guide for Online Time Reporting, “Time and Labor Entry,” which is also linked below and can be downloaded for future reference.

Remember, if you are having trouble submitting online try a different browser (Safari or Firefox, not Google Chrome); Don’t wait until the last day to submit your hours!

Time and Labor Reporting in PeopleSoft (following the steps on Time and Labor Quick Reference Guide):

Step 1: Log into PeopleSoft

Step 2: Click on the "MyHR" button on your landing page, NOT “MySSU”. If this button doesn’t show up that means your employee position is not active. Please inform Loriann Negri or Gillian Estes.

Step 3: In the Menu bar, click on Self Service

Step 4: Select Time Reporting

Step 5: Select Report Time

Step 6: Select Timesheet

(There is a Shortcut for Steps 3-6, you can click on "TimeSheet" under the Employee Self-Service box from the main "MyHR" page)

Step 7: Select the job for which you are reporting time worked. If you are someone that works multiple jobs in the LARC, or on campus, you will see several jobs listed under job description. Instructional Student Assistant (ISA) is your Tutor/SI Leader job, and Student Assistant is a Desk or Social Media Job. If you are also an Advisor, you will have another ISA position for that job. You need to report time separately for each job. Make sure to select the job description with the appropriate record number for the hours you are reporting. **If you don’t know the correct record number, check with Loriann or Gillian.

Step 8: You'll see a set of rows with date headings and an area to select "View By." Please select "View by" Time Period this will give you fields for the whole month. Remember when you are reporting time, even though you are reporting it before the end of the month - you report for the whole Time Period (or month). If you are having trouble getting the fields to be fillable, you might try “View by” Week or Day.

Step 9: Enter hours worked for dates as appropriate:

• You simply enter in 2 (for 2 hours worked). If you work over six hours, make sure you take a lunch break, but still enter the full hours worked on the first line. 
• Only enter hours in the first row as the other rows are for entering hours under other budget chartfields. 
• Do NOT enter 0 hours on a day you did not work - just leave it blank.
• Select REG for the Time Reporting Code. This is the only option to select, but if you forget to select it and submit your hours - it will wipe out everything you enter and you'll have to start over!
• DO NOT make changes to Taskgroup, Business Unit or Combo Code
• Use the magnifying glass to select the appropriate Task Profile ID (this will be either WCDESK_SA or WCTUTOR_SA or SI_LEAD_SA). Note: You may not need to select a Task Profile ID if you only work one job.
• Select Submit

Important Things to Remember: 

• Enter your hours in your Google timesheet and use that when entering hours in MyHR. The timesheet also helps you prevent making errors.
• All positions on campus have Record numbers associated with them. If you have multiple jobs on campus, it is very important that you report your time under the correct Record # and Job Title. Your Record number(s) will be on your Google timesheets.

Payroll Q&A:

• What if I forgot to enter hours or pick up a shift late in the month?
  • Students can view and add/change time as long as their access for the month has not ended. You can do this by going back into MyHR.
• What if I want to review my time submitted in a full-month view?
  • There is another feature to view time only and you can get there by navigating to Main Menu>Self Service>Time Reporting>View Time>Time and Labor Launch Pad. This shows time reporting in a calendar-fashion.
• Does it automatically block holidays?
  • NOT ALWAYS! This is another reason why filling out the Google timesheet will be helpful for you because the holidays will be listed at the top of each month.

Emergency Procedures & Information

In the event of an emergency we take our staff's safety very seriously. In addition to our personal concern for all of you, state regulations require that employers account for all employees following an emergency. In response to this regulation, we will use an easy method of communication via a Canvas forum page for a simple roll call system that requires all LARC employees to post a “I am safe” message in the event of an emergency.

Important Contact Information

Student Referrals & Campus Resource Guide for LARC Employees

The linked spreadsheet – Student Referrals & Campus Resource Guide for LARC Employees – includes a comprehensive list of up-to-date campus resources that we suggest you familiarize with in case you need to refer students to a campus program, department or resource.

Information included in this spreadsheet:

• Name of Student Resource, Program, or Department
• Notes on available services
• Website Link
• Contact information

We also have a fairly comprehensive list of resources on our website: Campus Resources, which includes campus departments, programs, and SSU/LARC How-To videos. For Writing Center tutors, we have linked Google doc versions of all our worksheets under Handouts & Guides. This section also includes a couple of Study Skills/Time management resources put together by LARC student employees.

If you know of additional resources that should be included on the referral list and/or the website, please provide that information to Gillian Estes or your supervisor.

Please click here to return to the top of the page, or you may return to the main LARC Handbook Page.