FINANCIAL AID

Students

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a federally funded program that issues awards according to financial aid campus policy. Funds are limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority is given to students who demonstrate the highest need.

What qualifies you for FWS at CSUN

In order to qualify for a FWS award, you must meet the following criteria:

  • Submit a Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) by the March 2nd annually.
  • Indicate on the FAFSA that you are interested in work-study.
  • Have a qualifying Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by the FAFSA.
  • Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
  • Be enrolled in classes at least half-time (6 units undergraduate; 4 units graduate) during any semester of employment.
  • First-time FWS participants MUST complete the online FWS Student Information Workshop.

CSUN students that meet the FWS eligibility criteria mentioned above are pre-screened and sent an email invitation with instructions on how to participate in the program in the month of July annually to the @my.csun.edu account.

If you did not received your email invitation, or have additional questions about your eligibility contact us at work.study@csun.edu or (818) 677-2373.  Please include your 9-digit CSUN student ID number in all communications.

How does FWS affect my Financial Aid

FWS is part of your financial aid package. The amount of financial aid you receive cannot surpass your Cost of Attendance (COA). The general rule is that the student's total aid may not exceed the student's COA. In the Financial Aid Process known as, coordinate, all aid available to a student is reviewed to ensure the student stay within their Cost of Attendance.  In most instances, a student financial aid Loan offers will be reduced or canceled to add the FWS award.

The nice thing about a FWS job is that the earning from FWS don’t count toward the income you have to report on your future FAFSA. FWS earning are reported in the Student Financials Section of the FAFSA, by entering the money earn from FWS in the question “Taxable earnings from need-based employment programs, such as Federal Work-Study and need based employment”.  This means it doesn’t negatively affect your ability to qualify for federal aid.

How do I get a FWS job

If you are interested in getting a FWS job you must view the mandatory FWS online information workshop as part of the qualification criteria to receive information on how to search and apply to FWS job.

Qualifying students FAFSA is pre-screen and sent an emailed invitation to participate annually to their CSUN email account. This email invitation contains the web link to the mandatory on-line workshop.

Fraudulent Job Offers

It has come to our attention that CSUN students are receiving fraudulent job offers from people posing as reputable employers or pose as faculty members advertising internships. Financial Aid and Scholarship Department has not given your information to these employers.

Despite preventive measures taken by CSUN IT, fraudulent and/or phishing email attacks continue to be sent from compromised faculty and staff accounts. If it looks suspicious, do not click on it.

Find more information regarding fraudulent job offers or phishing emails examples here: https://www.csun.edu/it/avoid-fraud-email

Please use your own discretion when applying for any jobs online and if you are questioning the validity of a job offer please feel free to contact the FWS Office at work.study@csun.edu or at (818) 677-2373.

Forms and Links

Forms

Campus Time Sheet 
Once you're employed as a student assistant, track your hours on this time sheet.

Student Award Balance Tracking Sheet
Make sure you don't exceed your work-study award by keeping track of your monthly earnings.


Links

Job search

Student Salary Schedule

Drug-free Campus and Workplace Policy

Withdrawal policy