Payroll Information

On-Campus Employers (Off-Campus Employers below)

Earnings Reports

To view detailed information on the student's earnings, log in to the Work-Study web site and:

  1. Select "Students" then "Student Earnings Report"
  2. Scroll down and select the student's name (far left)
  3. If the Work-Study subsidy was processed, the student's month-by-month earnings history will be visible. Also included is the employer share and totals.
  4. Departments can also view previous program year(s) transactions. Note: once the Work-Study program year closes, it cannot be revisited and departments cannot be subsidized for student earnings they did not submit in time or were entered incorrectly in the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) or the Online Payroll Time Reporting System (OPTRS). We email reminders to departments and will help however we can, but our funds close each year at the end of June.

Expenditure Transfers

If the Work-Study subsidy did not occur and should have, an expenditure transfer can be performed through the payroll system (OPTRS) until the close of the budget/program year.

  1. In OPTRS system go to the main menu. At the bottom in the field "Next Func" key in EDAT.
  2. Key in EDTS.
  3. Key in the information in the fields "ET MONTH", ET PAGE, ET LINE and REASON (put "C" as reason). Press Enter.
  4. In the line "Transfer from (credit)," the chart string will be populated automatically.
  5. In the line "Transfer to (debit)," key in the chart string (copy the same chart string of the line above for credit, but then on the third field put the work study fund CONTACT THE WORK-STUDY OFFICE FOR THE FUND NUMBER.
  6. In line "Original Gross Earnings" key in the gross earnings. Also enter the "Benefits."
  7. In line "Transfer Gross Earnings" key in 60% of student's gross earnings.
  8. Press F5 to save the transaction.
  9. You will get the next window "Notification Preparation." At the bottom enter the email address wsp@berkeley.edu so Work-Study receives the email notification about this transaction.
  10. Press F10. You will get a new window "Comments Entry." Put the reason you are doing the expense transfer and when finished Press F5. The system will take you back to first screen. At the bottom of the screen will appear "Update process complete."

Off-Campus Employers

Reimbursement Process

For any pay period, Work-Study students are paid 100% of their earnings by the employer. Once the student has been paid, to receive the Work-Study reimbursement, after logging in to the employer Work-Study web site:

  1. Select "Students" and then "Student Earnings Report"
  2. Scroll down, find the student in question and select "Time Sheet for" (far left)
  3. Enter the pay period dates and select "Create Time Sheet" (pay period should be the same as the pay period on your proof of payment)
  4. Enter "Proof of Payment #" this can be the check number, or "Ledger" some identifier for us to match your proof of payment with this time sheet - NOTE: Never enter a student's Social Security Number anywhere within the Work-Study web site.
  5. Enter the hours worked with the corresponding dates and select "Process Time Sheet" (bottom). Selecting "Process Time Sheet" generates an automated email to the students alerting them that a time sheet has been entered and needs their validation.

Once this is done, you can either print the time sheet for the supervisor (or other authorized personnel) and student to sign and fax or create a PDF and send it to the Work-Study office with the proof of payment, or have the student validate the time sheet online and fax only the proof of payment. To check whether or not students have validated time sheets,

1. Select "Reports" and the first link, "Payroll Pending For Validation"

This information provides student names, how many days have passed since the time sheet was entered, and whether or not the student validated the time sheet online (far right).

When the Work-Study office processes the reimbursement, confirmation emails are automatically sent to the student and the Job Request's payroll person and supervisor. If the employer has arranged Electronic Fund Transfer, they should see the Work-Study share deposited within three business days. If the employer has opted for a paper check, they should receive it in four to six weeks.

Reimbursement Reports

Once reimbursements have occurred, the Work-Study web site provides detailed information. Select "Reports" and:

  • "Current Year Payroll Completed" shows reimbursement invoice numbers, dates, and amounts. Note: the date is when the Work-Study office processed the information, not when the deposit was made or the check was sent.
  • Employers can also view previous program year(s) transactions. Note: once the Work-Study program year closes, it cannot be revisited and employers cannot be reimbursed for student earnings they did not submit in time. We email reminders to employers and will help however we can, but our funds close each year in June.