Student Employment

The majority of School of the Arts student casuals are funded through service positions allocated by the School of the Arts Financial Aid Office. Students who receive a service position allocation will be hired as an hourly student casual by the School of the Arts’ Business Office (Human Resources) and will require completion of the appropriate payroll documentation, including Form I-9. Once activated in payroll, service positions are compensated at an hourly rate for a maximum number of hours. Students may not work over the maximum cumulative hours allocated without prior approval from their supervisor and Program DAA.

Hours worked are contingent upon your availability. We encourage you to plan ahead and determine your schedule with your supervisor so that you are able to schedule enough hours to work up to your maximum allocation. The position supervisor reserves the right to remove students from the service position for poor performance, excessive absences or tardiness, and/or inappropriate behavior or misconduct. 

A portion of these funds may be paid through the Federal Work Study Program and completion of the appropriate payroll documentation is required.

Student hourly payroll is processed biweekly based on the annual FY27 Biweekly TLAM Timesheet Processing Schedule.  Student officer (Teaching Assistant) appointments follow a separate semi-monthly payroll schedule according to the "Semi-Monthly Other" calendar (highlighted in red on the Morningside Payroll Calendar). Students who simultaneously hold a student officer and hourly position are paid according to the applicable payroll schedules for each role.

Columbia University payroll checks will be mailed directly from the bank to the employee mailing address listed in the payroll system if the student has not opted for direct deposit.

Click here for Timesheet Entry for Student Casuals and VHO Timesheet Instructions.

Please note: You must submit timesheets accurately reflecting your hours worked before each payroll deadline. Your position supervisor will review and approve timesheets electronically. Failure to submit timesheets on time will result in delays in payment. Available timesheets are based on your position start date, and you can only enter the two (2) most recent bi-weekly pay periods in TLAM.

If you have time to report prior to this time frame, paper timesheets need to be completed, signed by the appropriate timesheet approver, and emailed to [email protected] for processing.

**Per NYS regulations, hourly employees may not work more than six consecutive hours without taking an unpaid, half-hour break. Please ensure shifts are scheduled accordingly and timesheets are submitted with the recorded break.

During the fall and spring semesters, student casual employment may not exceed 20 hours per week across all university positions.

Students on appointments (Teaching Assistants) who hold additional student service positions and/or casual pay positions are limited to 15 hours per week during the term of the payroll appointment. TA appointments count as 5 hours per week.

When students are not enrolled they may work up to 40 hours per week.

Direct deposit is free and automatically deposits your pay into your bank account(s) each payday. You can enroll in a single account or split your deposit across multiple accounts, allocated by percentage, flat dollar amount, or remaining balance. Any enrollments, edits, and inactivations take effect immediately on your next paycheck.

To enroll in direct deposit:

1. Log into MyColumbia with your UNI and password
2. Go to the Faculty and Staff tab
3. Under the "Personal Data Tab", choose "View and/or Update Personal Data"
4. Click on Payroll  & Compensation
5. Click on Direct Deposit
6. You can then add account details by selecting the "+" button under accounts (remember to click "save" when you're done!)

The system will send a confirmation email to your Lionmail account when you have successfully set up direct deposit. For further instructions, please review the Direct Deposit in PAC video. 

For compliance purposes, a local address must be recorded for all CU student casuals in the payroll system.

To update your home or mailing address in the system:

1. Log into MyColumbia with your UNI and password
2. Go to the Faculty and Staff tab
3. Under the "Personal Data Tab", choose "View and/or Update Personal Data"
4. Click on Personal Details, and here you can add or amend your address entry

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Columbia University complies with the New York Safe and Sick Leave Policy and the New Jersey Sick Leave Law. 

New York Safe and Sick Leave Policy

Eligible student casual employees accrue 1 hour of safe/sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours in a fiscal year (July 1 - June 30). Paid safe/sick time must be taken in 1-hour increments and is recorded in TLAM (absence type is "Sick-NYC Sick Leave").

*New as of February 2026* Eligible employees may use up to 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time per fiscal year. The allotment is available for use starting on your hire date, resets each July 1, and may not be exceeded in any fiscal year. Unpaid safe/sick time must be taken in a minimum increment of 4 hours; any additional time used within the same 24-hour period is taken in 30-minute increments. To record unpaid safe/sick time, please complete and submit the Unpaid ESSTA Time Tracker form to your supervisor, who will need to email a signed copy to [email protected].

New Jersey Sick Leave Law

The full text of the law can be found on the New Jersey Department of Labor website.