A student worker is a part-time employee who is currently enrolled in at least a half-time credit load at the University of North Georgia with the primary goal of achieving a degree.
A student worker is considered a temporary employee and is not eligible for benefits and also not eligible to work during official University closings.
International students on an F-1 or J-1 visa are limited to 20 hours per week.
The maximum hours students are allowed to work is 25 hours per week cumulative (in all jobs) for fall and spring semester. Student assistants are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes. If at any time it is determined that a student employee's work hours need to exceed the 25 hours/week, the department will need to contact human resources to change the students status to part-time/temporary staff.
If a student is enrolled for 6 credit hours they will be exempt from FICA. The student FICA exception will not apply to students who are not enrolled in classes during school breaks of more than 5 weeks (including summer breaks of more than 5 weeks).
If a student employee does not meet the enrollment hours requirement, they will automatically be enrolled in the Georgia Defined Contribution Plan (GDCP) for temporary employees and subject to a 7.5% deduction and the 1.45% Medicare portion of FICA. There is no employer matching contribution for GDCP; however, there is a matching 1.45% employer Medicare contribution.