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Cornell University

Student & Campus Life

For Supervisors

Career Services staff, ready to help you

As a potential or current supervisor for student employees in Student and Campus Life, the information on this website will help you hire, engage and develop, and manage the day-to-day activities associated with supervising a student employee. You are an important part of the overall student experience in SCL. We hope you find these resources useful in creating and fostering an environment of learning and growth for your student employees.

Jump to: Recruiting, Posting and Hiring Resources - Student Employment Policies - Wages and Classifications - Supervising Student Employees - Developing & Engaging Students

Recruiting, Posting and Hiring Resources

Below are links to student employment resources to assist staff with using WorkDay to recruit, post and hire student employees:

Resources

Student Employment Policies

Being knowledgeable about University policies on student employment is key to success as a supervisor:

Policies

Wages and Classifications

The Cornell Student Job and Wage Classification System governs student positions and wages. Hourly jobs are categorized into four classification levels depending on job responsibilities, required skills and experience, level of supervision, and degree of decision-making for different types of jobs. The student hourly wage is also based on equity within the department. Review the links below to learn more:

Classification and Calendar

Supervising Student Employees

Student employees need your support to be successful. Be sure they understand what you expect of them in terms of work product and standards of conduct. Keep the following best practices in mind as you supervise student employees:

Best Practices

  • Ensure that student employees do not work during scheduled class times – remember that student employees are students first and foremost.

  • Provide student employees with the orientation, training, and mentoring they need to perform required tasks and to succeed in their job.
  • Establish expectations and standards of behavior for student employees.
  • Keep lines of communication open, clear, and constructive.
  • Provide regular feedback and coaching. 
  • Create and provide a safe workspace that is free from hazards.
  • Verify the accuracy of a student employee’s logged time worked in the Time and Absence System. 
  • When issues arise, address them promptly and objectively.
  • Set a good example. As a supervisor, you can help student employees develop lifelong effective working habits such as dependability, honesty, and efficiency.

The relationship between student employees and supervisors is a two-way street. Review Student Employee Responsibilities for a list of responsibilities student employees are asked to follow as best practices for all student employees.

Developing & Engaging Students

Professional development and career readiness are critical learning opportunities that shape the success of a student’s employment experience. The university values the unique role you play as part of the overall student experience at Cornell.

The student employee/supervisor relationship mirrors the student/teacher relationship in many ways. Students look to teachers for instruction, for guidance, and for modeling of appropriate behavior. In the same way, students who are employees look to you for training and for professional and personal development. By helping student employees understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, supervisors can show how each task contributes to the overall missions of the office, the department, and the institution.

As a supervisor, you are encouraged to engage your student employees in the following activities as a means of supporting their development as an employee:

Setting Expectations and Clarifying the Work

  • Develop a written job description to share with the student using the NACE career readiness competencies

  • Explain the task and its purpose (clearly establish the goals)
  • Ask them what they already know relevant to the task
  • Demonstrate and explain the task step by step
  • Emphasize any key points
  • Demonstrate the task a second time
  • Ask the student questions that test understanding
  • Allow the student to practice the task
  • Give the student specific feedback on their performance of the task
  • Have the student continue to practice the task until they can do the task themselves (allow for the learning curve)
  • Allow the student to do the task independently, and check work periodically

Communicating and Delegating Tasks

Once the student is comfortable in the workplace, providing them with challenging work assignments is a great way for them to grow.

Consider delegating work assignments that allow them some creativity and independence if the work allows.The student employee needs to know exactly what the task is that is being delegated, resources that are available (materials, technology, people) as well as your goals and expectations.

The student employee should also be told why the assignment needs to be done and why they have been chosen for the assignment. It is crucial that you clearly explain when the assignment is due and when you will check in on progress. In addition, it is very important that you communicate with others involved in this work assignment to ensure cooperation.

Coaching Student Employees

As a student employee supervisor, you should be the workplace coach. Coaches make time for dialogue, offer encouragement or corrective guidance, ask for input for solutions to issues, and recognize achievements. Coaching conversations involve active listening, powerful questions, and making suggestions. 
As the student’s supervisor, you are in a key position to spot signs of personal or academic strife that may be adversely affecting the student.

Evaluating Student Employees

Evaluating the student employee’s performance has proven to increase learning outcomes associated with their role.  Some common evaluation criteria for student employees includes telephone skills, computer skills, customer service, productivity, attitude, punctuality, quality of work, cooperation, initiative, and level of supervision needed.

Engaging Student Employees

As with any on-campus initiative, student engagement is pivotal to success. As a supervisor, you are encouraged to engage your student employees in conversations and activities beyond day-to-day tasks and projects. Building rapport with student employees helps to model appropriate interpersonal relationship development, increases their connection to the workplace, and enhances their dedication to their position.