The electronic Student Personnel Action Form (eSPAF) is used when hiring hourly-paid students, changing the rate or account distribution for an already-hired student, or terminating a student who is no longer working. Payroll uses the information on this form to activate the student on the hourly student payroll.
To complete the eSPAF, first make sure you meet the requirements for using this form. Then go to the eSPAF page and enter information in each of the fields of the form. Fields marked with an asterisk ( * ) are required information. The form consists of two sections: "Check student elgibility" and "Hire student." If you need more help, see eSPAF trouble-shooting.
This section is used to verify a student's eligibility to be hired on the hourly student payroll. To be eligible, all students must complete and submit an I-9 Form and be registered or eligible to register at MIT.
Note: All students must have a Social Security number on file for payroll purposes. If the student does not have an SSN on file, the following e-mail will be sent from your e-mail address:
We note that you do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) on file. Payroll is required to have your SSN on file for tax reporting. Please secure an SSN as quickly as possible. Once you have the number, you can go to WebSIS and record it. For more information on how to obtain an SSN, see http://web.mit.edu/iso/students/ssn.shtml.
The lack of an SSN will not prevent the student from being activated on the hourly payroll.
Enter the student's ID number in MIT ID * and click Go. The following fields are then populated with the student's information as it is stored in MITSIS
| FIELD NAME | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Student name | Displays the student name associated with the MIT ID. |
| Couse number / ultimate degree |
Course number displays the major program in which a student is enrolled. Ultimate degree displays the highest level degree for which the student has been admitted (SB, SM, PhD, ScD). |
| Year-class | Year: Class: |
| I-9 on file? | Yes: I-9 is on file with Student Employment. No: I-9 is not on file with Student Employment, resulting in validation failure. The student may not begin working. He or she should immediately go to SFS Stuent Employment (Room 11-320) with the proper original documents to complete the form. |
| Registration status | Displays Registered, Eligible to Register, Not Registered or Not Eligible to Register. Responses of Not Registered or Not Eligible to Register cause a validation failure for hiring eligibility. Students must complete registration before they can be hired on the student hourly payroll or begin to work. |
| E-mail address | Displays the student e-mail address associated with the MIT ID. |
If either or both of the above is true, the eSPAF cannot be completed. An error message appears and an e-mail button rotates into view. Click on the E-mail Send rotating button to automatically generated and send an e-mail to the student, advising them of the actions they needs to take to be eligible to be hired on the hourly student payroll at MIT. A confirmation page displays on the screen, showing the content of the e-mail that has been sent. Copies are also automatically sent to Student Employment and the employer.
The display of No in I-9 on File? generates the following e-mail message:
We note that your I-9 has not been completed. You need to secure the proper original documents and go to Student Employment in building 11-320 to complete the form before you can begin to work. To view the I-9 requirements, you may see the form and instructions at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf.
The display of Not Registered or Not Eligible to Register in Registration Status generates the following e-mail message:
According to your registration status, you are not registered. You may not work. You need to complete your registration before you can be hired. After you are registered, your employer can complete the Personnel Action Form to put you on the payroll. Then you may begin work.
If the student fails more than one validation, both messages are automatically consolidated into one e-mail.
When a student's eligibility to be hired on the hourly student payroll is validated, the second part of the form ("Hire Student") is displayed.
As an authorized administrator, you will enter the specific hiring details of a student's position in this section. The information is used to generate the student's time sheet and paycheck.
| FIELD NAME | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Type of action * | Select Activate to hire a student, Change to submit a change to the student's hourly rate, or Terminate to terminate the student's job if the job ends before the end date on the original hire. |
| Effective date of action * | Enter the date in mm/dd/yyyy format. |
| End date * | The date after which a student cannot be paid. The system supplies a date based on the student's anticipated graduation date. If this date is not appropriate, change it to reflect the date on which employment should end. |
| Hourly rate of pay * | This rate must be at least the Institute's minimum hourly rate of $9.00/hour and not more than the maximum rate of $25/hour. |
| Work hours per week | Enter the number of hours the student is expected to work each week. This is generally 20 hours or less during regular terms, and 40 hours or less during IAP or summer break. |
| UROP limit | An information-only data field. The dollar amount may be entered if the administrator wants to generate variance reports later using the Data Warehouse to show how much the student has been paid compared to the approved amount for the student's UROP job. |
| Location * | Select either "on campus" or "off campus" from the dropdown menu. The system default is "on campus." |
| Time group * | Select the time group for the position. The dropdown menu provides a selection based on the time groups for which the user is authorized to hire students on the hourly student payroll. Any questions about time groups should be directed to your administrative officer. |
| Job title * | Select the job title from the dropdown menu that lists general categories of job titles. |
| Position title * | The position title will fill in automatically based on the job title that was selected. You must change this title to reflect the specific job in which the student is working (e.g., UROP - Media Lab). It's important to make the position title specific, because this title will appear on the student's time sheet. This helps students select the correct place on their time sheet to report hours if they're working for more than one employer. |
| Job description * | Enter a brief description of the position. |
| Name of supervisor | Enter the name of the student's supervisor. This field may be left blank if the supervisor is the one completing the form. |
| Special instructions to HR-Payroll Service Center | Enter any specific instructions for Payroll as needed. |
| Authorized by * | These fields will be filled automatically with your name, e-mail address and phone number based on the web certificate you used to access the form. |
| E-mail confirmation | The first three e-mail confirmation data fields are automatically filled with the e-mail addresses of you, the HR-Payroll Service Center, the student. You may add up to two more e-mail addresses of others who should receive the e-mail confirmation of the student being hired on the hourly student payroll. If more than two other people need to receive the e-mail confirmation, you must forward it to them when you receive it. |
| Submit | When you click Submit, the system automatically generates and sends an e-mail to Payroll with all information entered in this form. It also sends copies to the student, the user who initiated the action, and anyone else whose e-mail address has been entered in the "E-mail Confirmation" section. A confirmation message displays on your printable confirmation page: "The data you have submitted has been sent to the HR-Payroll Service Center." |
| Cancel | Click Cancel to clear all data fields and return to home. No data will be saved and no e-mails will be sent. |
For students:
• Paid community service
• All job listings
• UROP
• Internships and careers
• Volunteering
For employers:
• Job posting page
• Electronic Student Personnel Action Form
(employers at MIT only)
Anyone who wants to work at MIT must complete an I-9 form and submit it (in person) in Room 11-320. When you have the right documentation with you, it takes very little time. And it needs to be done only once, as long as you don't take a semester off.