Title:
Navbar Frequently Asked Questions - Clients

Questions Answers
  • What is the purpose of the STC? (To Top)
    The STC is a student-run agency that places student consultants in short-term projects, or "jobs," offered by MIT faculty and staff. Faculty and staff often have technical jobs that do not merit a full UROP, like updating a course web page or writing software for automating a repetitive task. At the same time, MIT has many students who have the skills (and occasionally even the time!) to perform these functions. STC hopes to bring both sides together for mutual benefit. Through an innovative new accounting system, STC can charge the cost of this service (the student's wage plus a small overhead fee) to your authorized department account. For this, you get the service of locating a skilled student "consultant," the satisfaction of helping a student pay his/her way through college, and the opportunity to meet bright, proficient students for UROP consideration or other future reference.
  • How do I place a job request? (To Top)
    First, you will need to register by clicking "Register", reviewing the requirements, and then clicking "Register as Client." When you are finished filling out the form, you'll be prompted to "login," where you will see your own dynamically-generated client account page.

    From there, click on "Submit a Job" and fill out the form that follows. Click Submit, and STC does the rest. You will be notified by email when we've matched a student consultant with the skills to complete your job. The student will get in touch with you, have you sign a contract (pdf / ps), and begin the job to your specifications.

    The student will be paid upon your signature on a timecard (pdf / ps). STC will bill the account number you provide through an MIT-internal accounting system.

  • What services can I hire a consultant for? (To Top)
    The STC provides two types of services: STC products and independant requests. STC products reflect jobs that are well defined and in demand across the institute. To see what products are currently available from the STC, check the Products List. Independant requests are those jobs which don't fit an STC product. The STC considers each of these jobs on an individual basis. If you submit one, an STC agent will get back to you about the probability of finding a consultant for the job. Independant requests generally take longer to assign a consultant.
  • Am I eligible to be a client? (To Top)
    Anyone who can authorize payment from an MIT account can submit a job to the STC. Typically, a client is a member of MIT faculty or staff.
  • How do I pay the consultant? (To Top)
    Student Technology Consultants
    Payroll and operating procedures
    January 5, 2001
    • Consultants register at the STC web page - http://stc.mit.edu/. They receive training and submit a completed personnel action form to Sandra Lipnoski at the Edgerton Center. The I-9 form is verified and the consultant is approved for STC jobs.
    • Faculty and staff register on the web as clients at http://stc.mit.edu/
    • A client may then submit a job request through the STC website.
    • The job is reviewed by a student agent and matched with a skilled consultant and a job number is assigned. Consultant and client are notified to commence work.
    • The consultant contacts the client and arranges a first meeting, where the scope, timetable and deliverables are discussed.
    • If the client and consultant agree to proceed with the work, the client signs the Consulting Services Contract, presented by the consultant, authorizing $15.00 per hour and indicates the account number to be charged. No departmentally originated paperwork is required.
    • The consultant returns the signed contract to the Edgerton Center.
    • At the end of each week the job is open, the student consultant presents a timecard to the client for signature.
    • The timecard is processed through the Edgerton Center, charging the client's account for services rendered.
    • Sample time cards and contracts may be printed from the STC web site.
    • The STC operates under department 401800, GL account 400757, collection point 333, which are monitored by Sandi Lipnoski(slipnosk@mit.edu) in the Edgerton Center
    • An overhead or indirect cost charge of 10% is added to the wages charge for general and fund accounts, which helps to defray STC expenses. The 10% surcharge is not applied to sponsored research accounts.
  • Is my job suitable for the STC? (To Top)
    STC jobs are typically short-term technical jobs. In the past, this has included making course homepages and other webpages, along with installation of MIT certificates to access WEBSIS, introductory courses on HTML, JAVA bug fixes, software development, and online publishing.

    While these jobs are representative, they are by no means comprehensive. STC can offer a client any service in our consultants' skill sets, from mechanical and electrical fabrication, publicity, Palm Pilot assistance, to even just setting up printing from a PC/Mac to Athena.

    The typical job is short-term -- usually a few weeks or less. However, a client may be able to make arrangements with individual consultants should the job need more time.

    STC typically does NOT take jobs that require long-term maintenance.

    If you aren't sure if your job fits these criteria, submit it and our agents will be able to give you more feedback. If we decide that your job is not suitable for an STC consultant, we have a number of contacts in Student Employment and UROP which we can suggest to you to help you get your job done.

  • How soon can I get a consultant? (To Top)
    The STC will attempt to match a consultant with your job in under a week. During certain times in the semester, students are rather busy with classes, and thus it will be harder to acheive a quick turnaround time. The STC agent in charge of handling your job should keep you posted on the status of your job. Please be patient with us, we're still in the germination stages and figuring out how best to run the operation.
  • How much will this cost me? (To Top)
    STC charges $15/hour plus 10% to cover operating costs. For a more in depth description, see How payroll works.
  • How will a consultant be assigned to my job? (To Top)
    The STC assigns consultants based on skill and interest. Consultants have the opportunity to express interest in the jobs submitted by clients. An STC agent then selects a qualified consultant, with preference towards consultants who have expressed interest.
  • Who do I contact if my question isn't listed here? (To Top)
    Send email to stc@mit.edu with your question, and someone on the staff will get back to you.

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