Payments

W&J Experiences Delays In Student Payments

Akansha Das

Red & Black editor-in-chief

W&J offers a multitude of jobs for students on campus. Work-study positions budgeted by the government and W&J are available for students to pay tuition. Stipends are offered to Resident Assistants and LINK Mentors serving as support systems to students on campus. Positions designed for students to gain experience are available in the Business Office, W&J Admissions Office, the Library, and other campus offices.

Given the rising cost of tuition and growing burden of student loans, campus jobs can help students earn extra money and financially support themselves day-to-day. A 2018 Georgetown report found that 70% of college students hold a job with most college students working 1535 hours per week. While the number of students working full time has decreased over the years (from 40% in the 1980s to 26% in the early 2010s). Yet, data also shows that a decrease in working hours doesn’t indicate a more equitable playing field, as students who are low-income or identify as Black or Latinx are more likely to work longer hours than their peers while attending college.

Despite these various opportunities to assist with cost, there have been observations regarding delays in payments for W&J jobs among student workers and for Student Government Association (SGA)-funded events. A student who preferred to remain anonymous commented that while payment for their work study positions has been “reliable” if timesheets are turned in on time, the same cannot be said for all their campus jobs.

“Link Mentors, for example, are not on a particular schedule, and it is at the discretion of our supervisor to submit payment information to the Business Office” they said over email correspondence.

“On multiple occasions, we have been told that we would be paid by a certain time, but the actual check would be delivered significantly later than expected,” they said.

Susan Smith from W&J’s Business Office’s Accounts Payable (AP) Department commented over email on reasons for such delays. She said these payments must be approved by a supervisor and sent to AP where it is then reviewed for correct account numbers and approval. An error in one of these processes may cause them to wait before processing and signing the check.

“These are procedures we are required to follow by our auditing company,.” Smith said.

Katie Hahn (‘22), The Red & Black’s manager of photography, also commented over email on receiving a delay in payment due to her manager of photography position, especially over Spring break.

“...this semester my workstudy checks are almost always behind (it took 24 days to receive my last paycheck that was submitted on the 21st of March).”

Courtesy Ava Smith November 6th, 2021 - Ava Smith, featured right, helped to coordinate “the W&J Experience” event through her job with the Admissions Office.

Red & Black

campus news 7 W&J Experiences Delays In Student Payments...ctd

Dr. Stevie Berberick, W&J Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Faculty Advisor to the Red & Black explained supervisorrelated delays in payment.

“This delay in payment could be because the supervisor has not approved the expenses. I admittedly have approved late. I don’t mean to, but I also cannot approve the timesheets early.”

LeeAnn Spencer (who serves as the Payroll Manger at W&J’s Business Office) commented over email on how breaks affect student payments.

“Payroll is not affected by breaks or time off,” Spencer said. “Pay dates will always be constant unless it falls on a weekend or holiday then it is moved to the previous business day.”

Smith corroborated Spencer’s statement saying “there is always a check run, even when there are holidays. Check runs are on Wednesdays, however, modifications may be made due to holidays and when they fall.”

Smith noted that the only exception is that there are no check runs between Christmas and New Year as the college is closed. However, workstudy payments are not the only instance where Hahn has experienced a delay in payment.

“Last [Fall 2021] semester, there was a point in time when an approved check for my SGAfunded event was not approved by the Business Office without any notice to me and my other executive team members.” Hahn said.

Smith responded saying that check processing for SGAfunded events follows the same procedure as payroll, are handled by the Accounts Payable department, and pointed to her previous statement about the process followed being determined by the auditing company.

Both Hahn and the anonymous student expanded on the toll these delays have taken on their financial stability and personal stress.

“My club was left without funding only two weeks before a massive event and we spent a lot of time trying to coordinate with the Business Office to fix the issue...in order to even host the event that we spent countless hours planning,.” Hahn said.

“When I have a delay in payment, I must make choices about what responsibilities [such as tuition, bills, organizational dues] I can actually take care of, which usually results in additional fees if I have to skip or submit a late payment,” said the anonymous student.

Dr. Berberick expanded on

how they need to be careful with when they approve timesheets so students are paid adequately and in a timely manner.

“...I once went in to approve the timesheet right away when I received the email that a student entered their hours. The student told me they were not done submitting hours for the pay period and asked me to revoke my approval.” Dr. Berberick said. “I try to wait until the 15th and 30th to approve...I have noticed on multiple occasions that students also submit their timesheets late.”

Hahn commented that the payments for the SGA-funded event the club was sponsoring was eventually “sorted out” without spending “much money out-of-pocket.”

“The stress that it caused was a lot to deal with, especially as students.” added Hahn.

When asked whether they had comments about the topic of delayed payments to student workers, Smith referred to the Business Office webpage which states:

“For a check available Thursday after 3pm, you will need to have all your invoices, payment vouchers, etc. to the AP clerk by 5pm the previous Friday.” The website encourages students to verify all information is correct, and signatures and W-9 forms have been obtained and submitted.

It is worth noting that not all students interviewed have noted experiencing delays in payment.

“I myself have not experienced any unexplained delays on payment,” Jakerra Lance (‘22), who holds a position in the Business Office, said over email.

Ultimately, Hahn noted that she didn’t feel she needed to reach out to the Business Office due to these delays and ended on a note of understanding.

“I am already aware that the Business Office has been having a lot of issues with distributing funding through another position I held last semester” Hahn added.

“When I have a delay in payment, I have to make choices about what responsibilities I can actually take care of...”

Courtesy Washington & Jefferson College

The Business Office is located on the bottom floor of Thompson Hall.