Recruitment and Hiring
Hiring units are responsible for notifying Waisman HR of recruiting needs. Units should review the Title and Standard Job Description (SJD) Library to determine the appropriate title based on the needs of the position.
Hiring forms should be submitted to the Waisman Human Resources Secure Box folder at least 7 business days before the start date for processing.
A criminal background check (CBC) is required for specific employment categories upon hire and transfer to new employment within the UW–Madison system. All employees, volunteers and unpaid affiliates in a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations (PTAVP) are required to complete a CBC/PTAVP upon hire and every four years thereafter.
Any individual that is considered a position of trust may not start working OR be granted building access/keys until their CBC has been completed.
Individuals cannot begin working under any circumstances until a start date has been confirmed with both the employee and supervisor by our office.
Academic Staff and University Staff
Academic Staff and University Staff hires require an open recruitment (Position Vacancy Listing or PVL). In certain situations, Academic Staff and University Staff hires can be made on a PVL Waiver, waiving the open recruitment process.
Academic Staff employees are typically salaried employees and exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Academic Staff appointments may be renewable (permanent) or fixed-term terminal (temporary).
University Staff employees are typically hourly employees and non-exempt from the overtime provisions of FLSA and therefore eligible to receive overtime for all hours worked over forty in a work week. University Staff appointments may be ongoing (permanent) or fixed-term finite (temporary).
Resources
Temporary Employees (TE)
TEs are an employee category separate and distinct from University Staff, Academic Staff, Limited Staff, and Faculty. TE appointment titles are based on “best fit” of the duties within the existing University Staff titling structure. Units should use the Standard Job Description Library to determine the best title.
Temporary Employee (TE) hires require an open recruitment or a PVL Waiver (waiving the open recruitment process) for a direct hire.
- TEs are hired for positions that have no expectation of continued employment. The total time worked by an individual TE cannot exceed 1,040 hours in a twelve-month period beginning on the appointment start date (i.e., 26 consecutive bi-weekly payroll periods).
- TE appointments cannot exceed a twelve-month period beginning on the appointment start date.
- TEs are employed at-will and not subject to a “just cause” standard for negative personnel actions. UW–Madison can terminate TEs without notice, as long as the termination is not discriminatory. UW–Madison will notify the employee of the end date of a TE appointment at least two weeks in advance. Exceptions to this notice period must be approved by the division HR representative.
- TE appointments will not count toward UW–Madison’s full-time equivalent (FTE) count.
- TE appointments do not have an assigned FTE and schedule is based on unit needs.
Resources
A PDT appointment is for an individual who has graduated and is appointed primarily to pursue advanced study or research.
Research Associate
A Research Associate is an individual who is continuing training after receiving their doctorate or other terminal degree.
- A Research Associate is normally for a two- or three-year term, up to a maximum of five years. Research Associates are normally given to an individual within five years of receiving their terminal degree.
- The hiring unit and HR must verify that all requirements for the terminal degree have been satisfied before the first day using this title
- Payments made to research associates are fully taxable as wages, and taxes will be withheld from monthly paychecks.
Research Intern
A Research Intern is an individual who typically is continuing training after receipt of a bachelors, masters, or equivalent.
- A Research Intern appointment is normally for a two-or-three-year term, up to a maximum of three years. These individuals have been engaged in an area of research, service, or the like and are pursuing additional training in their areas of expertise or a related field.
- Payments made to research interns are fully taxable as wages, and taxes will be withheld from month paychecks.
Resources
Graduate assistantships appointed at 33.3% or higher (>13 hours/week) provide multiple benefits:
- A biweekly stipend
- Remission of both resident and non-resident tuition (students will still need to pay segregated fees, roughly $726/semester); more information regarding tuition remission and eligibility can be found here: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/making-payments/payments-to-students/tuition-remission/eligibility-for-ra-ta-pa-and-lsa-tuition-remission/
- Eligibility for health insurance; all benefit options can be found here: https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/new-employee-benefits-enrollment/benefits-for-employees-not-covered-by-the-wrs/
- Additional information and resources:
Project Assistant (PA)
This title designates graduate students enrolled in a UW System institution who are employed to assist with research, training, or other academic programs or projects at UW–Madison.
- PA hires require an “open recruitment” and must be posted for a minimum of two weeks on the UW Student Job Center website, unless the PA appointment was part of the student’s offer letter from their degree program department.
- In rare occasions, we may request pre-approval to hire an hourly PA (no assigned FTE) if the work is sporadic and an FTE cannot be assigned. Please work with your Waisman HR rep on these situations.
- Payments made are fully taxable as wages, and taxes will be withheld from paychecks.
Research Assistant (RA)
This title is designated for UW–Madison graduate students working towards a Master’s or PhD degree. An RA appointment is appropriate if the activity performed by the individual is primarily for the benefit of the individual’s course of study and research and directly applicable to the individual’s thesis or dissertation. RAs should not be given work assignments unrelated to their own educational pursuits. Graduate assistants with significant duties unrelated to their own course of study should be appointed as a PA rather than an RA.
- RAs are required to register for a full load of graduate courses and research. A minimum stipend is established annually on an institution-wide basis, although the amount of each individual stipend may vary among degree programs.
- Note that the RA appointment percentage is merely a mechanism for setting the stipend amount and does not correlate to any particular requirement for hours of work. The maximum appointment percentage is 50%.
- Payments made are fully taxable as wages, and taxes will be withheld from paychecks.
Fellow
This title is used for a UW–Madison graduate student holding a fellowship which provides freedom to devote full-time to obtaining an advanced degree.
- More information can be found here as well: https://grad.wisc.edu/funding/fellowships/
- Taxes will not be withheld from these stipends. Except in rare cases, appointees will be required to pay taxes on the amount of stipend that exceeds the cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment. Appointees may be required to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis.
Trainee
This title is used exclusively for UW–Madison students who are supported by a traineeship while pursuing a particular course of study.
- Traineeships are ordinarily sponsored through an extramural training grant and are designated as traineeships under the terms of the grant.
- Traineeships are supported by federal training grants from agencies like the NIH and NSF.
- Taxes will not be withheld from these stipends. Except in rare cases, appointees will be required to pay taxes on the amount of stipend that exceeds the cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment. Appointees may be required to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis.
Resources
Student Hourly employees are typically undergraduate students, employed “at-will” and have no expectation of continued employment.
To be eligible for employment, an individual must meet the following:
The position is incidental to the individual’s purpose or presence at the institution as a student. In other words, the individual’s presence on campus is primarily to be a student, not an employee. It is not permissible to hire a person as a Student Hourly employee if they are taking credits merely to be eligible for Student Hourly employment. This is a judgment that needs to be made by the employing unit. Factors to consider when making this decision include whether they are taking courses for credit, whether they are working towards a degree and whether they have a pattern of taking less than a half-time load. The individual must be enrolled for academic credit at an educational institution.
An educational institution is defined as:
- an accredited institution of higher learning granting associate degrees or higher;
- a technical college;
- a vocational or trade school; or
- a high school
If the individual is enrolled outside of UW–Madison, proof of enrollment will be required as a condition of employment with the Waisman Center.
Units are responsible for notifying Human Resources about their needs to hire student employees. Open recruitment for these positions is not required. However, a unit may choose to post the position on the Student Jobs Board as needed.
New student hourly hire requests should be submitted here.
Note, requests submitted directly by the employee will not be accepted. Hiring units can now complete all information needed for these requests.