Financial Aid

Students must receive a FWS award or a UAS scholarship before they can access the Student Job Portal and apply for student worker positions.

If you have recently accepted either award, please allow 24 hours for the system to update and allow you access to the Student Job Portal.

Starting with the 24/25 FAFSA, you are automatically enrolled to potentially receive a Federal Work Study award by completing the appropriate aid year's FAFSA on studentaid.gov and submitting it to Tennessee Tech.

• Federal Work Study is a need-based first come, first served award. The earlier you complete and submit your FAFSA, the higher chance you have of receiving a FWS offer.

You must accept your FWS offer on your Eagle Online account within 14 days of its original posting date. If you do not, the award may be removed and gifted to another eligible student.

FWS money is not credited to Tech student accounts and cannot be used to confirm registration. You are expected to budget carefully and utilize your FWS income wisely to support your educational expenses. Income earned through FWS does not have to be repaid. Your FWS salary cannot be lower than, but may exceed, the federal minimum wage. You are paid once a month for hours worked.

You should begin searching for positions prior to the start of the Fall semester of each year, as we expect campus employers to post available positions in the Student Job Portal over the summer months. You will be notified by The Office of Financial Aid when the Student Job Portal reopens and begins accepting applications.

Most supervisors seek students who can work for the entire academic year (Fall & Spring semesters), but on occasion departments will hire for a single semester only. Please read all job descriptions carefully before applying for or accepting a job.

The Student Job Portal is accessed from the Tech Express dashboard using the 'JobPortal' QuickLink icon.

You will need to ACCEPT the FWS Award through your Eagle Online account before to logging in to the Student Job Portal and searching for positions.

• Available jobs are posted within the Student Job Portal located within Tech Express.
• Applicants can contact departments of interest directly to see if FWS student jobs are available.
• Contact studentjobs@tntech.edu for questions or help with a job search strategy.

tips and suggestions for a successful interview!

Additionally, you can visit the Center for Career Development for upcoming events and workshops on creating resumes and interview prep.

First time FWS applicants only: You will need to obtain an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification card (see QR code below) and fill out a W-4 Tax Form, both of which must be completed in the Human Resources Office in Derryberry Hall, room 146, Monday – Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.

To begin the I-9 process:

1. *Scan QR code*

2. Create an account and:

• Verify the new account with the verification code sent to email of choice.
• Log in with your user name and password.
• Enter Application Station Code: TNTECHl9 (ALL CAPS - the letter before the 9 is a capital "i") and complete section 1.

3. Once you have completed the 2nd step, take your completed I-9 form to Human Resources and fill out the direct deposit and W-4 forms while in their offices.

Please note that all I-9 and W-4 paperwork must be submitted to HR prior to starting your FWS position. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Human Resources at hr@tntech.edu or 931-372-3034. 

Hours worked daily must be recorded at the start and end of each shift on an individual time sheet that is located in your Student Job Portal.

You must submit your time sheet to your supervisor for approval by 11:59pm on the last working day of each month. If approved, your supervisor will then report your hours worked to Payroll the following work day.

To be considered for a new position, you must first formally resign in writing from your current position by notifying The Office of Financial Aid and your present supervisor. You should give reasonable notice (no less than two weeks) to your current supervisor before resigning from a position.

You must then apply for a new position within the Student Job Portal. Please note that jobs are based on an entire award year. Choosing to resign, for whatever reason, does not guarantee you a position in another department.

FWS is a need-based award, and due to limited funds, is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis as determined by the FAFSA. Therefore, the FWS award is not guaranteed year to year like most scholarships.

If you are not offered a FWS award next year, contact Financial Aid at financialaid@tntech.edu and request a spot on the FWS Waiting List. Make sure you include your name and T#! Our offices are able to reward students on the Waiting List quite frequently throughout the aid year, so make sure you submit a request!