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1. Mission & Community Governance
2. Campus Support Programs & Services
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5. Housing & Residential Life
6. College Policies, Regulations, & Practices
7. Motor Vehicles & Parking
8. Academic Life & the WWC Degree
9. The Work Program
10. The Service Program
9.0.0 The Work Program
9.1.0 Mission Statement
9.2.0 Work Requirements
9.2.1 Compensation for Work
9.2.2 Non-Discrimination Policy
9.2.3 Governance of the Work Program
9.3.0 Student Recognition: Work Awards
9.4.0 Work Program Transcript
9.5.0 Crew Assignments
9.6.0 Time
9.6.1 Timekeeping
9.6.2 Undertime
9.6.3 Overtime
9.6.4 Absences and Credit Policies
9.7.0 Conduct Actions
9.7.1 Infraction Probationary Points
9.7.2 Work Program Judicial Board
9.8.0 Break Contracts
9.9.0 Evaluation
9.10.0 Experiential Education Work Scholarship
9.11.0 Day Students
9.12.0 Work Place Safety
9.12.1 Worker’s Compensation
9.12.2 Injury Reporting Procedure
9.12.3 OSHA Work Place Safety
9.12.4 Accident Investigation
9.12.5 Campus Driver’s License
9.13.0 Workplace Accommodations
Work Program Office
Ian Robertson, Dean of Work, Ext. 3019
Ellen Graves, Assistant Dean of Work, Ext. 2007
Terry Blackwell, Director of Occupational Safety & Training, Ext. 3017
Work Program Office, Log Cabin
http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~wpo/
9.1.0 Mission Statement
The mission of the Work Program is to provide students with productive work that creates opportunities for the Warren Wilson College community to acknowledge examine and celebrate the ethics and value of work in the educational process. The Work Program fulfills its mission by:
- Providing a work force that operates the College in a way that benefits students both educationally and financially while serving the community.
- Fostering a positive work ethic, respect for the dignity of labor, and the importance of serving others.
- Strengthening the students’ sense of community through common endeavor and giving students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of operating the College.
- Offering experiential learning that helps to fulfill and enhance the educational mission of the College.
- Providing students with an evaluation of their work, opportunities for reflection on the meaning of their work, and career guidance that encourages all students to make informed choices in planning their life and work.
- Providing opportunities and resources that enhance supervisors’ roles as mentors and teachers.
The work program provides an opportunity for all community members to increase their appreciation for the privilege and dignity of work. Dedicated supervisors enable the Work Program to meet the College’s production priorities and provide opportunities for students to integrate their academic, work, and service experiences in achieving their potential. In addition to reducing the student’s educational costs, the Work Program promotes the dependability, integrity, initiative, analytical thinking, communication, collaboration, and the appreciation of the value of all work.
9.2.0 Work Requirements
All resident students are required to work. All students must work in the College’s Work Program to graduate (see chart below).
| Residential Students | |
| Residential Freshman | 480 hours per academic year |
| Residential Sophomore | 480 hours per academic year |
| Residential Junior | 480 hours per academic year |
| Residential Senior | 480 hours per academic year |
| Day/Transfer Students | |
| Entering as 2nd semester Freshman | 480 hours |
| Entering as Sophomore | 480 hours |
| Entering as Junior or Senior (60+ credit hours) | 240 hours |
9.2.1 Compensation for Work
Students reduce their educational costs by working 15 hours a week (240 hours per semester). The Tax Reform Act of 1986 requires the College to withhold taxes from earned income. Students will be required to reimburse the College at the end of each semester for amounts withheld for taxes.
9.2.2 Non-Discrimination Policy
Job discrimination on the basis of gender, race, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, marital status, or handicap is contrary to the philosophy and administration of the Work Program and will not be permitted. No supervisor should specify gender or other preferences contrary to this policy. Any evidence of discrimination on any work crew should be reported to the Dean of Work.
9.2.3 Governance of the Work Program
The Work Program Advisory Committee (WPAC) is an advisory body responsible for discussing and initiating Work Program policies and providing feedback to the Dean of Work on the operation of the Work Program.
The elected committee consists of two faculty members, two staff members and two students. Committee members are elected to serve a two year staggered term. To be eligible, a student must have two semesters’ experience in the Work Program, not be on conduct, academic, or work probation, and have a C (2.0) or above work and academic GPA. Meetings are held on a regular basis and are open to the community.
9.3.0 Student Recognition: Work Awards
Commitment to total learning, including recognition of outstanding work performance, is part of the Warren Wilson tradition. Students are nominated by faculty, staff, volunteers, and fellow students to receive awards at the end of the academic year. The following eleven awards are available:
First Year Award (2)
General Award (8)
Senior Work Award (1 only)
Each award recipient, with the exception of the Senior Work Award recipient, will be honored at the annual Work Day dinner and celebration. The Senior Work Award is presented at the Honors and Awards ceremony in May. Each recipient will receive a certificate of recognition signed by the President of the College and the Dean of Work and a monetary award. Senior award winners’ names will be engraved on a brick and placed in the Senior Work Award Winners section of the Work Program courtyard.
9.4.0 Work Program Transcript
The history of a student’s performance will be noted on the Work Program transcript. Learning and Performance grades earned, honors received, and conduct actions will become part of the transcript. A release of information form will need to be completed by the student in order to provide information to inquiring employers. Work Program transcripts are available upon request from the WPO.
9.5.0 Crew Assignments
The Work Program Advisory Committee (WPAC) is responsible for reviewing the number of students assigned to individual crews and establishing new crews. The Work Program Office is responsible for placing students on the various work crews.
College need, as well as individual skills, experience, and potential for learning, will be considered both separately and collectively. Thus, no guarantees of individual crew assignments can be made until the needs of the community as a whole have been considered. In order to assist in the decision making process, crew supervisors are petitioned regarding their crew needs for the coming year. Students indicate their crew preferences on the Fall Crew Request form each spring semester. Crew assignments are for a minimum of one academic year, with some crews requiring a two-year commitment.
During the year, work crew assignments may be changed in cases of medical or disciplinary need or at the Work Program’s determination. To change crews, you must file either a Medical Crew Change Request or Non-Medical Crew Change Request with the Work Program Office. All crew changes begin with talking with the Work Program staff. The Dean of Work, or the Dean’s designee, will review all crew changes. A student may participate only on those crews assigned by the Work Program Office, even to make up under time hours.
Every crew assignment is important to the continued operation of the College. Your labor may be repetitive or hidden from common view; it may be intellectually demanding; it may be physically exhausting. Whatever your role in the College Work Program, you will learn how to collaborate, communicate, and think analytically to accomplish the tasks to which you are assigned. Your fellow workers, student crew leaders and crew supervisors are your mentors and teachers.
9.6.0 Time
Most crews work between the hours of 8 A.M.-12 noon and 1-5 P.M. Some crews, such as Dining Services, Public Safety, Library, Farm and Building Maintenance, require evening and weekend work. Certain crews require a three-hour block for a student to be considered for employment. Other crews allow split schedules.
9.6.1 Timekeeping
Students are required to maintain their work hours by submitting a web-based time card each Monday. Once submitted, the Supervisor will review the information and then submit the information to the Work Program Office. For time-keeping purposes, the workweek begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday. At the end of the semester, students are allowed two weeks to submit any previously un-submitted hours. No time cards will be accepted after this deadline.
Students have the ability to check their work hours at anytime through the web based timekeeping system. However, the information is only as accurate as the data submitted. It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of undertime and overtime.
9.6.2 Undertime
Undertime results when a student does not work the expected fifteen hours per week during the academic year or does not obtain work credit for hours lost due to illness or emergency leave. Actions taken for failure to complete total hours contracted (undertime) are:
Total Undertime: At Semester’s End Action
| .01 to 12 hours | Hourly rate x # of hours |
| 12.01 or more hours | Hourly rate x # of hours + work probation |
In addition to the undertime action listed above, any student with more than twelve (12) hours undertime at the end of a semester will automatically be placed on work probation. This probation will be in effect for eight weeks and will be served while the College is in session.
9.6.3 Overtime
Overtime is defined as "hours in excess of 240 hours per semester." Students with accumulated overtime should adjust their hours so they finish the semester with the required 240 hours. There are no fines or penalties for overtime. This money will be credited to the student’s account.
9.6.4 Absences and Credit Policies
If you are too sick to work and are unable to attend class, call your work crew supervisor or the Work Program Office. You are required to make up the first three (3) hours of work you miss unless you miss hours as a result of:
- work related injury that you have reported to your work crew supervisor and the WPO
- sport related injury sustained while participating in a WWC varsity sport
- Jury Duty. A copy of the call for jury duty must be presented to the WPO
- emergency leave that you have reported to your work crew supervisor and have communicated to the WPO
After the first three hours of missed work, you may be eligible for work credit up to twenty-seven (27) hours per academic year. Any undertime remaining after receiving twenty-seven hours credit will be the responsibility of the student to make up or undertime actions will be taken. If you suffer from an illness and miss over three hours as a result, be sure to have your illness confirmed by the Health Center or another certified health care professional. You will need a certified health care professional’s note to complete an application for credit from the Work Program Office. It is the student’s responsibility to complete a Work Credit Request Form for work time lost from illness, injury or emergencies. The Work Credit Request Form is available either on-line or at the WPO.
If you are unable to work on your assigned crew because of your illness or injury you will need to contact the Work Program Office for temporary crew reassignment. For emergency leave due to a family situation, please make an appointment to talk with the Dean of Work or the Assistant Dean of Work.
9.7.0 Conduct Actions
Work Warnings and Work Firings are issued when Work Program policies and crew standards have been broken. Probationary Points are applied as follows:
9.7.1 Infraction Probationary Points
| Poor Work Evaluation (D work grade) | One |
| Written Work Warning | One |
| Work Firing | Automatic Work Probation |
Work probation results automatically when a student accumulates three probationary points or is fired from a crew during the academic calendar. The Dean of Work may place a student immediately on work probation for serious violations of Work Program rules and regulations.
Work warnings and work firings are issued on the Work Program Notice of Conduct Action form by the supervisor, Dean of Work, or his/her designee. A copy of the conduct action is placed in the student’s work record. If the student feels the action is unjust, the Dean of Work may review the case. If the student feels the review has not satisfactorily resolved the issue, the case may be appealed for review by the Work Program Judicial Board. The original appeal must be written and copies given to the issuer of the action and to the Dean of Work within two working days of the warning or firing.
Work probation is a period of time during which the student may not:
- represent the college in any extracurricular activities, unless required by the student’s major
- hold an elected position in student government
- serve as a member of any college standing committee or task force
The Dean of Work will determine the length of the probationary period and, if necessary, the length of any suspension period.
The Dean of Work may suspend a student from the college in the following cases:
- The student receives any further probation points during the probation period.
- The student accumulates, during the probation period, under time in excess of nine hours (except in instances in which the student’s work supervisor, in consultation with the Dean of Work, establishes that the crew’s work normally results in an uneven distribution of work over the semester).
- The student violates serious Work Program rules and policies or College rules while on the job or at the job site.
The Work Program rules appealing any Work Program conduct action will be followed regarding written warnings and firings. During a semester, cumulative under time may be made up by working on another crew with the advance consent of your regular crew supervisor and coordination with the Work Program Office.
9.7.2 Work Program Judicial Board
The Work Program Judicial Board hears appeals of conduct actions given by supervisors or the Work Program Office. An original written appeal must be given by the student to the issuer of the action and to the Dean of Work within two working days of the warning or firing. Students facing conduct action must have at least 48 hours between the submission of their written appeal and the appeal hearing to prepare. The 48 hours will be calculated from the date the Dean of Work’s receipt of the written appeal. The student and work supervisor must be available for the Board’s hearing. The student making the appeal may bring representatives to the hearing. Procedures for appealing Work Program conduct actions are available at the Work Program Office.
Actions of the Board will be communicated to the Dean of Student Life; the student’s Academic Advisor, Work Supervisor and may be appealed to the President’s Advisory Council.
The Board consists of three elected members from the WPAC: one staff or faculty member and two students to serve a one-year term. A quorum shall consist of two students and one staff or faculty member.
Upon recommendation by the Dean of Student Life, and in concurrence with the Dean of Work, students may be reassigned from their work crew assignments for violations of college rules or upon notice of any legal action taken by legal entities outside of the college judicial system.
9.8.0 Break Contracts
Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer Break crew assignments are made in advance of the break period. If you would like to be considered for a break contract you must apply to the WPO. The Work Program Office will post the application date. Contracts are given for full weeks of work only (the work week is defined as Monday through Sunday). Only students contracted to work breaks or students in a college-sponsored program may stay on campus. Students not on break contracts or other college-sponsored activities will need to find alternative accommodations during the break period. Students who are resident employees during a break period are prohibited from housing other students. Any resident employee discovered housing individuals will automatically lose his/her work contract. Students who do not have break contracts or have an off-campus contract and are found living on campus property during a break period will be referred to the Dean of Student Life and the Dean of Work for appropriate conduct action. This includes camping on college property. Housing priority is given to 40 hour contracts.
Students on work or conduct probation will not be considered for a break contract. Similarly, students whose work or conduct probation extends into the last term of their senior year will not be offered a work contract for the winter or summer break periods. Any student placed on conduct probation during a break period may lose their work contract and will lose their housing. Any student placed on academic suspension during a break period will lose their work contract and housing and will be asked to leave campus.
Assignments to break crews will reflect the College’s need for labor in priority areas. Once a break contract has been accepted, the student is responsible for completing the total hours contracted. The break contract is for the hours contracted; it is not a guarantee of your job assignment. Canceling a break contract before the contract start date may result in the student not being considered for future break contracts for a period of two breaks.
To receive work credit for a holiday during a break period, such as Christmas Day, New Year’s Day or the 4th of July, you must have a contract for the week of holiday and work the full contracted hours (for a 40 hour contract you must work 32 hours and for a 20 hour contract you must work 16 hours).
Dates for break sign-up are advertised by, but not limited to: flyers in all student mailboxes, student-l emails, supervisor-l emails and notices on the Inside page.
9.9.0 Evaluation
Work Crew Supervisors are educators at Warren Wilson College. Supervisor Performance Evaluations give students a chance to provide their feedback concerning their work experiences and their supervisor. At the end of the semester, each student completes an online, confidential evaluation of his or her supervisor for review by the Dean of Work. The supervisor will be provided a summary of their evaluations.
Student performance evaluations, also known as the Learning and Performance Evaluation (LPE), are completed by the appropriate work supervisor on each student. Included in the LPE is a self-evaluation for each student to complete. The student performance appraisal process serves as a learning tool. It provides the student with the motivation for individual job improvement and an objective critique by a supervisor to help guide the student toward expected learning and performance goals.
Should a student judge that the evaluation is unjust as completed by the crew supervisor, the student should discuss the problem with the supervisor in hopes of finding common ground and reaching a mutually satisfactory evaluation. The student is free to submit written comments on his or her evaluation and may request an individual meeting with the Dean of Work.
The Work Program Office reviews the work records of students prior to graduation to verify they have completed their Work Program graduation requirement. Any student with a Work GPA of a 1.5 or below will be considered as doing unsatisfactory work resulting in a work probation point.
9.10.0 Experiential Education Work Scholarship
The Work Program will provide work credit to resident students who participate in one of the following: full-time (12 credit) or part-time (prorated hours per credit) internships, or off-campus field studies completed in one term (it must be the only course that term). Day students participating in a full-time (12 credit) internship receive a waiver of one semester's day student fee. Students must be receiving academic credit for the programs and be following departmental guidelines. Students should apply for the credit the semester before the experience.
9.11.0 Day Students
The Work Program employs a limited number of day students. All requests for fall semester employment must be submitted in writing by April 1 and all requests for spring semester employment must be submitted in writing by November 1. The Work Program Advisory Committee will review all applications and make a final determination. Day students are subject to the same Work Program performance and accounting procedures as resident students. Day students employed in the work program are expected to complete 15 hours of work per week. The Dean of Work or their designee and the crew supervisor must approve any change in hours.
9.12.0 Work Place Safety
9.12.1 Worker’s Compensation
All students assigned to work crews are covered by Worker’s Compensation during work hours. If you are injured on the job report the injury to your supervisor immediately and seek medical care as outlined below under Injury Reporting Procedure. In case of an emergency, please have your supervisor or fellow worker dial 911.
9.12.2 Injury Reporting Procedure
- Receive medical attention!
- WWC Health Center, ext. 2053
- Service Coordination Hotline at Mission Hospital Occupational Health WELLNESSWORKS, (888) 977-3319
- Visit the workers compensation administrator at the Work Program Office within three working days where you will:
- Complete the Accident/Near Miss Investigation Form and have your supervisor sign it.
- Give any medical documentation and/or bills you may have to the Administrative Assistant at the WPO.
- See the Director of Occupational Safety & Training to discuss how the accident happened and to supply any additional information.
- See the Assistant Dean of Work to arrange any necessary work credit or temporary crew change.
- Keep us updated/Stay in touch. If anything changes (medical status, work restrictions, etc.) contact the Work Program Office immediately.
9.12.3 OSHA Work Place Safety
All students assigned to a work crew are required to attend basic OSHA awareness training prior to starting work. You will have added opportunities to receive other workplace safety training based on your crew assignment. Your work crew supervisor will instruct you in the use of assigned personal protective equipment (PPE). Some crews are required to wear closed toed and steel toed safety shoes. You are required to obtain and wear your safety shoes within the first two weeks of your work assignment on these crews. The Personal Protective Equipment Safety Program describes these requirements in full. Your supervisor is responsible to assure you receive the appropriate PPE and training for your assignment.
You are required to follow all Safety Program Requirements while on the job. Failure to do so can compromise your safety and the safety of your fellow crewmembers.
9.12.4 Accident Investigation
Should you become injured on the job, an investigation will be completed by the Director of Occupational Safety and Training and then reported to the Campus Safety Committee (CSC). The CSC will make a determination on the best action to take to initiate a preventative process for the Work Program. Decisions of the CSC may include restrictions on use of equipment, which might require a crew reassignment.
9.12.5 Campus Driver’s License
There are different testing requirements for each type of vehicle. Do not operate any mobile equipment until trained and licensed. Vehicle licenses are obtained from the Motor Pool. You will be required to sign an application for driving privileges and agree to submit to possible motor vehicle record checks. Should an accident occur, the Director of Public Safety will conduct an accident investigation. Should you lose your state issued driving license you are required to notify your work crew supervisor and the Motor Pool Supervisor; your driving privileges for campus vehicles will be suspended and a crew change may be required.
9.13.0 Workplace Accommodations
Students must self-identify their need for workplace accommodations to the Dean of Work and provide appropriate medical documentation to the Educational Access Coordinator in the Student Life Office. Students should not direct requests for accommodations to the work crew supervisor.
A listing of appropriate documents certifying disability can be found on the Warren Wilson web site under Campus Life with a link to ADA Accommodations. All information is confidential and will be relayed only to persons with a “need to know” in order to provide appropriate and specific accommodations.
In consultation with the Educational Access Coordinator, the Work Program Office will determine specific accommodations and a work crew accommodation form will be forwarded to the work crew supervisor. A meeting will be scheduled for the student and crew supervisor to discuss the implementation of the requested accommodations.
Students have the responsibility to inform the Work Program Office of their need for accommodations in a timely manner and should do so prior to or during the first two days of orientation.
Students who fail to notify the Work Program Office of their need for accommodation may not request adjustments to their performance record.