USD student employee update: Casual worker positions suspended, Federal Work Study students will be paid through the rest of spring semester

President Harris says USD has lost over $10 million already, which led to the decision to suspend casual workers

Celina Tebor / Associate Editor / The USD Vista

All Casual Worker positions will be suspended starting March 29, according to an email sent by James T. Harris III, D.Ed., on March 26 to USD employees. 

Federal Work Study students will continue to be paid through the rest of the spring semester based on regularly scheduled hours they would have worked, according to an email sent by the University of San Diego’s Student Employment Center.

Harris’ email said work will continue beyond March 29 for some student employees whose work is essential to campus operations, and that these exceptions are being made at the vice president level and in consultation with Human Resources. Student employees will receive notification about the status of their work from their deans or supervisors.

Harris cited negative financial impact to the university as what ultimately led to this decision.

“The decision to return dollars to student accounts for the remainder of the semester for room and board expenses — along with other fees — has collectively impacted the university by more than $10 million in lost revenue,” Harris’ email said. “That number will likely be much higher as we anticipate the impact of additional lost revenue due to our inability to host conferences or other gatherings, as well as the reduction in the sale of food and merchandise on campus for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the financial uncertainty experienced by our students and their families is likely to negatively impact our enrollment and revenue projections as we look to the Fall semester.”

All student employees will be compensated based on average hours worked throughout the month of February until March 29.

Visit https://www.sandiego.edu/coronavirus/ for updates on coronavirus at USD.