Employment Frequently Asked Questions

Perks include:

1. Campus Rec employees are paid
2. Access to all facilities (ARC, CRCE, Ice Arena, Campus Bike Center, etc.)
3. Three guest passes per semester
4. Three climbing passes per semester
5. Three Ice Arena passes per semester (not included in Summer)
6. Three group fitness passes per semester
7. Receive access to free CPR/BBP/First Aid certification classes. Sign-up is on Staff Intranet.
8. Flexible work schedule
9. On-campus location
10. Collaborate with other students and professional staff
11. Fun staff events
12. Free Intramural membership

Facilities may be open as early as 6am and as late as 11pm. Supervisors understand student schedules, meaning there is great flexibility. Most positions only require around 5-8 hours per week. The maximum hours US students can work a week is 28 during the school year and 40 during the breaks/summer with no classes. The maximum hours international students can work is 20 hours during the school year and 40 hours during the breaks/summer with no classes.

Part-time careers are typically continuous until the employee has graduated, quit, or been terminated. Internship time periods vary in length depending on the type of internship.

International students in F-1 / J-1 status may accept part-time employment on campus, including Campus Recreation. In some instances, you may be able to work off-campus; however, you may not exceed 20 hours per week from all sources of work during the school year while classes are in session. You may work up to 40 hours per week during break periods while not taking any classes. Read more about international student employment and contact the ISSS office for guidance.

If you have on-campus employment, but do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) yet, you will need to contact Mary Foster (mfoster@illinois.edu) so she may process your employment paperwork and submit a request to University Payroll & Benefits to issue your Temporary Control Number (TCN). This request must be initiated by your hiring department, not ISSS. Once you have obtained your SSN, it will replace your TCN.

You can still get paid under your TCN; however, this number only temporarily authorizes work. You will have ten days after completing payroll to apply for a SSN, which will replace your TCN. For information on what materials you must gather to apply for a SSN and where to apply, please read this checklist.

Generally, International or foreign students do not qualify for the Federal Work-Study program.  You must be one of the following to receive federal student aid:

• U.S. citizen
• U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swain’s Island)
• U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I-551C (Permanent Resident Card).  If you are not in one of these categories, you must have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) showing one of the following designations:
  • “Refugee”
  • “Asylum Granted”
  • “Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending”
  • “Conditional Entrant”: valid only if issued before April 1, 1980
  • Victims of human trafficking, T-visa holder or if the student’s parent is the holder of a T-1 visa.
  • “Parolee”: You must be paroled into the United States for at least one year and you must be able to provide evidence from the USCIS that you are in the United States for other than a temporary purpose and that you intend to become a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Eligibility for the Federal Work-Study program does not affect your ability to work for Campus Recreation; a vast majority of our student workers are not under the federal work-study program.

Campus Recreation hires employees on an as-needed basis. Each department within Campus Recreation has the flexibility to hire based on the availability of positions within that department.

During the Summer, it is not possible to work for the Ice Arena or intramurals. Intramurals and Ice Arena are only open during Fall and Spring.

Should your qualifications and availability meet the needs of your selected hiring units, you will be contacted for an interview. Not all units may be hiring, and you may not hear anything about your application for several weeks or longer. Your application will be kept on file unless it is declined by both of your selected units. If your application is declined, you will receive a notification and instructions for resubmission.

All departments typically hire in the months of March and April. March is the best time to apply for Summer and Fall positions. After March and April, it is best to apply during the months of July and August, for Fall positions. Campus recreation positions are a rolling application process, but these are the best times to apply to increase chances of being hired.

All applications close on June 30th. If you did not hear anything from your previous application, reapply starting on July 1st.

Regarding most positions, no further steps are necessary. A few units require certifications in order to work; however, most certifications can be provided by Campus Recreation.

To begin work in Aquatics, you must hold current certification in Lifeguard Training, CPR/AED for lifeguards, and First Aid. We will accept certification from American Red Cross, Ellis and Associates, STARGUARD, and YMCA Lifeguard. If you have certification, please attach it to your application. If you have not been lifeguard certified before, we do offer opportunities to become certified prior to starting employment with us.

For Group Fitness and Personal Training, proof of your group fitness certification(s) is required. You must complete a successful interview and demonstration of the format(s) that you are applying to teach. If you have questions regarding this process, please contact dcr-groupfitness@illinois.edu.

All group fitness instructors must be:

1. Nationally certified

             OR

1. Complete the in-house Group Fitness Instructor Prep Course

      Complete the in-house Personal Training Prep Course 

When denied from a position, it is not possible to create a new application. Your application is always open until it is declined from all units. If you are declined and want to make changes to your position preferences or question responses, please reach out to campusrecemployment@illinois.edu and we can manually make these changes for you.

After June 30th, all applications are deleted. After this date, you would be able to make a new application if still interested.

Federal Work-Study is a need-based, federal financial aid program.  Under this program, funds are given to institutions by the federal government for distribution to students in need.  Currently, the Financial Aid Office for the University of Illinois selects the students who are eligible for the federal work study award.

We do, but it is not mandatory.

The Federal Work-Study status designation is an incentive for an on campus employer to hire you and maximize your hours.  You must apply for a student position and become employed by a unit for the funds to begin being used.  Working as a FWS student helps subsidize the cost of employing you as a worker so the actual credit goes to our department and is an incentive for Campus Recreation to hire FWS employees.

In the past, we have had individuals simply claim the status without actually being designated as Federal Work Status and this allows us to easily ascertain applicants who do have the status.

No, while it is a factor in our employment decisions, all hiring supervisors are instructed to consider it as one of multiple factors in our hiring decisions.  The vast majority of student workers are not federal work-study.

Visit the Employment section of the Office of Student Financial Aid's website for more information.

Students who wish to apply for the Federal Work-Study Program must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  On the FAFSA application, there will be an option that asks if the student would like to be considered for the work-study program.  This option must be checked by the applicant.  This will ensure that the student is considered for the Federal Work-Study program.  Since funds are limited, individuals should send in their FAFSA as soon as possible for full consideration.  Please contact Financial Aid with additional questions.