Student Employment
Overview
Student employment provides UMKC students with an opportunity to develop professional skills, gain meaningful work experience, and contribute to the university while pursuing their academic goals. Through their employment experiences, students build workplace competencies such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, customer service, and professionalism that support their future academic and career success.
Student Employment Lifecycle
- Recruiting and Hiring Student Employees
- Onboarding Student Employees
- Performance Management for Student Employees
Supervisor Expectations
In addition to the responsibilities outlined throughout the student employment lifecycle, supervisors are expected to maintain professional working relationships, support an inclusive workplace, and connect student employees with appropriate university resources when needed. The information below highlights key responsibilities that apply throughout the student employment relationship.
Supporting Student Development
Student employment provides an opportunity for students to gain meaningful work experience while developing skills that support their academic, professional, and career goals. Supervisors play an important role in helping students understand workplace expectations, build confidence, and develop professional competencies that contribute to future success.
Whenever possible, supervisors should provide meaningful work assignments, coaching, feedback, and opportunities for skill development. Student employees benefit from understanding not only what work needs to be completed, but also how professionalism, communication, teamwork, dependability, problem-solving, and customer service contribute to workplace success.
Supervisors are encouraged to view student employment as both a work experience and a learning experience. By creating opportunities for growth, providing constructive feedback, and helping students connect their work to broader professional skills, supervisors can support student success both during and beyond their employment at UMKC.
Professional Relationships and Boundaries
Student employment often allows supervisors and student employees to develop positive working relationships. While these relationships can support learning, engagement, and professional development, supervisors should maintain appropriate professional boundaries and clearly distinguish their role as a supervisor.
Supervisors are encouraged to foster a supportive and welcoming work environment while maintaining consistent expectations and accountability. Students should understand workplace expectations, and supervisors should communicate those expectations in a professional, respectful, and equitable manner.
Supervisors should maintain professional relationships with student employees and avoid conduct that could reasonably blur the distinction between a supervisor and student employee relationship. Supervisors should also avoid situations that may create actual or perceived favoritism, conflicts of interest, or unequal treatment among student employees. Communications with student employees, including email, text messaging, social media, and other electronic communications, should remain professional in content, tone, and purpose.
Important: Consensual romantic relationships are prohibited as outlined in HR-519 Consensual Romantic Relationships. Supervisors should also avoid communications or interactions that could reasonably be viewed as inappropriate, overly personal, or unrelated to legitimate employment, educational, or university purposes.
View Consensual Romantic Relationships Policy
Workplace Accommodations
The University of Missouri is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified applicants and employees, including student employees with disabilities. Supervisors play an important role in supporting an inclusive work environment and ensuring student employees are aware of available resources.
When a student employee requests a workplace accommodation, supervisors should work with the appropriate university offices rather than attempting to independently evaluate or approve an accommodation request. Early communication and coordination can help ensure student employees receive the support they need to perform the essential functions of their position.
To request a workplace accommodation, please contact ADA Coordinator and Campus Accessibility Specialist, Holly VanOstran, at hvanostran@umkc.edu or (816) 235-6910.
Important: Requests for workplace accommodations should be referred to the university's established accommodation process. Supervisors should not make assumptions about an employee's needs or determine accommodations without appropriate guidance.