SA SELECTION PROCESS 

Student Assistants (SAs) must be FULL-TIME students in good academic standing. SAs must be registered in and satisfactorily complete a minimum of 8 units of graduate work each semester in order to apply for and maintain their SA position (12 units for undergrads). 

Upon reviewing SA applications, faculty members interview eligible candidates.

Be sure to follow up with faculty members directly for updates.

Final decisions will be made in collaboration with the class professor, track head, and the Production Division and confirmed via e-mail.

SA appointments are made on a semester-by-semester basis. SA’ships are NOT automatically renewed and you must be formally re-hired every semester.  

SA REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION

Students serving as SAs are evaluated throughout the semester by their assigned instructor, corresponding track heads, and the Production Division staff. The following criteria will be used for possible termination and re-appointment consideration:

Production Student Assistants represent the Division within SCA, and in turn, the School to the University at large. Therefore, the highest standards of personal and academic behavior are demanded of assistants in Production. SAs must maintain a GPA of 3.0 and continue to make satisfactory progress toward their degree.

An assistant, whose actions, either in the classroom or out, result in disciplinary action, will have their assistantship immediately terminated.

SAs must submit their hours on the WORKDAY online timekeeping system AT LEAST once every two weeks in accordance with USC payroll deadlines.

WORKDAY is USC’s payroll / online timekeeping system that is part of the USC employee gateway portal – https://employees.usc.edu/ 

SAs must take a mandatory 30-minute consecutive break every 5 hours while working. SAs cannot work more than 8 hours in a day, 20 hours in a week, and 7 days in a row (inclusive of all jobs at USC and SCA). Overtime is NOT permitted without prior approval (so please be mindful when working multiple jobs).

If at any time during the semester the SA/faculty pairing no longer feels like a good fit, the Production Division reserves the right to reassign and/or dismiss the SA. These decisions are never made lightly and are always done to prioritize the well-being and successful academic matriculation of all our Production Division students. 

If an outright dismissal were to occur, please know that awards will be prorated to the date of termination of the SA position based on the 15-week semester.

Upon being selected to serve as an SA, it is the student’s responsibility to connect with Jane Kim (janekim@cinema.usc.edu) in the SCA business office ASAP to take care of all the necessary hiring paperwork in order to get set up officially on USC payroll.

 

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES CAN STUDENTS WORK IF THEY ARE NOT
FULL-TIME STUDENTS OR HAVE NOT BEEN GRANTED ACCESS TO WORKDAY.

 

 

LIST OF SA JOBS AND PREREQUISITES

READ FIRST: SA positions, qualifications, and pay - CLICK HERE 

Award amounts are subject to change prior to the hiring of a student worker. Please confirm wages with Bernie (bbridges@cinema.usc.edu) when accepting your SA’ship(s).

When looking to find the perfect fit, please keep in mind these important reminders: 

• Unless indicated on the list, accessed by the link referenced above, all SA positions have a limit of up to 7 hours per week.  Some specific positions in Stages 2 and 3  require up to 15 or 20 hours per week and are indicated next to the position. You are not allowed to work more than 20 hours total in any given workweek (Thursday-Wednesday).
• SA awards will NOT be credited to your account if you are not registered for all your required units. Students taking fewer units (students in their last semester or registered in an advanced project) must request an override exception.
• All SA positions require you to have taken the class, or course equivalent, in addition to any additional pre-requisites listed. Double-check with the professor!
• We included facilities and lab jobs, which do qualify as Stage 1 positions (i.e. Sound/Camera Equipment Centers, SPO, RZC).

SA RESPONSIBILITIES AND PAY RATES 

Students selected to serve as an SA are hired to support both faculty members and the students in the course. SA duties are limited to supporting the success of the class and should not include any type of personal assistant needs. SA tasks can include: taking attendance, overseeing A/V or Zoom needs in the classroom, supporting students in getting production numbers, assisting in the check-out of equipment, etc. Overall, SAs are role models and are an integral part of the success of CTPR classes.

Being an SA is in fact a job and not a volunteer position. Your time is valuable and we wish to compensate you accordingly. Our SA pay system consists of 3 stages (1-3) and 8 levels (A-H). Levels A, B, and C in Stage 1 are paid hourly wages. D-H in Stages 2-3 receive wages plus student aid (i.e. SA awards), starting with $1,000 at Level D, and rising to $1,000 per level, topping at $5,000. The structure is as follows: 

 

STAGE 1:	STAGE 2:	STAGE 3:
A) $17.28/hour	D) $17.28/hour plus $1,000 student aid	G) $17.28/hour plus $4,000 student aid
B) $17.28/hour	E) $17.28/hour plus $2,000 student aid	H) $17.28/hour plus $5,000 student aid
C) $17.28/hour	F) $17.28/hour plus $3,000 student aid

If you would like to take a closer look at the positions and their awards according to the stage system, please click HERE for the SA Stages Chart.

Students must hold a Stage 1 job for one semester in order to qualify for a Stage 2 job and must hold a Stage 2 job to qualify for a Stage 3 job. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis and based on previous applicable experience.

THE FINE PRINT

Hourly wages are paid through payroll as checks or direct deposits. However, the student aid that comes with your SA position will appear as a General Award on student fee bills, used to pay tuition and the balance on your account. It is not an additional paycheck. If the award total exceeds the amount you owe, the excess will be reimbursed and can be used at your discretion. 

SCHOLARSHIP POLICY: If you are the recipient of an SCA-funded scholarship(s) and the sum is over $10,000 for the entire academic school year, you, unfortunately, do not qualify to receive the SA student aid with your SA position(s). However, you are still eligible to accept the SA position, as this does not affect hourly pay.

Many of these SA positions will be funded by school donors.  If you end up with one of these positions, you will be notified via e-mail by Richard Amador in Student Services to submit a gratitude letter thanking the donor. Please take care of this in a timely manner.