Payroll delays affect student employees across UAF
By Adisen Thomas
Student employees at the University of Alaska Fairbanks said their wages were delayed in late August, prompting concerns about the university's process for resolving payroll errors.
Thirty-one students with both an hourly assignment and a stipend assignment were impacted by delayed payments, according to Chief Human Resources Officer Nickole Conley. The affected pay period was R19, which ran from Aug. 23 to Sept. 5.
Delays affected student employees across the university, including those working in E-sports, the Student Recreation Center, orientation leaders and the post office.
The university’s payroll issue became a personal problem for student workers facing bills and deadlines. Some students say missing a paycheck can mean missing a meal or falling behind on rent. The delay had serious consequences, particularly for those students who rely on their wages to pay for basic necessities.
Photo of Butrovich building by Sierra Coley.
One orientation leader, Sam Kessler, reported that he had “received pay for the missing periods” on Oct. 2. However, his paycheck was short by approximately six hours of work and did not include overtime pay.
Four students received payment on Sept. 22. Conley said the remaining 27 individuals were scheduled to receive payment on Sept. 25.
Students were told the bursar would be flexible about late payment following this incident. Conley said that HR “took immediate steps to communicate directly with all affected individuals” following the incident. Some affected individuals were also encouraged to apply for emergency scholarship funds, or to contact HR for direct support coordination if they were experiencing immediate hardship.
Conley said that HR was “actively reviewing the process” involving those individuals to identify why the payroll error occurred. As of Sept. 24, HR had not identified the root cause of the processing error and is specifically reviewing employees across different classifications. Conley said, “Corrective measures are needed to prevent it from happening again.”
Students who notice any discrepancies with their paycheck should contact their department's HR coordinator promptly to resolve the matter. To review their earnings statements, employees can log in to the UA online web portal, navigate to their student dashboard and open the employee tab.
If you need general assistance or have questions, the best thing to do is reach out directly to HR.