What to Expect

Your Work-Study experience will connect you with members of the SFU community and provide you with valuable skills and knowledge.  When you are new to an experience, some things that you can expect when you arrive are:

Students participating in a Work-Study position can expect a degree of training at the beginning of their project from their Project Supervisor to learn the specific skills and knowledge required for their position.  Work-Study projects are expected to be supervised and on-campus.

You will be talking to your supervisor and getting a sense of the project, your role within the project, the outcomes and your expected performance guidelines, and you will find out about timelines and deadlines. 

Each position is unique and you will need to determine the expectations with your supervisor, such as your work load, schedule and hours.  Your Work-Study schedule will be mutually determined between the Project Supervisor and yourself.  Project Supervisors anticipate that their Work-Study students will aim to complete all of their Work-Study hours.

Your responsibilities include: 
1. Punctuality 
2. Productiveness
3. Good Attendance 
4. Professional Behaviour 
5. Honesty in both your record keeping (time) and with respect to property and facilities 
6. Obedient, that is, follow reasonable directions and adhere to policy 
7. Loyal by avoiding conflict-of-interest activities or criticizing your supervisor to others. When you leave the position you must return property and information and respect any existing restrictive covenants.  

"Etiquette is a code that influences the expectations and behaviour of social behavior, according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group. Rules of etiquette are usually unwritten, but aspects of etiquette have been codified from time to time. A rule of etiquette may reflect an underlying ethical code, or it may reflect a fashion or status." (Reference: Wikipedia) Etiquette during your opportunity is an interesting topic because all of us will encounter scenarios that will leave us wondering whether we did the "right" thing. To help you integrate successfully into your opportunity, learn from those around you by asking questions, watch the norms within your environment, and be open-minded, listen, and seek out the information you require.