Current OCFWS Students

The academic year program runs from September through May with the option for students to work over the winter and spring break. The summer program runs from July 1 through August 31. If student earnings in the summer exceed their maximum award, they may not be eligible for the academic year program. 

Payment Information

Students are to submit their hours each week using Workday, Brown's online time tracking system. Instructions will be sent to you once you have been hired for an eligible OCFWS position by the Office of Financial Aid. Students are expected to work at least 6-8 hours at their approved OCFWS sites in order to make full use of their award amount. For more information on guidelines and regulations related to student work hours, please refer to the Student Employment website.

Scheduling, Training and Support

Site Supervision & Scheduling

Your site supervisor(s) and/or student site leader(s) are responsible for providing orientations and ongoing training that will prepare you for your work at your site. They are your primary resource throughout the academic year and should be consulted if you are looking for additional support with your work. 

You and your supervisor are able to set up a schedule for work that fits both of your needs. We recommend you communicate your mutual scheduling needs for the entire semester with your supervisor at the beginning of your internship to ensure clear expectations. Most students tend to work between 3 and 10 hours per week, with 12 hours being the highest we recommend unless you are able to devote a significant portion of your time each week to your internship. Students may schedule extra shifts or work time during less busy times of the academic year, and cut down on hours during midterms and finals-- for example, you could work 12 hours/week during October and November, and then work only 3 hours/week during your finals, if that requested schedule works for your partner organization. Some organizations might have busy times of the year during which they could use extra support-- for example, if your organization has a big event in early December, they might want you to work extra hours that week. These questions are great to ask your supervisor early on.


Swearer Staff Support

Swearer staff member Sophia Pray ([email protected]) is accessible for OCFWS program-related questions. She can help provide guidance on the following topics:

  • Aligning your OCFWS experience with your professional goals
  • Building and sustaining relationships with your supervisor(s) and coworkers 
  • Troubleshooting any issues that may arise at your site


Synchronous Trainings

The Swearer Center's Civic Engagement Series brings together students, faculty, staff and community to learn, reflect and take action. Each semester, through a series of workshops, presentations and convenings, participants engage with multiple strategies that communities are using to effect social change around an issue impacting Providence & Rhode Island.

The Spring 2023 series, focusing on Housing Justice, is co-sponsored by the Urban Studies Program and the Warren Alpert Medical School. Please navigate to the Civic Engagement Series website for more information about these synchronous training opportunities. 


Asynchronous Trainings

Swearer maintains a platform of asynchronous training modules that are accessible to all students at Brown University, including OCFWS students, that are listed below. In addition, Swearer will offer synchronous workshops with community partners throughout the academic year. In order to access the following training modules, you will need to sign up for a student TopHat account, the Swearer Center's e-learning platform, using your Brown credentials. If you do not sign-up for a student account you will not be able to access these training modules. 

Instructions for creating a student TopHat account:

  1. Navigate to TopHat and click "Sign Up"
  2. Confirm your school affiliation by typing in and selecting Brown University on the TopHat website
  3. Complete Brown's Duo Mobile verification process
  4. Create a STUDENT account on TopHat (this is a very important step)
  5. Join the course(s) you are interested in by using the links below

Mandated Reporter Training

Any individual engaging with minors under the age of 18 is required to complete a Mandated Reporter training. The Swearer Center maintains a list of students who have completed this virtual training for compliance tracking purposes.

  • Rhode Island state law (RIGL 40-11-3) requires known or suspected cases of child abuse to be reported through a process known as “Mandated Reporting.” In this workshop, participants will be provided with an overview of the mandated reporting process as well as the implications of this role when engaging with minors ages 17 and under. Participants will learn to identify signs of abuse, including physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse, and familiarize themselves with the requirements of reporting this information whether they are in a K-12 school or another setting.

  • The 20-minute training module will teach participants about their roles as Mandated Reporters and provide instructions on how to make a report in the event that known or suspected cases of child abuse become known. The mandated reporting process is enforced by state law (RIGL 40-11-3). After receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse, the Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) investigates and intervenes as necessary.

 While we invite students to review the training each year, it only needs to be completed once during a student's tenure at Brown.

Safety Protocols

Amid the ongoing pandemic, all Off-Campus Federal Work Study participants are expected to align their off-campus activities to adhere to the public health standards currently in place, and in compliance with Brown University's COVID-19 Campus Safety Policy. These policies and guidance may, in some instances, be more restrictive than the guidance from your community agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and/or the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). 

In addition, if at any point the University limits, restricts, or suspends sponsored off-campus in-person activities due to public health guidelines, the guidance will apply to this program. If possible, your agency supervisor may transition your position responsibilities to remote work. If your job duties cannot be performed remotely, then the position will end.