This semester, the Ripped from the Wall podcast team investigated American University’s switch to the HR and payment app Workday. After transitioning, some students we spoke to said their payment was delayed and the new system was confusing.
Although some student workers haven’t had problems with the switch to Workday, others have experienced delayed or incomplete payment, particularly resident assistants and workers in the Davenport Coffee Lounge.
Shelby Liebler, an RA with AU’s department of Housing & Residence Life and complex problems program leader, said she was drawn to these positions to build communities with first-year residents and be more involved with early student life on campus.
Liebler’s pay as an RA was delayed at the beginning of the semester; however she said she continued to be paid on time as a program leader.
Liebler said that RAs are compensated with free housing and a $375 monthly stipend, but on Feb. 2, RAs did not receive their monthly payment.
“We weren’t told beforehand we weren’t going to be paid, we just didn’t get it,” Liebler said.
Now RAs are paid on a biweekly basis rather than a monthly payment, Liebler said. While Liebler said she was fine with the biweekly payments, she was angry about how the change was communicated.
“I am in a stable financial situation, but I know other RAs who aren’t, who were completely blindsided by that and had to make different arrangements to pay their bills, because they weren’t told they weren’t going to receive $375 at that paycheck,” Liebler said.
Elizabeth Deal, the assistant vice president for Community & Internal Communication, said in a statement that the university said it notified RAs as soon as it was aware of the payment issues.
“RAs are valued members of our community and we deeply regret and apologize for the inconvenience that this issue has caused,” Deal said.
Other students had better experiences. Another RA, Morgan Marsh, said she likes her job because of the connections she makes with the residents in her hall. Michael Picchi, a desk receptionist for Constitution Hall, said he also enjoys his job and has not experienced any payment issues.
To hear the rest of these students’ stories, listen to our latest episode of Ripped from the Wall on your favorite podcast listening platform!
