POOL: BESST Research Assistant – Federal Work Study Student Hourly


Position Overview

The BESST Research Assistant is a part of the Building Emerging STEM Scholars of Tomorrow (BESST) mentorship and research program. BESST connects juniors and seniors with federal work study to research opportunities and mentors. BESST Research Assistants will be paired with a researcher mentor and will work on a research project throughout the 24-25 academic year. There are many different research projects that you can choose to work on. They may involve biological research, geological, database work, coding, engineering, and many other areas of research. In addition to the research assistant work, you will also get paid to do monthly online trainings and attend in-person workshops that will help prepare you for conducting research, identifying and applying for internships, and preparing for a career or graduate school. This is a two-year program, and students in satisfactory standing after their first year will continue the program into the second year. Additional information can be found on the about the BESST program page.

Per the State of Kansas, student employees may hold concurrent appointments not to exceed maximum appointment and hours worked levels. However, concurrent student appointments must be of matching FLSA designation (exempt/salaried or non-exempt/hourly).


Job Description

80% - BESST Research Assistant
As a BESST Research Assistant you may do any of the following:
  • Conduct a literature review
  • Assist in data collection
  • Assist in data entry
  • Digitize materials
  • Conduct data analysis
  • Present results of data analysis

20% - BESST Student development
As part of the BESST program you will also be paid to:
  • Complete online trainings on Canvas
  • Attend monthly workshops with fellow BESST research assistants.

Required Qualifications

  1. KU student with junior or senior status (1 - 2 years left in your undergraduate degree).
  2. Have a Federal Work Study award.
  3. During the semester term of the appointment, the student hourly must be enrolled in no fewer than 6 credit hours. For summer periods the student hourly must: 1) have been enrolled in no less than 6 hours in the past spring semester or 2) be pre-enrolled in upcoming fall semester in no less than 6 hours or 3) be enrolled in summer session or 4) be admitted to study in the upcoming fall semester. Student Hourlies may be undergraduate or graduate students. (Exceptions granted for GRA/GTA/GA appointments DO NOT apply to Student Hourly appointments).

Preferred Qualifications

  1. Interest in participating in a STEM research project (STEM major is not required) as evidenced by application material.

Additional Candidate Instructions

There are two parts to the BESST Research Assistant application: The HR online application and supplemental application:
  • Please complete this HR Online Application via employment.ku.edu
  • Access the supplemental application at this link:
https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe /SV_3PFT8tkBuqyTBrw (please copy and paste this link into a browser to answer supplemental questions.)

This is a POOL position to hire multiple BESST Research Assistants.
Application review begins August 1, 2024. Applications will continue to be accepted and reviewed on an ongoing basis throughout the academic year (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025). Only one application is needed per academic year.

Contact Information to Applicants

Caleb Latas
caleb.latas@ku.edu
BESST program questions

Annette Delaney
adelaney@ku.edu
HR questions

Advertised Salary Range

$15.00 per hour

Work Schedule

Flexible up to 20 hours weekly between the business hours, 8 am -5 pm, Monday - Friday

Anticipated Start Date

Monday August 26, 2024

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Posting Information

  • Posting ID:  28401BR
  • Department:  Kansas Geological Survey
  • Primary Campus:  University of Kansas Lawrence Campus
  • Reg/Temp:  Temporary
  • Employee Class:  S-Student

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