Students and Case Writers
How Can Students Get Involved in Writing Cases?
Students can write cases for credit as part of a G390 course, as temporary employees of the Case Writing Office, or, during the summer quarter as case writers in the Case Writing Office or in one of the School's research centers. Remuneration is dependent on the arrangement. (Is the case written for credit or written for pay?) Students should be prepared to spend between 125 and 175 hours to develop a case according to the School's guidelines. See the Roadmap for Case Writing section of the site for guidelines for case development.
Writing a Case as a Course Requirement for a 390
MBA students whose first year of work is of superior quality may undertake a case study as a 390 (offered for variable credit of one to four units) with the approval and under the direction of a faculty member and the GSB Registrar. The research is to be carried out by the student with a large degree of independence but with regular conferences with the faculty member and is undertaken on a pass-fail basis. A staff case writer in the CWO will meet with the student to discuss the case writing process and introduce the writing, editing and formatting resources available through the CWO. Students may not receive compensation for a 390.
More information on 390s and 390 petition forms are available in the GSB Academic Operations Office (S107) or on the student site. 390 petitions with the sponsoring faculty member’s signature are due significantly before the quarter begins; please see the student site for the deadline for each quarter.
If you have additional questions after reviewing the information on the student site, please email Academic Operations at academic_operations@gsb.stanford.edu.
Writing a Case for Payment
Before you begin working, complete the forms and steps outlined below. Students should check with the financial aid office to see if earnings will impact financial aid.
Students: please present the following documents at the Finance Office (South Building 320, M-F, 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM):
Non-students: please present the following documents to Daria Kitch at the Human Resources Office (South Building 322B, M-F, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM):
- Employment Eligibility Verification I-9: Be prepared to present in person the document or documents of your choice as listed on page 3 under Acceptable Documents. One document from list A OR one document from both list B and C is required
- Employee Tax Data W-4: Fill out pages 1 and 2 of the form
- Automatic Paycheck Deposit Authorization: (attached a voided check as indicated)
- Temp Information Sheet
You are not permitted to start working until these documents have been submitted.
To be paid, you must enter your time into Kronos via your Axess account (see “Reporting Time Worked and Leave in Kronos”). Print out your time report and submit it to Margot Sutherland for approval. If you cannot get to campus to hand in your time report print-out from the Kronos system, send an e-mail noting your hours to Margot Sutherland for approval.
Each pay period, you must enter your time into Kronos. If you do not work at all during a pay period, do not report any time. See 2009 Time Reporting Deadlines and submit your hours by each deadline. It causes significant problems if you do not report your time according to the deadlines. Payment can be picked up from the Accounting office on the 7th and 22nd of every month only if the accounting office receives the time report from you on the 15th and 30th of the month. You may also be able to set up direct deposits into your bank account.
How Will This Employment Affect My Financial Aid?
An estimate of a student's total pay from the case must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office before you start working. The Financial Aid Office considers payment from the case as an increase in current income when calculating your aid. As a result, your financial aid dollars may go down.