There are serious differences in the judicial practice in China regarding whether college students have employee status. According to both the position of Article 12 of Circular No.309 of the former Ministry of Labor and the consensus behind the arguments of various theories, the primary issue of student employee identification is how to deal with the relationship between labor and education. Under the mode of education management and labor relations adjustment in colleges and universities in China, it is feasible to identify students’ employee status by a dichotomous approach of labor and education. It is to identify labor elements and educational elements based on substantive content so as to determine whether a student’s employment is educational relation or economic relation. Only by excluding the employment of students as a special element of education, can the identification of student employee status be made in accordance with the general standards in the economic relationship. A dichotomous approach follows the general rules of employee identification, solves the problem of lack of legal basis, and has important educational significance. In the face of a diversified student employment reality, the labor law and education law should adopt an open attitude to students’ employee status in their institutional regulations, make differential protection policies, and jointly promote the development of education reform and judicial practice, so that the labor relationship and the education relationship can be handled properly.