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Definition, Purpose and Philosophy Graduate assistantships at Radford University are used to recruit and retain quality students in graduate programs. They are designed to enhance the educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students alike. The primary goal of assistantships is to help graduate students reach their educational objectives by providing a stipend. Important professional skills are cultivated and developed in assistantship assignments which will aid the students in future career endeavors. The assistant/mentor relationship is vital; the best relationships will result from careful planning and communication. These policies ensure that both the students and the university benefit from the relationship. Graduate Assistants (GAs) and Graduate Teaching Fellows (GTFs) should, at all times, be viewed primarily as students rather than employees. In this regard, they are expected to make satisfactory progress in their degree program. To ensure that their assigned duties represent learning experiences that appropriately complement and do not adversely impact their ability to successfully complete rigorous academic programs, they are expected to work collaboratively with their supervisors. GAs and GTFs are expected to notify supervisors well in advance of schedule conflicts that may require flexible work arrangements. Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) (1) Those who are the primary instructor as well as the official professor of record:
(2) Those who are the primary instructor, but not listed as the official professor of record:
Graduate Assistant (GA) Academic programs recommend students to receive assistantship awards. Academic program coordinators work closely with administrative office supervisors when assigning assistantship duties. A GA can be awarded in an academic department as a graduate teaching, research or administrative assistant or assisting the staff in an administrative department. Each semester, all GAs must have a performance evaluation by their supervisor. To qualify for a graduate assistantship, students should have achieved an excellent academic record. Students must be admitted as a degree-seeking student in accordance with the admission policies and procedures of the Graduate College. A minimum of a 3.0 GPA must be maintained for the duration of the appointment. The English language abilities of international students should be thoroughly evaluated in relationship to the demands of the assistantship assignment. A formal assessment of speaking ability must be included in the language evaluation of any international student whose duties include working with undergraduate students. All GAs will be expected to take a minimum of nine credit hours of graduate course work in the fall and spring terms and five credit hours in the summer term. An exception to the nine credit hour requirement may be granted in the semester which the GA will graduate. In order to qualify for this exception, students must be registered for at least six credit hours and submit a Nine Credit Hour Exception Form. All GAs and GTFs must complete necessary tax forms, including the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. To conform with the Federal Immigration and Reform Control Act of 1986, documentation of identity and work eligibility is required. International Students: Students maintaining valid F-1 or J-1 non-immigrant visa status are eligible to work on campus. Students in any other status may obtain work eligibility information specific to their visa by contacting the University Immigration Counselor at 540-831-6200. All international students must meet with the Tax Compliance Manager within 3 days of beginning their assignment. This individual will assist students in completing the tax withholding forms, Forms W-4 and VA-4, and verifying work authorization on Form I-9. Students will need to bring passport, visa, Form I-94, Form I-20, Form I-9 documents and social security cards with them to this meeting. Students may call 540-831-7020 to set up an appointment. Male Students: All males receiving an assistantship who are U.S. Citizens must complete a Selective Services Form. Students may apply for a graduate assistantship by indicating that they would like to be considered for an award on their application for admission to the Graduate College. Continuing students and students interested in summer awards may apply for an assistantship by completing the Graduate Assistantship Application and submitting it to the Graduate College. The Graduate College will then forward the application to the academic department that is responsible for recommending the student for an award. Assistantship awards are made contingent on available funds and admission of the student to a degree granting graduate program. Award letters will be sent by the Dean of the Graduate College. The target dates for submitting an assistantship application are as follows:
* Most assistantships are awarded for an academic year and begin in the fall. It is important to note that there are very few spring and summer openings. Allocations to programs are made on the basis of available funding. For the academic year (fall/spring), unused departmental funding will be returned to the Graduate College for redistribution on June 1. For summer, any assistantships not awarded by April 1 will revert to the Graduate College for redistribution. Graduate Teaching Fellowships are located in Academic Departments. Graduate Assistantships are located in Academic Departments and Administrative Offices. All awards are recommended by the Academic Program Coordinator following applicable departmental procedures. Administrative offices have been matched with specific academic programs. The Academic Program Coordinator will determine the pool of candidates for offering awards, equivalent to the funding allotment for that academic program. Then, the Academic Program Coordinator will work with the specific Administrative Office Supervisor to place those students. Students placed in the Academic Department will report directly to the Academic Program Coordinator. Students placed in Administrative Offices will report directly to the Administrative Office Supervisor. Once the Academic Program Coordinator recommends a student for receiving an award, the Graduate College will determine eligibility. Then, the Graduate College will send an award letter to the student. The student will accept or decline the award and return the signed award letter to the Graduate College. Specific duties will be assigned by the Academic Department Coordinator in collaboration with supervisors in the matched administrative offices. Acceptance of an offer of financial support (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties. Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer. Regular Awards (Fall/Spring): Graduate Assistants may be awarded on a per-semester basis or academic year. Academic year awards generally correspond to 31 weeks of service and eight monthly pay periods. Fractional Awards: A full graduate assistantship is for the full stipend and is for an estimated 20 hours per week over the course of two full semesters. Fractional awards can be made in several ways, if a program chooses this option. • An assistantship may be awarded for only one semester rather than a full year. In this case, the stipend would only be for half the annual amount. • A half-time assistantship may be awarded for a full academic year for an estimated 10 hours per week over the course of two full semesters. In this case, the stipend would be for half the annual amount. • An assistantship may be awarded for an estimated 15 hours per week. This type of award is primarily based on departmental need. In this case, the stipend would be for three-fourths the annual amount. Renewal of Award: Graduate Assistants who perform their duties satisfactorily are eligible for an annual award renewal for the maximum time limit. Satisfactory performance is evaluated based on the following criteria: • The assistant must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA
• A formal evaluation of the student must be filed by their faculty advisor • The length of time the student has held the assistantship
Assistantship Responsibilities while effectively performing their assigned duties. The duties assigned to students by each program are determined by that unit, provided they are consistent with the intent of these assistantship policies and the SACS rules governing them. These assignments are professional development opportunities; thus, Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are expected to behave in a professional manner. Effective written and oral communication skills are necessary for students in assistantship assignments. These duties may vary widely, but generally include the following types of work: • Administrative assistance • Bibliographic research and record-keeping • Undergraduate advising • Paper grading • Instruction of class and laboratory sessions
Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are expected to follow all University Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are covered by the University’s liability insurance and by Worker’s Compensation. Student medical coverage for GAs, GTFs and their families is available at an additional cost to the student through the Dean of Students Office. Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are not eligible for sick leave benefits. Graduate Teaching Fellows will be permitted to purchase Faculty/Staff parking permits, allowing them to park in designated faculty/staff lots. Students receiving assistantships may not engage in any employment beyond their assistantship, inside or outside the University, without filing a written Request for Outside Employment Form with the Dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. This request will either be approved or disapproved based on the Dean’s assessment of individual circumstances. Requests to work beyond 20 hours per week (total hours combined including assistantship plus other employment) are rarely approved. Failure to abide by this policy can result in the immediate loss of the assistantship. The number of hours for which a Graduate Assistant must be enrolled in a given semester may vary according to the following circumstances: • Graduate Assistants must be enrolled for at least 9 semester hours during each regular term. • An exception to the nine credit hour requirement may be granted in the semester which the GA will graduate. In order to qualify for this exception, students must be registered for at least six credit hours and submit a Nine Credit Hour Exception Form. • Graduate Teaching Fellows must be enrolled for at least 6 semester hours during each regular term. • Summer Graduate Assistants must be enrolled for at least 6 semester hours (any combination of Maymester, Summer I, II and III). Registration for all 6 hours must be completed prior to the start of Maymester.
The stipend for 2008-2009 assistantships are as follows:
Stipends are taxable as earned income. They are subject to withholding and reportable to the IRS. Income tax withholding on the taxable amount is based on appropriate tax withholding forms, Forms W-4 and VA-4. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens: Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are exempt from paying the social security tax if they are enrolled at least half-time per Internal Revenue Procedure 2005-11. International Students: All international students must meet with the Tax Compliance Manager within 3 days of beginning their assignment. This individual will assist students in completing the tax withholding forms, Forms W-4 and VA-4, and verifying work authorization on Form I-9. Students will need to bring passport, visa, Form I-94, Form I-20, Form I-9 documents and social security cards with them to this meeting. Please call 540-831-7020 to set up an appointment. International Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are exempt from the social security tax withholding if they are on an F, J, M or Q visa and have not been in the United States for more than five calendar years. Those students who are not on an F, J, M or Q visa or who have been in the United States for more than five calendar years should read the section under "U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens" to determine if they are exempt from the social security tax. The integration of the assistantship responsibilities and academic programs must be carefully coordinated and monitored by a faculty mentor. The mentor or faculty advisor has a serious responsibility to help the student monitor the ability to manage the academic and assistantship roles. Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows should be provided with sufficient training and equipment necessary to effectively fulfill their assignments. Each department or administrative office should designate an individual who has the overall responsibility for the assistantship program. Those departments and offices are encouraged to develop procedure manuals and other pertinent supplements that include the following: • A description of the responsibilities and expectations associated with the Graduate Assistantship or Fellowship • A description of all departmental, office, college, and University regulations, • A description of orientation, training, and mentoring activities, and • An assessment plan requiring the mentor to evaluate the Graduate Assistant or Fellow. After each semester, the plan must include a written performance evaluation, a copy of which must be sent to the student, the department, and the Graduate College. All Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows are required to complete the online Mandatory Orientation that is conducted each year by the Graduate College. Departments and programs are expected to design an evaluation plan that is consistent with the plan set forth in the previous Supervision section. A productive evaluation should be an on-going process of bi-directional communication between the Graduate Assistant and their mentor. The evaluation should be a supportive process that will help the Graduate Assistant identify their strengths and weaknesses, thus focusing on concrete improvement. A formal evaluation must be entered into the student’s departmental record. After each semester, a written performance evaluation must be completed, a copy of which must be sent to the student, the department, and the Graduate College. The experience of a graduate student as a Teaching, Research, or Graduate Assistant is an integral part of graduate education. An assistantship can be viewed as an apprenticeship under the guidance of a mentor, who is usually a faculty supervisor or administrative departmental supervisor. In most cases, this experience is instructive and positive. In some cases, however, a serious conflict may arise that may be resolved only through a change in supervisors or the termination of an assistantship. POLICY When a serious conflict between an assistant and a supervisor occurs, reasonable attempts should be made to resolve the conflict informally. If there is a conflict between a supervisor and an assistant that cannot be resolved by informal means, the most practical solution may be to reassign the student to new responsibilities. If reassignment is not feasible or does not appear to be warranted, the assistantship may be terminated by following the procedures given below. The assistant may also choose to relinquish the award by submitting a letter of notification to the Graduate College. Most conflicts between a supervisor and a student can be prevented if the student is given a clear description of responsibilities and expectations for performance and if the student receives regular supervision and evaluation. If conflicts surface, however, the Graduate College encourages and supports concerted informal efforts toward resolution within the department, beginning at the supervisor-student level. The procedures below provide guidelines for resolving and mediating conflicts informally. The procedures also provide guidelines for terminating an assistantship when informal resolution is not possible and the assistant’s performance is found to be unacceptable. The Dean of the Graduate College and the Director of Graduate Recruiting and Retention are available at any time to advise students, supervisors, graduate program administrators, or others who are involved in such conflicts. Cases of academic misconduct, such as breaches of academic integrity in research and publication, are handled under the campus’s Academic Integrity Policies. McConnell Library has an online tutorial introducing academic integrity that can be found at: http://lib.radford.edu/Tutorial/X/index.asp PROCEDURES
Keeping track of time worked should be an internal departmental function between the student and the supervisor. It is recommended that supervisors review time worked on a periodic basis to make adjustments to the schedule accordingly. Additionally, it is recommended that a student gives as much prior notice as possible about any time that he/she will not be able to work (for example, being away at a professional conference). Basically, good communication is required between student and supervisor to ensure that 1) the student meets the expectations of the supervisor and 2) the supervisor accommodates the academic needs of the student. Should there be any questions relating to the student’s schedule, the supervisor should take the lead in correcting the situation. Performance issues, such as when a student stops showing up to work, he/she calls in sick habitually, he/she does not report to work on time, or he/she is habitually absent without a reasonable excuse may result in loss of the award. Supervisors can work with students to ensure that the assignments are completed and that there exists no excessive or ongoing time management issues. The supervisor may discuss the possible forfeiture of the following term’s assignment, should things not improve. The following table can be used by the supervisor as a guide regarding the fulfillment of the semester’s assignment. Students receive stipends; they should not be treated as a wage employee. Therefore, these are approximations only with the understanding that students may have issues come up requiring special attention.
Official University Closings (includes holidays and emergency closings) - Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows will be paid their normal stipends during an official university closing. For example, if an official closing falls on a day of the week normally scheduled for work, the student shall receive the regular paycheck and shall not be required to make up the hours that were scheduled on that day. If an official closing falls on a day of the week normally scheduled to not work, the student shall not receive a day off to compensate for the closing. Tax forms (W-4 and VA-4) are housed in the Payroll Department. Federal and state taxes will be withheld based on the information a Graduate Assistant provides on these forms. Students should file new tax withholding forms if they have had a change in family status, or otherwise need to change the tax withholding status. Paychecks are distributed from the Cashier’s Office in Walker Hall. Students must present their
At the beginning of each assistantship appointment, all Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Fellows (returning and new) are required to complete the online Mandatory Orientation. After the assistantship award letter is sent, the link to the online orientation is emailed to the student. The orientation provides a brief overview of the following: • University Policies/Discrimination/Sexual Harassment • Payroll/Tax Information • Stipends/Tuition Waivers/Financial Aid • Expectations • Eligibility Requirements • Conflict Resolution • Time Management After the completion of the online orientation, students will receive an electronic copy of the Orientation Completion Certificate via email. The orientation certificate expires at the end of the summer session. Like payroll forms, the online orientation must be completed prior to the first day of work. |
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Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
