Graduate Assistantships: Rules and Regulations

Policies

Council of Graduate School Resolution (CGS)

The University of New Orleans is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools and supports the CGS Resolution that states that "students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to 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."

Tuition

Graduate assistants may receive tuition remission for each Fall and Spring semester in which they are employed, depending on their workload, job duties and the funding source for the tuition. Students hired as full-time graduate assistants are not responsible for the non-resident fee as they are considered state residents (for fee purposes only).

Special Note: Tuition remission, if offered, does not cover summer institute courses, intersession courses or any course that generates its own fee structure.

Fees

Graduate Assistants are responsible for paying any fees assessed, including fees generated by a specific program or course (e.g. MBA Professional Fee, Engineering Differential Fee).

Registration Requirements

In order to hold a graduate assistantship, graduate students must be:

registered as full-time students during each regular semester in which they are employed (nine graduate credit hours during the Fall and Spring)
in a degree program
and in good academic standing (3.0 GPA and not on probation)

Term of Appointment

A fiscal-year graduate assistant's work is typically based on a twelve-month appointment.
An academic-year graduate assistant's work is based on a nine-month appointment (or 4.5 months per semester).

Please note: Employment of International Students (those on F-1 and J-1 visas) is subject to federal immigration and labor law. As per the Code of Federal Regulations: “(i) On-campus employment. Employment authorized under this paragraph must not exceed 20 hours a week while school is in session” [8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)]. A J-1 student may be authorized for work if “[e]employment totals no more than 20 hours per week, except during official school breaks and the student’s annual vacation” [22 CFR 62.23(g)(2)(iii)].

Should a graduate assistant resign or be terminated from the position prior to the end of their appointment, he/she will be held accountable for all University fees, including tuition.

Stipend

Graduate assistants receive a stipend, which is determined by the hiring department. The stipend is considered taxable income and as a result tax forms must be submitted.

Processing

All hires (New and Reappointments) are done in Workday. Scanned copies of signed hiring documents (offer letter /I-9/ job description / evaluation) should be uploaded during the hire. GA hire forms can be found in SharePoint.

Payroll documents (W-4, L-4) should be hand delivered to the Payroll office (Room 216 in Administration Building).

Resources

Helpful Links