Graduate Assistants
Graduate Assistantships provide students with opportunities to engage in meaningful, career-related activities that support the University’s commitment to support and enhance the graduate student experience.
Graduate Assistantships also provide the University faculty and/or staff assistance in carrying out special projects or other assignments that require the advanced discipline skills of graduate students.
About Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships allow the University to:
- Be competitive with other graduate programs
- Provide graduate students with practical experiential education related to their career interests
- Allow graduate students to concentrate more fully on their studies (rather than outside employment)
- Provide support for programmatic and academic needs at the University
The activities assigned are designed to have educational value for the student and to enhance the student's academic experience. Although some tasks may include a clerical component, a graduate assistantship is not meant to be used for the sole purpose of providing clerical and office support to departments.
The Office of Graduate Studies will invite qualified graduate students to apply online for available graduate assistantship positions.
- Supervisors will communicate and conduct interviews with student candidates to determine qualifications for the position.
- Those who are qualified will be processed for employment by the Office of Student Employment.
- New graduate assistants are asked to visit the Office of Student Employment to complete required paperwork prior to beginning employment.
- Student Employment will notify The Center for Student Success so the tuition remittance process can begin.
For 2023-2024, departments have received approval for graduate assistants to be hired for either “Option A” or “Option B” benefits. Benefit details are as follows:
Option A:
- The GA is required to work 10 hours/week and will be paid at minimum wage for an entire semester.
- In addition to payment, GAs will receive a 25% reduction in the semester’s tuition (normal, full time rate or credit rate), if they compy with this obligation. Room and board as well as any additional fees are not applicable.
*Pay Rate: minimum wage (not to exceed $2,000 per semester)
Option B:
- The GA must be able to work for two consecutive semesters, the fall and then the spring.
- The GA is required to work 20 hours/week and will be paid at minimum wage.
- GAs will receive a 50% reduction in each semester’s tuition for the full academic year (normal, full-time rate or credit hour rate), if they comply with this obligation. Room and board as well as any additional fees are not applicable.
*Pay Rate: minimum wage (not to exceed $4,000 per semester)
To qualify for a graduate assistantship, the student must:
- Be fully admitted as a matriculated student in a Utica University graduate program at the time of appointment.
- Successfully maintain a minimum course load of 6 graduate credit hours per semester for a full-time graduate assistantship.
- Be in good academic standing (not on academic probation or in jeopardy of dismissal).
- Be enrolled in class during the semester of semesters in which the student will be working as a GA.
*Graduate students who are on any form of Leave of Absence or who are enrolled in any form of Continuous Enrollment are not eligible for a graduate assistantship.
A GA may resign an appointment at the end of a semester by submitting a formal letter of resignation to their supervisor and the Office of Student Employment at least three weeks prior to the end of the semester.
- Any financial or other benefit or obligation of the University contained in the original GA letter of appointment will cease concurrently with the effective date of the resignation.
- Should a GA resign or otherwise terminate a graduate assistantship prior to the end of the semester, the GA will be deemed to have been forfeited and the student may be liable for all tuition, fees and other financial responsibilities incurred for that semester as would any other student in similar circumstances without a graduate assistantship.
GAs are not permitted to hold full-time employment while holding a graduate assistantship. GAs may hold part-time employment off-campus provided they obtain prior permission, in writing, from their academic advisor and supervisor. All arrangements should be documented with the office of Student Employment.
Appointments as GAs may be terminated by the Dean of Graduate Studies for:
- Failure to maintain good academic standing (see eligibility requirements outlined in each option mentioned above).
- Any poor performance as defined by the program or office in which the GA works.
- Failure to maintain professional behavior as defined by the program or office in which the GA works.
- If the GA violated any of the contractual obligations will be addressed by both the supervisor and the Office of Student Employment.
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