INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING

GRADUATEASSISTANTSHIP CONTRACTS

PRESENTED BY:THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Three Types of Contracts1. Graduate Assistant Contract

Called the Acceptance Agreement & Appointment Form and Award of Graduate Scholarship/Fellowship

2. Stand Alone Scholarship

3. Supplemental / One-Time Payment

Graduate Assistant Contract Eligibility

• Must be fully admitted or have pending admission to a graduate degree seeking program.

• Must register for a minimum 9 graduate credit hours.• Must not have over 174 cumulative graduate hours in order

to be funded by graduate school allocated money.• TA’s must demonstrate proof of English proficiency if their

native language is not English. Acceptable scores: TSE: 50 or higher; U-Adept: pass or higher; Internet Based TOEFL: 23 or higher on the speaking portion.

• Contract dates cannot overlap existing contracts.

1. The Graduate Assistant Contract:

Graduate Assistant Acceptance Agreement and

Appointment Form

Full or Partial Graduate Assistant Contract:

Full Graduate Assistantship• Requires 20 work hours

per week.• Provides 15 hours of

tuition remission per semester.

Partial Graduate Assistantship• Requires less than 20 work

hours per week.• Tuition remission is prorated based on the number of hours worked.• Must be on form titled “Partial Graduate Assistant Contract.”http://www.uakron.edu/gradsch/faculty-staff/gradasstdir.dot

Sample of the Acceptance Agreement portion of the Graduate Assistant Contract (2 pages)

Sample of the Award of Graduate Scholarship/Fellowship portion of the Graduate Assistant Contract (2 pages)

• All contracts must be TYPED using the Adobe Reader forms.

• The forms are available online at:

http://www.uakron.edu/gradsch/http://www.uakron.edu/gradsch/faculty-staff/gradasstdir.dotfaculty-staff/gradasstdir.dot

The contract should have both the Acceptance Agreement and Award of Scholarship/Fellowship

completed for a total of 4 pages.

PART ONE Filling out the Acceptance Agreement

and Appointment

This portion of the Graduate Assistant Contract provides information on:• Job title• Awarding department and funding account• Stipend award• Effective dates• Service hours

Filling out the Acceptance Agreement and Appointment

Step One: • In the top left-hand corner of

the contract, Check if the student is a First Appointment or a Reappointment.

• Be sure to attach completed I-9 I-9 for First Appointments.(Instructions on completion of the I-9 will appear later in this presentation)

• Type in the Date, Student’s Name, UA Student ID Number (EMPLID), and Address.

• It is important to include the UA Student ID Number, as some students share the same name.

Filling out the Acceptance Agreement and Appointment

Step One, continued:

Section I: Check the following information

Select if the student is admitted to a Master’s or Doctoral degree seeking

program.

Select if the student is admitted to a Master’s or Doctoral degree seeking

program.

Select if the student is Domestic or International.

Select if the student is Domestic or International.

Teaching Assistant • Non-native English speaking students must have an acceptable score on TSE, U-Adept,

or speaking portion of the internet based TOEFL. See acceptable scores on the following slide.

• Native English speaking students must complete the Departmental Assessment. Instructional Support• If a student is assigned classroom duties but is not the primary instructor, he/she must

be marked as Instructional Support. • Instructional Support does not require demonstration of English proficiency.Research Assistant• Student participates in research or research-related tasks as directed by faculty

members. Administrative Assistant• Cannot be paid from Graduate School accounts: 2-02XXX.Fellow• The student does NOT provide work hours as this is a non-service position. • Newly appointed fellows must complete the DMA Form, but NOT the I-9 Form.• Stipends for fellowship do not have to meet the Minimum Wage Requirements for pay.

Section I: Check only ONE box for the job title

Section I: Acceptable test scores for International Student working as Teaching Assistant

• TSE: 50 or higher • U-Adept: “Pass” or higher • Internet Based TOEFL: 23 or higher on the

speaking portion

Section I: Next, complete the following:

Department where the student will be working

Department account or grant

account

Leave blank if the student is working for his/her

academic department.

Section II: Bi-weekly Stipend and effective dates

IMPORTANT! This must be the calculated bi-weekly stipend, NOT the

total stipend award.

If the student is a reappointed

graduate assistant, make sure that the contract dates do not overlap. Check

the current contract info in

Nolij Web.

Students work an Academic Year contract

from the beginning of fall semester through the end

of spring semester, including exam weeks.

They are NOT required to work during the winter or

spring break.

Appointees of 12 Month / Other

contracts will work from the start date to

the end date of the contract, with the

exception of spring break.

Find the bi-weekly pay

calculator HERE!

Find the bi-weekly pay

calculator HERE!

Section III: Contingencies or Conditions

“The following contingencies or conditions shall be met:”This is where you specify any special requirements that you may have.

Example: You need the student to work during break time and they are on an academic

year contract. Specify this contingency and the arrangement to adjust the hours during the semester to be equivalent to 20 hours per week taking into account

the total hours they will be required to work during the break time.

Section IV: Hours per week“The appointee shall provide 20 hours service per week under the direction of the department head/school director or grant director named above, as assigned and/or specified as follows (not applicable for Fellows):”

You should type a brief description of the student’s duties or indicate duties as assigned. Change the hours service per week if the student is not working a full, 20 hour contract.

Section V: Agreement to terms and conditions “The undersigned appointee hereby certifies that all terms and conditions, including those on the reverse side hereof, have been read and understood. Further, the appointee hereby agrees to abide by all said terms and conditions.”

All contracts MUST be signed by the Graduate Assistant and Chair of Academic Department.

•If the student is working in another department, that director must also sign the contract. •If the contract is grant funded by a 5-XXXXX or 6-XXXXX account, the Controller’s Office must sign the contract.

PART TWO Filling out the Award of

Graduate Scholarship/Fellowship

This portion of the Graduate Assistant Contract provides information on:

•Tuition charges •Semesters in which tuition scholarship is awarded •Policy for repayment of graduate scholarship

Filling out the Award of Scholarship/Fellowship

1. Fill in the date, student ID, student name, and awarding department.

2. Check one of the three options for tuition charges. Tuition is cost-shared Grant is charged for the tuition Graduate School is charged for tuition

3. Check all semesters during which tuition scholarship will be awarded, and include the effective year.

**If the student is a recipient **If the student is a recipient of tuition scholarship in the spring, of tuition scholarship in the spring, he/she is automatically entitled he/she is automatically entitled to tuition scholarship in the summerto tuition scholarship in the summer.

Acquiring Signatures• Students must read, sign, and date all applicable pages of

the graduate contract.

• If the service department and the student’s academic department are the same, the director/chair should sign to the right of the student’s signature.

• If the service department and academic department are different, both directors/chairs must sign the contract.

• After the contract is completed and signed, it is almost ready to be processed by the Graduate School.

So, you’re almost done filling out the Graduate Assistant Contract…

The Final Steps:1. Check the contract and make sure all sections have been completed.

2. If the student has NOT completed the I-9 Form required for contract processing, attach the COMPLETED form to the contract.

Check the Nolij database to see if the student has already submitted the I-9 form to the Graduate School.

3. If the student has not yet arrived on campus, the I-9 Form must be completed within three days of the start date of the contract.

The Final Steps:

4. If the student is being paid from an account code starting 5-XXXXX or 6-XXXXX, forward the contract to the Controller’s Office for review:

SPGA150 ASB+6205

5. If the student is being paid from any other account code, NOT starting with 5 or 6, forward the contract to the Graduate School for processing:

Graduate School+2101

Some important details about

Graduate Remission (Tuition Scholarship paid per credit)

• Graduate remission is the payment of the student’s graduate tuition by the University or a grant.

• If a student works all of spring semester, he or she is automatically entitled to receive summer remission.

• Summer tuition remission can be used over the combined summer sessions.

• The student must be full time (9 credits for spring / fall – 6 credits for summer) for any period in which they are being paid a stipend.

• Includes tuition, general service fees, and course fees only.

• Does not include undergraduate or audit tuition, facility, library, technology, add/drop, late fees or other institution .

Repayment of Graduate Scholarship Upon Resignation

The Graduate Scholarship Recipient is not required to repay any scholarship award if:

– He or she withdraws from ALL classes at the time of resignationOR

– If it is after the 14th day of the semester and the recipient remains enrolled as a graduate student and completes the course(s) with a grade of C- or better.

The Graduate Scholarship Recipient is required to repay the scholarship in full if:

– He or she resigns the scholarship on or prior to the 14th day of the semesterOR

– He or she remains enrolled as a graduate student at the time of resignation and does not complete the course(s) with a grade of C- or better.

If the Graduate Scholarship Recipient drops below the minimum required graduate If the Graduate Scholarship Recipient drops below the minimum required graduate credits at any time during the contract period, the contract is terminated.credits at any time during the contract period, the contract is terminated.

Partial Graduate Assistant Contracts

• Students may be offered less than full contracts (20 hours per week). .• Using the Partial Graduate Assistant Contract, indicate the number of work

hours in Section IV of the Acceptance Agreement and Appointment.

• On the Award of Scholarship/Fellowship form, complete the prorated tuition remission credit award based on the following chart:

Partial Graduate Assistant Contracts• If a student is offered a partial contract, the

student may work up to 20 hours per week and earn up to 15 graduate credit hours per semester.

• For example: A Polymer student has a 10 hour RA contract with Polymer Science. He has also been offered a 10 hour TA contract with Chemistry. He will qualify for a full 15 credits of graduate remission between the two departments and work a total of 20 hours per week.

• All University employment may not exceed a maximum of 20 hours per week.

Student Employment

• Students cannot work more than 20 hours per week with a graduate contract. If a student has a half contract (10 hours per week), the student may also work 10 hours or less per week for Student Employment.

• For example:A student has a 16 hour graduate assistant contract in Biology. She may work up to 4 hours per week for student employment, for a total of 20 hours per week.

• Exception: Students with Fellowships may work up to 20 hours a week for Student Employment.

• Students with Academic Year contracts may work over winter break for student employment for as many hours as student employment will allow.

Outside Employment• Students with full contracts (20 hours per week) are required to take

a minimum of 9 graduate credit hours. The student may work a maximum of 8 hours outside of the university, with written approval from the department.

• This rule protects the students, as this scenario is equivalent to a 55+ hour work week.

Sexual Harassment• All students working on campus (does not include non-

service Fellowships) are required to attend the Sexual Harassment And Other Forms of Discrimination seminar.

• Sign-up for this seminar is available on the Graduate Assistant Orientation Webpage.

Required Form for

Processing of Graduate Assistantship Contract

•I-9 Form

I-9 Forms• The US Federal Department of Homeland Security requires

I-9 forms be completed for anyone working in the United States. (Does not apply to Fellowships since the student is not working).

• http://www.uakron.edu/gradsch/pdf/I9.pdf http://www.uakron.edu/gradsch/pdf/I9.pdf • Students are required to complete, sign, and date Section 1

of the I-9 form.• An employee of the University must review the student’s

documents and complete Section 2.• It will take two to four weeks after receipt of these

documents for the student to be paid.

Sample I-9 Form and List of Acceptable Documents

I-9 Form Verification of Documents

• One item from List A is required (typically a passport or Permanent Resident Card).

• – OR –• One item from List B AND one item from List C

(typically a Driver’s License or Zip Card – AND – Social Security Card or Birth Certificate).

• Driver’s License and a Zip Card are NOT sufficient without an item from List B.

• Please read the form carefully and refer to the “List of Acceptable Documents.” The above items are the most common used.

You have now completed the instructions for filling out the standard Graduate Assistant Contract.

There are two additional contracts which serve different purposes:

Stand Alone Scholarship - This contract is awarded to first-year graduate students ONLY. This is a non- renewable contract. It awards a tuition-only scholarship, with a maximum of $1,000.00 per fall and spring semester, and $500.00 for summer.

Supplemental / One-Time Payment – This contract is similar to a standard contract without the tuition remission. This contract can award one of two things:

1. Supplemental funding to an existing bi-weekly stipend2. A one-time payment awarded in a lump sum

2. Stand Alone Scholarship(First Year Only)

Sample of the Stand Alone Graduate Scholarship (2 pages only)

Stand Alone Scholarship

• For first year students only. • Provides $1,000 for fall, spring,

and $500 for summer.• May not be combined with

another assistantship. • If a partial or full contract is later

offered, the tuition scholarship is automatically cancelled.

• Fill in all areas of the form and obtain the appropriate signatures.

3. Supplemental / One-Time Payment Contract

Sample of the Supplemental/One-Time Payment Contract (2 pages only)

Supplemental / One-Time Payment

• Supplemental contract to pay additional monies to a student already under contract.

• One-Time payments to pay students for a one-time assignment.

• Can be in addition to Graduate Contract or Student Employment.

• May be used to pay a fellowship grant without tuition remission.

Personnel Action Form (PAF)

Personnel Action Forms (PAF)• There are two types of PAFs that the Graduate School

processes: Termination & Change

• The PAF request for a termination or change to a graduate assistant contract must include the following:

• Student’s name and UA ID number• Details of the change or termination• Effective dates

• If the student is funded by a 5-XXXXX or 6-XXXXX grant account, the PAF request should be e-mailed to: spga_grad@uakron.edu

• If the student is funded by a departmental account, the PAF request should be e-mailed to: klc@uakron.edu

Contact Us…

• www.uakron.edu/gradsch• Coordinator: x6310• Student Services Counselor:

x5858• Mail code: +2101

•Polsky Building Room 469