Qualifying Titles: Tuition Waiver, Insurance Subsidy

Holding one of the titles below qualifies a graduate student for both that Graduate Tuition Waiver Program and a Student Medical Insurance subsidy:

• 4717 Graduate Teaching Assistant
• 4715 Graduate Research Assistant
• 4685 Graduate Instructor
• 4690 Graduate Library Assistant
• 3930 Fellow
• 4680 Graduate Fellow
• 7660 Research Fellow
• 9110 Teaching Fellow

See below for full descriptions.

The Graduate Faculty Senate approved these descriptions at their January 26, 1999 meeting.

A Note About Expectations

Different departments have different expectations for their graduate students. Generally, a student who holds any of the above qualifying titles should expect to put in the number of hours needed to complete a particular task, be it teaching a class or running an experiment. In some instances, a week's work could be less than that prescribed for a 0.25 FTE or 0.50 FTE appointment; at other times, it may require more effort. The nature of the particular task will determine the quantity of time required.

The goal of an assistantship or fellowship is not just the work accomplished, but also the learning experience and the development of a relationship with one's employer, who could potentially become, in the future, one's colleague.

Because this mentorship is not governed by collective bargaining agreements and is not intended to conform to such arrangements, flexibility must be exercised both by the student worker and the mentor/employer. When instances of misuse are perceived, the Graduate School dean should be informed and, if necessary, will deal with the situation.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Teaching responsibilities will generally include any of the following:

• Teach one to three 3-hour classes
• Teach one to two 5-hour classes
• Lead one to five discussion or laboratory sections of a course
• Proctor and grade large lecture exams
• Prepare and grade lab exams

A quarter-time appointment requires an average of 10 hours per week. A half-time appointment requires an average of 20 hours per week.

Enrollment requirements are determined by departments and generally stipulate an enrollment of 6-9 hours per semester and 1-4 hours during summer session. Post-comp doctoral students are required to maintain continuous enrollment of 2 hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.

Graduate Research Assistant

Research responsibilities will generally include any of the following:

• Assist faculty with research activities which vary from providing assistance with proposal development through participating in preparation of research reports for refereed journals
• Help students and faculty use microscopes, computers and other lab equipment
• Help solve assigned research and class problems
• Possibly teach one class or some lab sections

A quarter-time appointment requires an average of 10 hours per week. A half-time appointment requires an average of 20 hours per week.

Faculty investigators use their own criteria for selecting students for graduate research assistantships, and much of that criteria depends on a student's interest and aptitude for assisting with certain research projects.

Enrollment requirements are determined by departments and generally stipulate an enrollment of 6-9 hours per semester and 1-4 hours during summer session. Post-comp doctoral students are required to maintain continuous enrollment of 2 hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.

Graduate Instructor

Teaching responsibilities will generally include the following:

• Responsible for teaching, grading, proctoring and tutoring an assigned class or classes
• No research responsibilities beyond the instructor’s own degree program requirements
• An average of 20 hours per week

Enrollment requirements are determined by departments and generally stipulate an enrollment of 6-9 hours per semester and 1-4 hours during summer session. Post-comp doctoral students are required to maintain continuous enrollment of 2 hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.

Graduate Library Assistant

Library Assistant responsibilities will include the following:

• Keep library open and staffed to assist users
• Catalog new acquisitions
• Check out assigned readings

Required hours per week: an average of 20

Required enrollment: generally 9 hours per semester, except for post-comp doctoral students who are required to maintain continuous enrollment of 2 hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.

Fellow

Responsibilities for persons designated as fellows are determined by departments and are based on the specific arrangements made on an individual basis. In some cases, teaching responsibilities will be assigned; in other cases, research responsibilities will be assigned.

Enrollment requirements are generally between 2 and 9 hours each term.

Graduate Fellow

Responsibilities for those designated as graduate fellows are determined by departments and are based on specific arrangements made on an individual basis. Some departments reserve this title for students whose native language is not English. These first-year international students do no direct teaching their first year but may be involved in providing technical support duties with limited research responsibilities. Other departments may require graduate fellows to teach two or three classes per academic year and to have completed all their course work toward a doctorate.

Required enrollment is generally between 6 and 12 hours per semester. Post-comp doctoral students are required to maintain continuous enrollment of 2 hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.

Research Fellow

This title is reserved for post-comp doctoral students who are making satisfactory progress toward the completion of their dissertations. Required enrollment is two hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.

Teaching Fellow

This title is reserved for post-comp doctoral students who are making satisfactory progress toward the completion of their dissertations and teaching at least one course. Required enrollment is two hours of Research each fall and spring semester and 1 hour of Research each summer session.