UT TYLER GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP POLICY
GENERAL
The following policy addresses issues ranging from eligibility, appointment processes, work assignment, oversight,
and evaluation of graduate assistants. A full-time graduate student may not work or be paid under any employment
classification at UT Tyler other than Graduate Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant or Graduate Teaching Assistant.
In addition, principal investigators should include payment of stipends and tuition for Graduate Research Assistants
in all grant proposals, unless prohibited by the granting agency. All Graduate Assistantship positions must be
available for viewing online by all potential candidates via Patriot Jobs.
DEFINITIONS OF WORK
There are three types of graduate assistantships: GA, GTA, and GRA, described below. GTA’s and GRA’s should not be
routinely assigned clerical duties or other duties generally considered to be "hourly-rate activity." A GTA or GRA must
provide for the enhancement of the student's professional skills/knowledge.
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Graduate Assistant (GA) The student performs duties outside their academic department. No tuition
remission is attached to the GA appointment. They are limited to 19.5 hours per week. Numbers 5-7 below
under General Requirements also apply to GA’s.
Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA): The student performs departmental or interdepartmental research
related to the student’s field of study. A GRA is classified as exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) and is paid on a salaried basis for up to 20 hours per week, not including time spent on coursework or
personal research.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA): The student may assist a faculty member in grading undergraduate
homework and quizzes, instruction in the classroom and laboratory, preparing apparatus or material for
demonstrations, leading discussion or tutoring sessions, and posting web-based materials. A GTA with the
proper credentials (See, Handbook of Operating Procedures, Sec. 3.021) may also be the instructor of record
for a course or laboratory. A GTA is usually held in the student’s major field or a closely related field. A GTA is
classified as exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is paid on a salaried basis for up to
20 hours per week.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS TO HOLD A GRADUATE TA/RA ASSISTANTSHIP
1. A GTA or GRA must have the permission of their degree program to hold an assistantship.
2. A GTA or GRA may be held only by students who have been fully admitted to a degree program. Non-degree
seeking students or provisional/conditional students cannot hold a GTA/GRA.
3. A GTA or GRA must begin on or before the official census date of the semester (12th day for fall and spring,
4th day for Summers I &I, 9th day for Long Summer)
4. Continuing GTAs and GRAs may be appointed in the summer without minimum registration, provided they
were registered for and completed the previous spring semester. A graduate program may require a
minimum summer enrollment.
5. Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in order to retain their assistantships. Students
who fail to maintain academic good standing will become ineligible for a graduate assistantship and any outof-state tuition waiver in the next semester. Some departments may require a higher grade point average.
6. Students may accept more than one graduate assistantship with the approval of their major department as
long as the total appointment does not exceed 19.5 hours per week and the total stipend does not exceed
university guidelines.
7. Graduate assistantships can be awarded only to full-time registered graduate students. If a student drops
below a full load during the semester, the assistantship will be terminated. Exceptions:
a. Students who are completing their thesis or dissertation and are enrolled only for the minimum number
of hours required for the thesis or dissertation.
b. A doctoral student preparing for preliminary examinations (requires approval by Graduate School Dean)
Hiring departments must vet each potential new hire here: GA/RA/TA Approval Checklist
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS HOLDING ASSISTANTSHIPS
1. International students must complete a part-time employee packet in the Office of Human Resources no
later than one week before the beginning of the semester. This packet contains documentation that
establishes their employment eligibility to work in the United States.
2. Students from non-English speaking countries who are applying for a GTA position must provide ONE of the
following test scores.
 TOEFL/paper based = 600 minimum and Test of Spoken English (TSE)= 50 or 7 on the speaking portion of
the IELTS
 TOEFL/computer-based = 250 minimum and Test of Spoken English (TSE)= 50 or 7 on the speaking
portion of the IELTS
 TOEFL/internet-based = combined minimum=86 with the following minimum scores: Writing=19
Speaking =27 Listening= 14 Reading= 19 or 7 on the speaking portion of the IELTS
ADMISSION AND OFFER
Whenever possible an admission decision should be accompanied by an offer for a Graduate Teaching or Research
Assistant position. This is particularly important for international students since 1) we are competing with other
universities who make offers at the same time they admit and 2) international students can use the stipend
information to offset their financial requirement.
Each Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant must be provided with a letter of appointment that describes clearly
the work assignment, expectations, etc.
Appointment letters should be generated by departmental administrative assistants using this link:
https://apps.uttyler.edu/mc/admin/. Contact [email protected] if access to the link is needed.
OUT OF STATE TUITION REMISSION
Research and Graduate Teaching Assistants who are not Texas residents are eligible for a remission of the out-ofstate tuition for the semesters they have an appointment, which must be for 20 hours per week and for a 4 month
period with at least a one day break in service between appointments. Please see the FAQs below for more
information. Payment of course and other mandatory fees is the student's responsibility.
ASSIGNMENTS
Teaching and Research Assistants are required only to perform those duties that are directly related to their
appointment. No GA, GTA, or GRA should be asked or required to provide inappropriate services, e.g., childcare, pet
care, or other personal services, as part of their responsibilities. Assignment of assistantships should be equitable and
tasks assigned should be evenly distributed among all assistants. Special care should be given to the distribution of
tasks among assistants working in laboratories.
If a student holding an assistantship needs to be absent from assigned duties, the students should request
permission of the supervisor and arrange for making up the time.
TRAINING
All students who serve as Graduate Teaching Assistants and who have no prior teaching experience are required to
participate in a GTA training program in their respective department, or college.
EVALUATION
The faculty member or staff person who supervises a Graduate Teaching Assistant who is the Instructor of Record
must provide regular feedback to students and must conduct an evaluation at least once during the regular academic
year. The evaluation can be generated at this link: TA Instructor of Record Evaluation
Updated July 2016
ASSISTANTSHIP FAQs
1. GTAs or GRAs that meet the qualifications would be assigned 20 hrs/wk vs 19.5 and for less than 4.5
months (currently 4 months). Therefore, how would I structure the assignments for a GTA or RA that
meets these qualifications if they are an Instructor of Record (IOR)?
o Answer: If the student qualifies to be an IOR and is teaching (1) 3 sch course they would need two
assignments – one as GTA-IOR @ 10 hrs/wk for the course and another as GTA @ 10 hrs/wk for other
course instructional support duties.
2. How do I adjust the allocation regarding the salary now that the GTAs who qualify will be assigned to work
20 hours instead of 19.5?
o Answer: GTA’s are paid monthly based on a set allocation. The rate would need to be adjusted down
so that the calculation: rate, hours, date range will equal the same allocation you previously paid the
GTA when allocating at 19.5 hours per week. i.e. $3000 = 19.5 hrs @ rate13846 for 4 mos / revised
$3000= 20 hrs @ rate 13500 for 4 mos.
3. What dates should I use for the Fall and Spring assignments now that a break in service will be required for
the individuals that qualify for the tuition waiver?
o Answer: If the GTA/RA student (in-state waiver eligible) continues into the spring semester there
must be at least a one day break in service between appointments. The current dates of 9/1-12/31
for Fall can still be used for both situations. However, the 1/1-4/30 dates would need to be changed
only for those non-residents approved to receive instate tuition and working 20 hours. *For the
Spring semester, please use 1/16 – 5/15 for these qualifying GTAs and RAs only.
4. What about resident students who already receive instate tuition? Will the current assignment process
change since they won’t be applying for the waiver?
o Answer: For resident students who automatically receive instate tuition, the “20 hrs/wk
requirement” is moot and the 19.5 hrs/wk or less is still valid. You may process their assignments as
you always have before. No break in service would be required.
5. How will I know if a GTA or RA will be applying for the waiver?
o Answer: If you are unsure as to whether a specific candidate will be applying for the waiver, please
ask the student in order to receive clarification so a determination can be made as to whether they
should be set up with an assignment to work 19.5 or 20 hours accordingly.
6. What changes will I need to make on the Personnel Action Form in regard to these assignments?
o Answer: Please note on the PAF doc if a student is a non-resident/foreign student and is receiving
instate tuition in the comment section. It should be somewhat obvious by the hours entered on the
PAF, however, adding a statement to the PAF will confirm why you are assigning the student these
hours and that you/someone has confirmed their status to receive instate tuition. All other fields
previously required on the PAF will continue to be needed.
7. What do we need to list on the job posting for hours worked if at that point we are unaware of who will be
hired for the position and whether or not they will be applying for the tuition waiver?
o Answer: For these particular Job Postings, in regard to hours worked, please list “up to 20 hours”
instead specifically designating 19.5 or 20. This way, there is flexibility in how many hours the
student can be appointed based on the need of the department and student, if applying for the
waiver.