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Graduate Assistantships – Frequently Asked Questions

What is the FLSA?

The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law that establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to be paid the applicable minimum wage and overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek.

What does non-exempt mean?

A nonexempt employee is paid by the hour (and covered under the FLSA). A non-exempt employee is required to maintain a record of hours worked (in the University's Kronos Time & Attendance System).

What does exempt mean?

It means that the position is exempt from the FLSA. Positions that are classified as exempt must meet very specific criteria and they are not eligible for overtime pay.

Why are certain graduate assistant job classifications paid by the hour while others are paid a salary or a stipend?

Graduate assistant job classifications have been established by the University in compliance with the FLSA. Refer to the Graduate Assistants Job Classifications and Pay Rates site for details.

I am planning to hire a Graduate Grading Assistant to assist with grading student tests and exams. Is this an exempt or non-exempt position?

Graduate Assistants, Graduate Grading Assistants and Graduate Technical Assistants are classified as non-exempt positions. Graduate students whose appointments are in any of these classifications will be paid by the hour (for each hour worked). Refer to the Graduate Assistants Job Classifications and Pay Rates site for more information.

Why is a Graduate Teaching Assistant classified as an exempt employee?

Teachers are exempt from FLSA. GTAs qualify for the teaching exemption because in addition to a variety of class-room related duties, they lead lab sections and conduct four hours of classroom instruction per week under the direction of a faculty member.

My Graduate Teaching Assistant will also grade papers. Does that mean he will have a split appointment (i.e., paid both as a GTA and a GGA)?

As long as GTAs primary responsibility is classroom instruction, and grading papers is a small part of his duties, he may be hired as a GTA. However, if grading is the primary job duty (not teaching), he must be hired as a GGA and paid by the hour.

My department offers an assistantship appointment that requires the student to spend 50% of her time as a graduate teaching assistant and the balance as a graduate research assistant. How will she be paid?

She'll be paid a salary for her GTA responsibilities via the bi-weekly payroll process and the remaining GRA stipend amount two times per month via the accounts payable process (on the 15th and the last business day of the month).

I'd like to hire my Graduate Teaching Assistant to teach a class in addition to her GTA responsibilities. Can I do that?

Yes, a GTA may also be hired as an adjunct faculty member. Her work as an adjunct is not part of her graduate assistantship; it's over and above her GTA duties.

What's the difference between a merit scholarship and tuition remission?

Both merit scholarship and tuition remission are non-taxable payments made to a graduate student for qualified educational expenses (e.g., tuition and fees). Both types of payments are applied directly to students’ accounts by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Graduate assistants also receive taxable wages for services through the payroll process. Graduate research assistants receive a taxable stipend through the accounts payable process.

Can a graduate assistant receive tuition remission and a merit scholarship?

Yes, it is possible for a graduate assistant to receive tuition remission and a merit scholarship. The maximum tuition remission amount is subject to the policy of the University.

Do all graduate students receive tuition remission?

Not all graduate assistants receive tuition remission as part of their compensation package. However, when they do, the amount of tuition remission is based upon the appointment level (i.e., level of effort). Refer to the Graduate Assistant Employment Policies and Job Classifications document for more information. It's important to note that when the graduate assistant's tuition remission is charged to a sponsored project, the student must also receive a stipend (charged to the same award in the same proportion).

My department was planning to pay 100% of the tuition for our PhD level graduate assistants but now the policy says we can only pay 50%. What can we do?

A graduate assistant with a full-time appointment (i.e., 20 hours per week), is eligible to receive a 50% tuition remission. The remaining 50% of the tuition costs may be paid with departmental graduate scholarship funds.

The sponsor of my private grant is willing to pay 100% of my graduate assistant's tuition; why am I constrained by RIT's policy of awarding only 50% tuition waivers?

If the sponsor willing to pay 100% of the graduate student's tuition, then request 50% tuition remission (to be in compliance with RIT's Tuition Remission Policy) and a 50% merit scholarship (from the sponsor). However, keep in mind that no services can be required of the graduate assistant for the merit scholarship portion.

My department is planning to hire a graduate student to work on a complex project; we don't have the funds to offer tuition remission. Since the work is complex, we'd like to pay our student a salary. Which graduate assistant job classification will this position be?

This job is a non-exempt (hourly paid), regular student position paid on object code 71250. Due to the nature of the work, you have the option of paying student wages according to the SEO wage schedule or you may pay your student a wage that is more in line with the high skill level and complexity of the position.

My department hires graduate students in other majors to grade papers. Should I hire them as graduate grading assistants or regular students?

If the students did not receive an assistantship for your department (tuition remission + wages), then you should hire them as regular student employees.

My graduate assistants often work from home. How will they complete a timecard?

Since your graduate assistants won't be near a time clock (the preferred method of recording hours worked), provide them with a paper timesheet on which to record their hours. Instruct the student to hand in the card to a department administrator each time there are on campus. This will ensure that the students' hours are accurately recorded in the timekeeping system.

My graduate assistants have the flexibility to work whenever they have the time; quite often that's between midnight and 3:00 a.m. Is that a problem?

If that type of flexibility works for your department and your students, it's not a problem. However, since hourly employees who work between midnight and 8:00 am are paid a shift differential of $.75 per hour, this could have a detrimental impact on your operating budget. Incremental budget funds will not be made available to assist departments who find themselves in this situation.

In the past, my graduate assistant received the same amount during each pay period, even over break weeks. How can I ensure they'll be paid the amount I promised, since she is now going to be paid only for hours worked?

In most cases, increasing the hourly rate for each hour worked will make up the difference. For example, if you offered your graduate assistants $2,500 per quarter for ~20 hours work per week, you will have to pay that student $11.36 per hour ($11.36 X 20 X 11 weeks).

The salaries we offered our graduate assistants last spring are lower than the amounts in the new "Pay Rates" document. What should we do?

Since the pay rates were developed after the graduate assistantship offers were extended, departments will be given some flexibility during AY 08/09. However, it is anticipated that all offers for AY 09/10 will reflect the new job classifications, pay rates and tuition remission amounts (based on level of effort).

I told my graduate assistants in their appointment letters that they would be paid a salary. Now I've learned that most will be classified as non-exempt employees. Since I already made the commitment, do we have to pay them by the hour during this academic year?

If, based upon the duties your graduate assistants will be performing, the job classification is non-exempt, they must be paid by the hour during this academic year. The exemptions are for Graduate Teaching Assistants and Graduate Research Assistants.

Why aren't taxes being withheld from stipends paid to graduate research assistants?

Graduate research assistants are not considered to be employees of the University. Refer to the Graduate Research Assistant Information for information about the payment method and Federal and New York State tax treatment for GRA stipends.

May I hire a BS/MS student as a graduate assistant?

Yes; however, BS/MS students must be classified as a graduate student (year level 6) in order to be offered a graduate assistantship appointment. Please consult the Associate Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships for Graduate Programs before hiring a BS/MS student as a graduate assistant and offering tuition remission, particularly on a sponsored project.

The new graduate assistantship policies state that "only students matriculated and enrolled full-time in a graduate program" may be appointed to a graduate assistantship. How does the policy address PhD-level graduate research assistants who are completing their dissertation (and no longer taking classes)?

In order to receive tuition remission and a stipend, graduate research assistants who are completing their dissertation (thesis for Master's level students) must be registered in STARS for the equivalent of 12 quarter hours through a combination of course credit and equivalency as defined by the Registrar's Office. The student's Program Director should send a completed Graduate Student Full-time Equivalency Form to the Office of the Registrar.

I've submitted the hiring paperwork for my hourly paid graduate assistants to the SEO. How long does it take before the GAs appear in Kronos?

Information about new hires is transferred to Kronos, the University’s Time & Attendance system each day – in most cases, if the hiring paperwork is input into the HR system by the SEO today, the student will be in Kronos tomorrow. The high volume of paperwork received by the SEO at the beginning of each academic quarter (especially the fall quarter) could mean that several days will elapse between the time you submit your paperwork and the time it’s entered into Kronos. However, during these peak periods, Payroll staff import the information into Kronos up to three times per day. If the student is working before he’s actually in Kronos, he won’t be able to use a timeclock to swipe in and out. Please instruct him to keep track of his hours on a paper time card so that you can enter it into Kronos prior to the end of the pay period.

My department operating budget has a line called "Graduate Assistant Awards" (it’s object code 71155). May I use these funds for to pay for tuition remission for my graduate assistants?

The budget on 71155 is intended to be used for graduate assistant wages, salaries, stipends and/or tuition remission. The actual expenses are charged to the appropriate expense object code at the time the payment is made (e.g., 71130 – Graduate Assistant Wages, 71135 – Graduate Grading Assistant Wages, 71140 – Graduate Technical Assistant Wages, 71145 – Graduate Teaching Assistant Salaries, Tuition Remission – 82010, and Graduate Research Assistant Stipends – 82570). You should process a working budget entry to move the funds from object code 71155 to the appropriate object codes. You may move the funds to other salary lines (e.g., 71130 – 71145) anytime; however, funds can only be moved to graduate assistant non-salary lines (e.g., 82010 & 82570) after the expenses have been incurred.