Academic Affairs Policy Letter
November 4, 1999 99:1

GRADUATE PROJECT ASSISTANT POLICY

 

I. PURPOSE

The University recognizes that matriculated graduate students possess specialized skills. Graduate advisors/committees, working with units from across campus, will identify on-campus employment opportunities that incorporate these specialized skills into work experience that will enhance a graduate student's educational experience. The student recognized for these opportunities will be classified as a Graduate Project Assistant (GPA).

II. POLICY

A. Students currently admitted on a full-time basis (defined as carrying at least 9 credits per semester) to a Ferris State University graduate program and earning credits toward a graduate degree may qualify for a GPA position. GPAs cannot be undergraduates or students working on a professional degree such as the Doctor of Optometry or the Doctor of Pharmacy.

B. A unit that identifies a need for a GPA will define the proposed responsibilities of the graduate student and present this to the graduate coordinator/program administrator of the appropriate college. Responsibilities could include applied research, special projects, etc.

C. The graduate coordinator/program administrator, in concert with the appropriate graduate faculty, will then determine if the responsibilities relate to a graduate student's specialized skills. This group will then match the graduate student to the assignment providing equal opportunity for qualified and interested graduate students.

D. The unit offering the position will manage the funding and will (in consultation with the graduate coordinator/program administrator) ensure appropriate academic supervision of the student during the term of the assignment.

III. COMPENSATION

  1. Semester salary for a GPA will be at the part-time teaching rate for adjunct faculty with a master's degree. This rate can be found in the Academic Affairs Policy Letter: Part-time Faculty Pay Rates. Graduate Project Assistants are not eligible for tuition waivers.EAAs shall be processed noting semester salary. Graduate Project Assistants are job group "P" and job class "5056." If a graduate student is an international student, they must be processed through the International Affairs hiring process. A GPA assignment may be for ten hours per week (coded .25 FTE) or twenty hours per week (coded .50 FTE). The compensation may be prorated if the assignment is less than a full semester.
  2. EAAs will be processed on a per semester basis only.

C. Other University employment resulting in compensation, in addition to the Graduate Project Assistant assignment, may be undertaken only after prior approval by the appropriate college or its designated representative and must be in compliance with all federal and FSU student employment policies.