A. General Remarks
Graduate student appointments in teaching and
research which provide financial support for graduate students are made
available each year to qualified students at the University of Washington. These appointments are encouraged because
they provide the student with valuable opportunities for in-service training in
teaching, research, and related activities and because they are essential in
enabling the University of Washington to carry out its mission of teaching,
research, and service. Policies
governing graduate student appointments are described in the sections which
follow.
Appointments and reappointments are subject to the
availability of financial support and compliance with applicable laws of the
State of Washington.
B.
Definitions
In the paragraphs below, the term "graduate
appointments" will be used to include any or all of the designated
appointment categories (Section 2), and the term
"graduate
appointees" will refer to graduate students who hold these
appointments. The term "teaching
appointments" will refer to the appointments entitled "Teaching
Assistant," Predoctoral Teaching Associate I," and "Predoctoral
Teaching Associate II;" and the term "teaching appointee" will
refer to a graduate student who holds a teaching appointment. Furthermore, in non-departmentalized
academic units, the terms "department" and "department chair"
will refer, respectively, to "college" or school," and
"dean" or "director" or other chief academic officer.
Conditions relating to graduate student fellowship
or trainee appointments are considered in Volume
IV,
Part IV, Chapter 8. Conditions relating to the employment of
Student Assistants, Student Helpers, and other graduate or undergraduate
students employed on an hourly basis and/or in nonacademic positions are
considered in Vol. IV, Part IV, Chapter
9.
Policies
and procedures relating to Summer Quarter are described in Section 6 below.
Section 2.
Eligibility, selection,
promotion, and termination
Graduate
appointments are awarded to enrolled (not On Leave) graduate students
only. While an initial appointment may
be offered to an applicant before he or she has been formally admitted to the
Graduate School, such an appointment is contingent upon the applicant’s
admission to the Graduate School and enrollment in a graduate degree program
prior to the beginning of the appointment.
Graduate appointments with teaching
duties may be
assigned to non-U.S. citizens, provided that they meet English language
proficiency requirements and participate fully in the International Teaching
Assistant Program at the Center for Instructional Development and Research
(CIDR). Teaching duties are defined as
interactions with students over instructional issues such as holding office
hours, tutoring, conducting labs, leading discussions, commenting on studio
work, lecturing, etc. A complete
description of this policy is found in Graduate
School Memorandum 15.
Graduate appointees must make
satisfactory progress
toward their degrees and perform satisfactorily in the duties of their
appointments. Full-time (10 credits)
enrollment is required of appointees during Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters. Summer Quarter policies are found in
Section
6.
B. Selection of appointees
1) Criteria for initial
appointments: An initial offer of appointment is
normally based on evaluation of the applicant’s academic credentials and
the department’s judgment of the applicant’s potential for sustained
achievement in the field of graduate study and for a high standard of
performance in teaching, research, or related activities. Selection criteria should be published
and accessible to all applicants.
2) Criteria
for reappointment. Reappointment
decisions are normally made on the basis of satisfactory progress toward
the degree, performance of TA/RA/SA duties, and availability of
positions.
a)
Guidelines for
reappointment. Each appointing unit
shall establish and publish guidelines describing satisfactory progress in the
graduate program (see Graduate
School Memorandum 16) that
will be used for
reappointment decisions. Satisfactory
progress toward the degree includes such things as continuing enrollment in the
program; satisfactory completion of course work in a graduate program at a
reasonable rate; a cumulative grade point average competitive in the program
and, in any case, not less than the Graduate School minimum of 3.0;
satisfactory and timely completion of examinations in the graduate program; and
steady and substantial progress toward completion of a thesis, dissertation, or
terminal project. Appointees should be
evaluated at least annually (see Graduate School Memorandum 16) and given
written feedback about how they meet the department’s satisfactory progress
standards for reappointment.
b)
Performance of TA/RA/SA
duties. Graduate appointees should be
evaluated and given feedback on a regular basis about performance of their
duties as specified in the offer letter for their appointment. Each department
will be responsible for implementing a program of evaluation, which allows for
student response, to be conducted at least annually. Evaluation of the
performance of teaching duties (such as holding office hours, reviewing test or
paper scores with students, work in disciplinary study centers, tutoring,
conducting labs, leading discussions, commenting on studio work, lecturing) may
be based on procedures for instructional evaluation provided by the Office of
Educational Assessment or those developed within the department. For TAs assigned to labs, studios, study
centers, quiz sections and teaching their own courses, at least one observation
by faculty with feedback to the student is required during each of the first
two quarters of teaching at UW (Graduate
School Memorandum 14);
observation by
faculty and regular feedback is recommended for teaching assistants at any
level. Evaluation of the performance
of research or staff assistant duties as specified in the letter offering the
appointment should be handled according to departmentally published policies of
performance standards and assessment methods.
Evaluations of the student appointee’s performance should be part of the
basis for the reappointment consideration and should be available for review
and response by the student.
c)
Availability of
positions. Appointing units should publish information concerning the
availability of graduate assistantships in the unit. Policies should include information about budgetary support for
appointments; intended distribution of appointments between initial
appointments and reappointments; and conditions for reappointment.
Graduate research, teaching, and staff assistant appointments for entering
graduate students are normally made as part of the admissions process and are
covered by the rules governing offers of admission. Appointments should be offered at least two weeks prior to the
suggested date of acceptance, bearing in mind the fact that the Council of Graduate
Schools Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and
Assistants allows a prospective recipient until April 15 to accept an
appointment. After April 15, students
who have already accepted an appointment must be given a written release from
that appointment before accepting another appointment.
Appointing units should announce the availability of reappointments and/or new
graduate teaching, research, and staff appointments for continuing students for
the coming academic year in a timely fashion and in a manner that ensures that
all graduate students will be aware of the opportunities. Announcements should make clear the nature
of the positions being offered, the criteria for selection, the procedure for
applying, the deadline for applications, and the date by which appointments
will be announced. Departments should
establish procedures for selecting qualified alternates as needed. Graduate appointments that become available
throughout the year should be publicized in a similar manner.
After departmental review of applications has taken place, the selected
applicants should be provided with written offers of appointment, which should
include information about the duration of the appointment, the rate of pay and
benefits, opportunities for promotion, and the duties and expectations of the
appointment. Copies of this Executive
Order 28 concerning graduate appointments, of departmental policies governing
graduate appointments, and of the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution
Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants should accompany
each offer of an initial appointment.
Offers of reappointment should refer to the location of these documents
on the Graduate
School’s web site.
A list of graduate students holding appointments shall be publicly available in
the department.
C.
Promotion
Eligible students who perform meritoriously in their graduate programs and in
their teaching, research, and related activities may normally expect to be
promoted in the course of their service.
Departments will establish a consistent promotion policy which takes
into account (1) the appointee’s academic achievement and progress toward the
degree; (2) the appointee’s graduate classification; and (3) the appointee’s
accomplishments in teaching, research, and related activities. The policy will include the provision that
regularly, at least at the time of reappointment, graduate students shall be
considered for promotion to appropriate higher ranks.
D.
Termination of appointments
Graduate appointments cease at the end of a designated period of
appointment. However, in the event that
a graduate appointee becomes ineligible for continued appointment through
unsatisfactory progress toward the completion of the degree, the department may
terminate the appointment at any time.
If appointees fail to maintain the minimum required credit hours per
quarter, or fail to continue registration as a graduate student, they are not
eligible to continue to hold an appointment.
Departments should publicize criteria that indicate when performance may be
judged to be unsatisfactory. If, in the
opinion of the department, an appointee is performing unsatisfactorily in the
duties of the appointment, the appointment may be terminated at any time. Normally, prior to terminating an appointee
for cause, the department should take the following steps to which students
should have the opportunity to respond:
1) inform the student (in writing) of
student’s
performance inadequacies
2) provide suggestions (in writing) for
improvement and
a time line for addressing these suggestions
3) offer assistance and/or mentoring, if
possible,
suggesting (in writing) resources to aid the student’s improvement
4) consult with college dean or school
director, if
appropriate
5)
if no
improvement takes
place by the time allowed in #2 above, the department should provide a written
notification that the appointment will be terminated, with a stated effective
date.
In the event of termination, appropriate notification shall be provided to the
Dean of the Graduate School. If the
causes for complaint are immediate (e.g. non-performance of duties, activities
that endanger others, etc.), the chair may act to terminate the graduate
appointee immediately. Appointees who
wish to appeal an appointment termination will use the procedure described in
Section 5.
Section
3. Training, supervision, and
activities of appointees
A. Orientation, training, and guidance
for new appointees
New teaching assistants are expected to attend the Graduate School’s New TA
Orientation at the beginning of the academic year in which they hold their
first TA appointment at UW. New
international teaching assistants are required to attend the International TA
Program’s Pre-Autumn Workshop and to participate in the activities of the
International TA Program throughout their first two quarters of appointment
(see Graduate School Memorandum 15). It
is expected that discipline-specific training will be provided for teaching assistants
by their departments or by groups of related departments.
Teaching appointees who will be aiding faculty in the conduct of a particular
course should be informed about their responsibilities well in advance of the
beginning of the appointment. It is the
responsibility of supervising faculty to make clear what is expected both of
the student and the faculty member in this relationship, to explain what
constitutes satisfactory performance of TA duties, and to provide adequate
written feedback to the appointee about his or her work.
Similarly,
research and staff appointees should be kept informed as to the expectations
for their activities and the nature of satisfactory performance of duties.
Departments are responsible for ongoing feedback and appropriate observation.
In addition to student evaluations, written feedback from supervisors
concerning performance of duties is essential.
During the first two quarters of appointments involving student contact,
Graduate
School Memorandum 14 requires feedback for new
teaching assistants
from their supervisors.
Beginning research assistants will also be provided with orientation and
training by their departments and/or their laboratory leaders. This orientation should include (but not be
limited to) information about how the research assistantship relates to the
RA’s degree program, how evaluative (verbal and written) feedback will be
provided for the RA, how due process issues will be resolved, and how the RA’s
contributions to the project will be acknowledged. (See also University Handbook, Volume Four,
Part II [Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5] and Part IX.) It is important
that open and frequent communication be maintained between research assistants
and their supervising faculty to ensure the success of the research project and
the success of the research assistantship as a positive experience that
enhances the student’s graduate education.
B. Titles and Activities of appointees
1) General Principles
Units should publish clear policies and guidelines for making such appointments
and maintain them on departmental web sites.
The following general principles should be considered in these
unit-based guidelines.
a) Appointments
should be made in a manner that encourages appointees to develop a high quality
of performance in teaching and research
b) In
general, appointees who have the same duties and the same status in the
graduate program should all receive the same compensation
c) Appointments
should be made in a manner that does not exploit students
d) Appointees
should be promoted on the basis of advancement in the graduate program or
increased responsibilities (or both), as appropriate
e) Appointments
should be appropriate to the title assigned (teaching, research, staff)
2) Titles and typical activities
Teaching
Categories
Teaching Assistants – Appointees in this category normally lead quiz,
discussion, or laboratory sections; serve as class assistants; or provide
supervised teaching. Faculty or other
academic personnel should provide appropriate guidance and feedback,
particularly in cases where appointees are filling new roles and engaging in
activities that are new to them.
Appointees at this level are often pre-master’s students.
Predoctoral Teaching Associates I and II – Appointees in this category often
take on greater independence in the teaching of courses. Guidance and feedback provided by faculty
takes into account the appointees’ more advanced stages of development. Appointees at this level are often
post-master’s students or Ph.D. Candidates.
Predoctoral Lecturer – Appointments at this level are ordinarily given only
to predoctoral students who have held teaching appointments at the rank of
Assistant Professor or higher in colleges or universities other than the University
of Washington or who have achieved a comparable level of maturity through
other experience. Because of their
experience, appointees at this level normally work independently.
Research
Categories
Research Assistants, Predoctoral Research Associates I and II – Appointees in
these categories engage in research by assisting faculty or other research
staff in carrying out their specified research projects. Appropriate activities may also include
independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. Appointees normally advance through these
categories based on academic progress and experience.
Staff
Categories
Graduate Staff Assistants, Predoctoral Staff Associates I and II – Activities
of these appointees normally complement formal academic training, and/or
research and teaching activities. Appointees
may engage in such activities as student advising, institutional research,
museum or art gallery assistance, university administration, and the like. Appointees normally advance through these
categories based on academic progress and experience.
C. Conditions of appointment
The standard quarterly graduate appointment is at 50% (an average of 20 hours
per week) for at least five out of six quarterly pay periods in the UW payroll
system. Annual appointments normally
begin September 16 and end June 15.
Quarterly appointments are effective September 16 to December 15 (Autumn
Quarter), December 16 to March 15 (Winter Quarter), March 16 to June 15 (Spring
Quarter). Summer Quarter appointments
are described in Section 6.
Salaries for graduate student service appointees are approved by the Provost
and the Board of Regents.
Appointees holding appointments during the academic year at 50% or more for at
least five out of six pay periods per quarter and who maintain registration at
10 credits are eligible for a waiver of the resident operating fee and the
technology fee. Non-resident students
who are eligible for these waivers are also treated as state residents for
tuition purposes. The student is
responsible for the remainder of tuition (building fee, services and activities
fee). These conditions do not apply
for students whose appointments are less than 50% or less than five out of six
pay periods. See Section 6 for
procedures during Summer Quarter.
Appointees holding appointments during the academic year at 50% or more for
at least five out of six pay periods per quarter and who maintain registration
at ten credits, and their dependents, are eligible to receive paid health
insurance coverage on the Graduate Appointee Insurance Plan. Information about
the Plan is available on the Benefits Office
website.
Graduate appointments do not provide for paid vacation or sick leave. Appointees should not be required to make up
time for designated University holidays and periods when the University is
closed for business.
Graduate appointees do not have faculty status.
A student who desires to hold a graduate student appointment under conditions
different from those described in this executive order should address a
petition to the chair or administrator of the graduate unit explaining what is
desired, what are the exceptional circumstances, and why departure is desirable
from the point of view of progress toward his or her degree. The petition is reviewed by the faculty
graduate program coordinator who may deny the petition or recommend approval to
the Dean of the Graduate School. The
Dean of the Graduate School shall approve or deny the petition.
Graduate appointees have the right to a fair hearing of any complaint that may
arise out of an interpretation or application of this executive order. Appointees who wish to file such appeals should
follow the procedures found in Graduate School Memorandum 33,
Academic
Grievance Procedure.
Section 6.
Provisions for Summer Quarter
A. General description
During the Summer Quarter, as is the case during the rest of the academic year,
graduate student appointees are expected to make satisfactory progress toward
completion of their degree programs.
However, in recognition of the fact that there are significant
differences between summer and the other quarters of the academic year, and
that available resources, activities, and needs vary considerably by
discipline, the policies and procedures covering graduate student appointments
and registration during Summer Quarter have been modified as described
below. In all other respects, the
provisions of Executive Order 28 apply during Summer Quarter.
B.
Policies and procedures
1) Summer
appointments may be more variable, with respect to the
duration and percent of time of the
appointment, than
appointments during the regular academic year.
2) Graduate
students appointed for the Summer Quarter (June 16-September 15) must be
appointed for at least two consecutive pay periods and be registered for at
least 2 credits in either Summer Quarter term.
3) As
in other quarters of the academic year, graduate students who are On Leave or
are not registered during Summer Quarter are not eligible to hold graduate
student service appointments during Summer Quarter. As in other quarters, failure to meet the registration
requirements as set forth above may be grounds for withdrawal of a graduate
student’s appointment.
Executive Order No. 28 of the President, revised
February 1, 1973; April, 1975; January 16, 1978; June 25, 1979; October 1,
1982; October 3, 1983; July 1, 1986; June 5, 1987; July 1, 2001; January 14,
2003.