INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING
GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP CONTRACTS PRESENTED
BY THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
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Three Types of Contracts

• Graduate Assistant Contract
• Called the Acceptance Agreement Appointment
  Form and Award of Graduate Scholarship/Fellowship
  
• Stand Alone Scholarship
• Supplemental / One-Time Payment

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Graduate Assistant Contract Eligibility

• Must be fully admitted or have pending admission
  to a graduate degree seeking program.
• Must register for a minimum 9 graduate credit
  hours.
• Must not have over 174 cumulative graduate hours
  in order to be funded by graduate school
  allocated money.
• TAs must demonstrate proof of English
  proficiency if their native language is not
  English. Acceptable scores TSE 50 or higher
  U-Adept pass or higher Internet Based TOEFL 23
  or higher on the speaking portion.
• Contract dates cannot overlap existing contracts.

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1. The Graduate Assistant ContractGraduate
Assistant Acceptance Agreement and Appointment
Form
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Full or Partial Graduate Assistant Contract

• Full Graduate Assistantship
• Requires 20 work hours per week.
• Provides 15 hours of tuition remission per
  semester.

• Partial Graduate Assistantship
• Requires less than 20 work hours per week.
• Tuition remission is prorated based on the
  number of hours worked.
• Must be on form titled Partial Graduate
  Assistant Contract.
• http//www.uakron.edu/gradsch/faculty-staff/gradas
  stdir.dot

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Sample of the Acceptance Agreement portion of the
Graduate Assistant Contract (2 pages)
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Sample of the Award of Graduate
Scholarship/Fellowship portion of the Graduate
Assistant Contract (2 pages)
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The contract should have both the Acceptance
Agreement and Award of Scholarship/Fellowship
completed for a total of 4 pages.

• All contracts must be TYPED using the Adobe
  Reader forms.
• The forms are available online at
• http//www.uakron.edu/gradsch/faculty-staff/gradas
  stdir.dot

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PART ONE Filling out the Acceptance Agreement
and Appointment

• This portion of the Graduate Assistant Contract
  provides information on
• Job title
• Awarding department and funding account
• Stipend award
• Effective dates
• Service hours

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Filling out the Acceptance Agreement and
AppointmentStep One

• In the top left-hand corner of the contract,
  Check if the student is a First Appointment or a
  Reappointment.
• Be sure to attach completed I-9 and DMA Forms for
  First Appointments.
• (Instructions on completion of the I-9 and DMA
  Forms will appear later in this presentation)

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Filling out the Acceptance Agreement and
Appointment Step One, continued

• Type in the Date, Students Name, UA Student ID
  Number (EMPLID), and Address.
• It is important to include the UA Student ID
  Number, as some students share the same name.

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Section I Check the following information
Select if the student is Domestic or
International.
Select if the student is admitted to a Masters
or Doctoral degree seeking program.
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Section I Check only ONE box for the job title

• Teaching Assistant
• Non-native English speaking students must have an
  acceptable TSE, TOEFL or U-Adept score. See
  acceptable scores on the following slide.
• Native English speaking students must complete
  the Departmental Assessment.
• Instructional Support
• If a student is assigned classroom duties but is
  not the primary instructor, he/she must be marked
  as Instructional Support.
• Instructional Support does not require
  demonstration of English proficiency.
• Research Assistant
• Student participates in research or
  research-related tasks as directed by faculty
  members.
• Administrative Assistant
• Cannot be paid from Graduate School accounts
  2-02XXX.
• Fellow
• The student does NOT provide work hours as this
  is a non-service position.
• Newly appointed fellows must complete the DMA
  Form, but NOT the I-9 Form.
• Stipends for fellowship do not have to meet the
  Minimum Wage Requirements for pay.

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Section I Acceptable test scores for
International Student working as Teaching
Assistant

• TSE 50 or higher
• U-Adept Pass or higher
• Internet Based TOEFL 23 or higher on the
  speaking portion
• Paper Based TOEFL 550 or higher
• Computer Based TOEFL 213 or higher

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Section I Next, complete the following
Department account or grant account
Department where the student will be working
Leave blank if the student is working for his/her
academic department.
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Find the bi-weekly pay calculator HERE!
Section II Bi-weekly Stipend and effective
dates
IMPORTANT! This must be the calculated bi-weekly
stipend, NOT the total stipend award.
If the student is a reappointed graduate
assistant, make sure that the contract dates do
not overlap. Check the current contract info in
Nolij Web.
Appointees of 12 Month / Other contracts will
work from the start date to the end date of the
contract, with the exception of spring break.
Students work an Academic Year contract from the
beginning of fall semester through the end of
spring semester, including exam weeks. They are
NOT required to work during the winter or spring
break.
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Section III Contingencies or Conditions
The following contingencies or conditions shall
be met
This is where you specify any special
requirements that you may have. Example You
need the student to work during break time and
they are on an academic year contract. Specify
this contingency and the arrangement to adjust
the hours during the semester to be equivalent to
20 hours per week taking into account the total
hours they will be required to work during the
break time.
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Section IV Hours per week
The appointee shall provide 20 hours service per
week under the direction of the department
head/school director or grant director named
above, as assigned and/or specified as follows
(not applicable for Fellows)
You should type a brief description of the
students duties or indicate duties as assigned.
Change the hours service per week if the student
is not working a full, 20 hour contract.
Section V Agreement to terms and conditions
The undersigned appointee hereby certifies that
all terms and conditions, including those on the
reverse side hereof, have been read and
understood. Further, the appointee hereby agrees
to abide by all said terms and conditions.

• All contracts MUST be signed by the Graduate
  Assistant and Chair of Academic Department.
• If the student is working in another department,
  that director must also sign the contract.
• If the contract is grant funded by a 5-XXXXX or
  6-XXXXX account, the Controllers Office must
  sign the contract.

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PART TWO Filling out the Award of Graduate
Scholarship/Fellowship

• This portion of the Graduate Assistant Contract
  provides information on
• Tuition charges
• Semesters in which tuition scholarship is awarded
  
• Policy for repayment of graduate scholarship

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Filling out the Award of Scholarship/Fellowship

• Fill in the date, student ID, student name, and
  awarding department.
• Check one of the three options for tuition
  charges.
• Tuition is cost-shared
• Grant is charged for the tuition
• Graduate School is charged for tuition
• 3. Check all semesters during which tuition
  scholarship will be awarded, and include the
  effective year.
• If the student is a recipient
• of tuition scholarship in the spring,
• he/she is automatically entitled
• to tuition scholarship in the summer.

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Acquiring Signatures

• Students must read, sign, and date all applicable
  pages of the graduate contract.
• If the service department and the students
  academic department are the same, the
  director/chair should sign to the right of the
  students signature.
• If the service department and academic department
  are different, both directors/chairs must sign
  the contract.
• After the contract is completed and signed, it is
  almost ready to be processed by the Graduate
  School.

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So, youre almost done filling out the Graduate
Assistant Contract
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The Final Steps

• Check the contract and make sure all sections
  have been completed.
• If the student has NOT completed the I-9 and DMA
  Forms required for contract processing, attach
  the COMPLETED forms to the contract.
• Check the Nolij database to see if the student
  has already submitted these forms to the Graduate
  School.
• 3. If the student has not yet arrived on campus,
  the I-9 Form must be completed within three days
  of the start date of the contract.

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The Final Steps

• 4. If the student is being paid from an account
  code starting 5-XXXXX or
• 6-XXXXX, forward the contract to the
  Controllers Office for review
• SPGA
• 150 ASB
• 6205
• 5. If the student is being paid from any other
  account code, NOT starting with 5 or 6, forward
  the contract to the Graduate School for
  processing
• Graduate School
• 2101

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Some important details about Graduate Remission
(Tuition Scholarship paid per credit)

• Graduate remission is the payment of the
  students graduate tuition by the University or a
  grant.
• If a student works all of spring semester, he or
  she is automatically entitled to receive summer
  remission.
• Summer tuition remission can be used over the
  combined summer sessions.
• The student must be full time (9 credits for
  spring / fall 6 credits for summer) for any
  period in which they are being paid a stipend.
• Includes tuition, general service fees, and
  course fees only.
• Does not include undergraduate or audit tuition,
  facility, library, technology, add/drop, late
  fees or other institution .

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Repayment of Graduate Scholarship Upon
Resignation
If the Graduate Scholarship Recipient drops below
the minimum required graduate credits at any time
during the contract period, the contract is
terminated.

• The Graduate Scholarship Recipient is not
  required to repay any scholarship award if
• He or she withdraws from ALL classes at the time
  of resignation
• OR
• If it is after the 14th day of the semester and
  the recipient remains enrolled as a graduate
  student and completes the course(s) with a grade
  of C- or better.
• The Graduate Scholarship Recipient is required to
  repay the scholarship in full if
• He or she resigns the scholarship on or prior to
  the 14th day of the semester
• OR
• He or she remains enrolled as a graduate student
  at the time of resignation and does not complete
  the course(s) with a grade of C- or better.

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Partial Graduate Assistant Contracts

• Students may be offered less than full contracts
  (20 hours per week). .
• Using the Partial Graduate Assistant Contract,
  indicate the number of work hours in Section IV
  of the Acceptance Agreement and Appointment.
• On the Award of Scholarship/Fellowship form,
• complete the prorated tuition remission credit
  award
• based on the following chart

Work Hours 1 2 3-4 5 6 7-8 9 10 11-12 13 14 15
-16 17 18 19-20 Graduate Tuition
Credit 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
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Partial Graduate Assistant Contracts

• If a student is offered a partial contract, the
  student may work up to 20 hours per week and earn
  up to 15 graduate credit hours per semester.
• For example
• A Polymer student has a 10 hour RA contract
  with Polymer Science. He has also been offered a
  10 hour TA contract with Chemistry. He will
  qualify for a full 15 credits of graduate
  remission between the two departments and work a
  total of 20 hours per week.
• All University employment may not exceed a
  maximum of 20 hours per week.

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Student Employment

• Students cannot work more than 20 hours per week
  with a graduate contract. If a student has a
  half contract (10 hours per week), the student
  may also work 10 hours or less per week for
  Student Employment.
• For example
• A student has a 16 hour graduate assistant
  contract in Biology. She may work up to 4 hours
  per week for student employment, for a total of
  20 hours per week.
• Exception Students with Fellowships may work up
  to 20 hours a week for Student Employment.
• Students with Academic Year contracts may work
  over winter break for student employment for as
  many hours as student employment will allow.

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Outside Employment

• Students with full contracts (20 hours per week)
  are required to take a minimum of 9 graduate
  credit hours. The student may work a maximum of 8
  hours outside of the university, with written
  approval from the department.
• This rule protects the students, as this scenario
  is equivalent to a 55 hour work week.

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Sexual Harassment

• All students working on campus (does not include
  non-service Fellowships) are required to attend
  the Sexual Harassment And Other Forms of
  Discrimination seminar.
• Sign-up for this seminar is available on the
  Graduate Assistant Orientation Webpage.

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Required Forms for Processing of Graduate
Assistantship Contract

• I-9 Form
• DMA Form

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I-9 Forms

• The US Federal Department of Homeland Security
  requires I-9 forms be completed for anyone
  working in the United States. (Does not apply to
  Fellowships since the student is not working).
• http//www.uakron.edu/gradsch/pdf/I9.pdf
• Students are required to complete, sign, and date
  Section 1 of the I-9 form.
• An employee of the University must review the
  students documents and complete Section 2.
• It will take two to four weeks after receipt of
  these documents for the student to be paid.

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Sample I-9 Form and List of Acceptable Documents
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I-9 Form Verification of Documents

• One item from List A is required (typically
  a passport or Permanent Resident Card).
• OR
• One item from List B AND one item from List C
  (typically a Drivers License or Zip Card AND
  Social Security Card or Birth Certificate).
• Drivers License and a Zip Card are NOT
  sufficient without an item from List B.
• Please read the form carefully and refer to the
  List of Acceptable Documents. The above items
  are the most common used.

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The DMA Form

• The DMA Form must be completed by all graduate
  assistants and fellows.
• It is a provision Ohio homeland security and
  anti-terrorism legislation
• Form Completion
• The student must review the Terrorist Exclusion
  List, fill in the contact information, complete
  the Declaration of Material Assistance/Non-Assista
  nce, and provide a signature.

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You have now completed the instructions for
filling out the standard Graduate Assistant
Contract.

• There are two additional contracts which serve
  different purposes
• Stand Alone Scholarship - This contract is
  awarded to first-year graduate students ONLY.
  This is a non- renewable contract. It awards a
  tuition-only scholarship, with a maximum of
  1,000.00 per fall and spring semester, and
  500.00 for summer.
• Supplemental / One-Time Payment This contract
  is similar to a standard contract without the
  tuition remission. This contract can award one of
  two things
• 1. Supplemental funding to an existing
  bi-weekly stipend
• 2. A one-time payment awarded in a lump sum

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2. Stand Alone Scholarship (First Year Only)
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Sample of the Stand Alone Graduate Scholarship (2
pages only)
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Stand Alone Scholarship

• For first year students only.
• Provides 1,000 for fall, spring, and 500 for
  summer.
• May not be combined with another assistantship.
• If a partial or full contract is later offered,
  the tuition scholarship is automatically
  cancelled.
• Fill in all areas of the form and obtain the
  appropriate signatures.

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3. Supplemental / One-Time Payment Contract
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Sample of the Supplemental/One-Time Payment
Contract (2 pages only)
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Supplemental / One-Time Payment

• Supplemental contract to pay additional monies to
  a student already under contract.
• One-Time payments to pay students for a one-time
  assignment.
• Can be in addition to Graduate Contract or
  Student Employment.
• May be used to pay a fellowship grant without
  tuition remission.

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Personnel Action Form (PAF)
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Personnel Action Forms (PAF)

• There are two types of PAFs that the Graduate
  School processes Termination Change
• The PAF request for a termination or change to a
  graduate assistant contract must include the
  following
• Students name and UA ID number
• Details of the change or termination
• Effective dates
• If the student is funded by a 5-XXXXX or 6-XXXXX
  grant account, the PAF request should be e-mailed
  to spga_grad_at_uakron.edu
• If the student is funded by a departmental
  account, the PAF request should be e-mailed to
  klc_at_uakron.edu

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Contact Us

• www.uakron.edu/gradsch
• Coordinator x6310
• Examiner Associate x5858
• Mail code 2101

• Polsky Building
• Room 469