L&S Student Assistants
Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedures
GAPP - Graduate Assistant Policies and Procedure finalized in 2019 provides guidance related to student assistant Teaching Assistant, Project Assistant, and Research Assistant appointments.
Student Assistants
A “Student Assistant” is an employee category used by the University of Wisconsin for UW graduate students. Titles in this group are used for graduate students who: hold a fellowship, scholarship or traineeship; hold an appointment which is intended primarily to further the education and training of the student; are employed to assist with research training or other academic programs or projects; and/or have been assigned teaching responsibilities in an instructional department under the supervision of a faculty member. Titles include Teaching Assistant (TA), Research Assistant (RA), Project Assistant (PA), Fellow, Trainee, Scholar, and Lecturer (SA).
In addition, Student Assistant titles are available to undergraduate students when no qualified graduate student is available to perform a function that would normally be assigned to graduate students (i.e., Undergraduate Assistant); or when the terms of a supporting grant or contract preclude the use of other normally appropriate titles (Undergraduate Intern). When appointing a an individual other than a graduate student to a role normally reserved for a graduate student, the position must have the approval of Teaching and Learning, and documentation must show that attempts have been made to locate qualified graduate students.
Graduate students employed in a student assistant appointment have a unique role, but their primary role at UW-Madison is to complete their schooling.
Assistant Appointment Types
Advanced Opportunity Fellow (AOF) SA001
Advanced Opportunity Fellow (AOF) SA001 | Individuals holding these appointments are students in graduate or advanced professional school programs who receive support through equal opportunity funding provided by the State of Wisconsin under the Advanced Opportunity Program (AOP).
- Appointment Limit: FTE less than 100% requires L&S HR Manager approval.
- Non-Service Appointment (does not count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: A-Basis
- Pay Type: Stipend
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Fellow SA002
Fellow SA002 | This title is used for a graduate student holding a fellowship which provides freedom to devote full-time to obtaining an advanced degree. Fellowships are monetary awards that students use to pursue graduate studies. In general, fellowships require no work obligations on the part of the recipient.
- Appointment Limit: FTE less than 100% requires L&S HR Manager approval.
- Non-Service Appointment (does not count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: A-Basis or C-Basis
- Pay Type: Stipend
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Lecturer (LSA) SA004
Lecturer (LSA) SA004 | Provides formal classroom or laboratory instruction in an academic discipline under the general supervision of a faculty member. Effective delivery of instructional material, testing and grading are the primary duties of a Lecturer. This title can only be used for individuals enrolled in graduate school or in a professional program and the individual's presence at the university is primarily to be a UW student, not an employee. Use of graduate students as lecturers may require written approval by the Dean's office. The lecturer title should not be used for a graduate student who is handling sections of a course taught by a faculty member and should not be used as a substitute for the teaching assistant title.
Lecturer SA (SA004) this title is unique. While is it a “Student Assistant” title/job code/employee category, L&S treats it as STS/Short-Term Instructional Staff.
- Appointment Limit: 75% domestic, 50% international
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: C-Basis
- Pay Type: Wages (salary)
This appointment is not processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Project Assistant (PA) SA006
Project Assistant (PA) SA006 | This title designates graduate students enrolled in UW–Madison who are employed to assist with research, training, administrative responsibilities or other academic programs or projects under the supervision of a member or members of the faculty or academic staff. Work performed is primarily for the benefit of the University. This title does not include a graduate student who does work which is primarily for the benefit of the student’s own learning and research which is independent or self-directed.
Project-related positions can include assignments such as coordinating programs, organizing events, analyzing data, or supporting student services.
- Appointment Limit: 75% domestic, 50% international during the academic sessions
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
- Pay-Basis: A-Basis or C-Basis
- Pay Type: Wages
- Timesheet completion required
If the Project Assistant Appointment is concurrent with a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Lecturer (LSA) appointment, the FLSA Status changes to Exempt.
Most Project Assistants are non-exempt. During the academic year they are non-exempt unless there is a concurrent exempt appointment, (i.e. TA or LSA). The exempt status dictates what rate to use in JEMS HIRE or JEMS Change, and in the appointment letter. Non-exempt PA appointments must complete and submit time sheet to the supervisor for payment.
- If the appointment is non-exempt, use the converted hourly rate.
- If the appointment is exempt, use the salaried rate.
Pay Basis & Continuity
PA appointments in L&S use continuity 02A, 02B or 02C (fixed terminal) depending on the pay basis and the anticipated length of the appointment.
- All PA appointments have an expected job end date.
- The expected job end date of an A- basis or C-basis PA appointment may be extended past the end of the semester; a C-basis appointment that is extended past the end of the spring semester will automatically be put on a short work break during the summer.
- The expected job end date of a V-basis PA appointment cannot be extended past the end of summer.
- When extending a PA appointment, review and update the continuity in HRS, as necessary.
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team
Project Assistant - Grader/Reader (PA-G/R) SA008
Project Assistant-Grader/Reader SA008 | This title designates graduate students enrolled at UW–Madison who are employed to assist with grading at the UW–Madison. These positions are paid a fixed hourly rate. Grader/Reader positions that include such duties as grading exams, papers, and homework assignments for a course. This title is an H-Basis/Hourly role that does not have an FTE assigned by the department, HRS automatically assigns an FTE of 0.000250 to the appointment.
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Non-Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: H-Basis (always)
- Pay Type: Wages
- Timesheet completion required
Pay Basis & Continuity
In L&S these are hourly appointments and use continuity 02A (fixed terminal).
- PA-Grader/Reader appointments are always H-basis and do not need special approval.
- Like TA appointments, all PA-Grader/Reader (G/R) appointments have an expected job end date, are never longer than one semester in duration, and are hired anew each semester.
- Unlike TA appointments, the appointment start date is the first day worked rather than the first day of the semester, so these often start after the official start of the semester and end in advance of the end date of the semester.
- Start/end dates vary; are outside the norm and start AFTER the formal start date of the semester, or end before the normal end date of the semester.
- The compensation rate for PA – Grader/Reader is set by the College of Letters & Science each academic year.
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Project Assistant Hourly SA006
Project Assistant Hourly SA006 | This title is an H-Basis/Hourly role that does not have an FTE assigned by the department, HRS automatically assigns an FTE of 0.000250 to the appointment. This title should only be done if the department is unable to set an FTE because the work is too sporadic and/or unpredictable, and the person will have another appointment to give benefits/tuition remission, or they’re no longer under guarantee. This appointment requires approval from L&S HR because it is NOT eligible for benefits.
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Non-Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: H-Basis (always)
- Pay Type: Wages
- Timesheet completion required
Use of this title as H-Basis requires preapproval by L&S HR Manager because the position is not eligible for benefits. When approved the dept is given an email approval and told to put a copy of the approval into the comments section of the JEMS HIRE request. Must have proof of the approval before the appointment can be processed.
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team
Research Assistant (RA) SA009
Research Assistant (RA) SA009 | A research assistant is a UW–Madison graduate student working towards a Master’s or Ph.D. degree. An appointment as a research assistant is appropriate if the activity performed by the research assistant is primarily for the benefit of the individual’s course of study and research and applicable to the individual’s thesis or dissertation. Tasks which are irrelevant to the appointee’s academic program or repetitive beyond that which is necessary to achieve excellence in the activity are not appropriate for an individual appointed as a research assistant.
- Appointment Limit:
- Single RA appointment 50% domestic and international always
- Concurrent appointment 75% domestic, concurrent appointment 50% international during the academic sessions
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: A-Basis or C-Basis
- Pay Type: Wages (salary)
RAs should be appointed at 50% FTE. But it is fine for an RA appointment to be less than 50% as long as it’s ‘supplemental’ to another appointment that totals 33.4% FTE or greater (either here at UW-Madison or through an outside Fellowship) and which gives the person benefits and tuition remission. So, the student might have a TA at 33.4% and an RA at 15%.
There are special limits when the graduate student holds a concurrent RA appointment because the graduate student is required to be registered/enrolled in classes and there is a concern about the total academic load and intensive nature of these appointments.
Due to the intensive nature of Research Assistant appointments, the graduate school sets appointment limits of any concurrent appointments and on the RA appointment itself.
- RA Appointments are permitted up to 50%.
- RA Appointments exceeding 50% are not permitted
Pay Basis & Continuity
Per L&S practice, A-basis RA appointments in L&S use continuity 03 (fixed-renewable) and so do not have expected job end dates (EJED). They remain on the payroll until the department explicitly requests to terminate the appointment. A-Basis RA appointments can start on any date of the month.
We should use 03 for A-Basis and C-Basis Research Assistants. If the departments need to end a RA job, they should explicitly make an entry in JEMS-Job Change or submit for (for Centralized Departments) to terminate the RA job. Using 02x for A- and C-Basis RA create other issues. Only V-Basis RA has 02x as Continuity Code.
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Teaching Assistant (TA) SA011
Teaching Assistant (TA) SA011 | This title is appropriate for graduate students enrolled at UW–Madison who have been assigned teaching or curriculum development responsibilities in an instructional department under the supervision of an academic staff or faculty member who has instructional responsibilities for the course. The teaching assistant title should not be used for a graduate student who is responsible for teaching a course in lieu of a faculty member and should not be used as a substitute for the lecturer (SA) title.
Instructional positions include such duties as lecturing, grading papers, supervising laboratories, leading discussion sections, or developing course curriculum
- Appointment Limit: 75% domestic, 50% international
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: C-Basis
- Pay Type: Wages (salary)
There used to be two teaching assistant job titles:
- TA Standard SA011
- TA Senior SA012
In Fall 2018, L&S started phasing out the TA distinction titles, as of 2024 the Senior/Standard distinction for Teaching Assistants has been eliminated.
Please Note: JEMS still offers the option of selecting senior or standard, enter as “standard”.
TA appointments less than 33.3% FTE or greater than 50% FTE requires preapproval from Teaching and Learning. When approved the dept is given an email approval and told to put a copy of the approval into the comments section of the JEMS HIRE request. Must have proof of the approval before the appointment can be processed.
Pay Basis & Continuity
Academic C-Basis ONLY, this role must follow the academic calendar dates.
- We generally allow “backdating” of Teaching Assistant hires (i.e. hiring them back to the start date of the semester, right up until the first day of classes). So, if start date of semester is 1/4/2024, and dept submits a TA hire on 1/22/2024 just prior to the first day of classes, we will typically allow that unless it creates an I-9 issue.
TA appointments in L&S use continuity 02B (fixed-terminal) during the academic year and 02A (fixed-terminal) during the summer.
- Typically, appointments are not longer than one semester in duration. All TA appointments have an expected job end date. They are hired new each semester, i.e., their expected job end dates are not extended beyond a semester.
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Trainee SA013
Trainee SA013 | This title is used exclusively for UW-Madison students who are supported by a traineeship while pursuing a particular course of study. Traineeships are ordinarily sponsored through an extramural training grant and are designated as traineeships under the terms of the grant.
- Appointment Limit: FTE less than 100% requires L&S HR Manager approval.
- Non-Service Appointment (does not count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: A-Basis or C-Basis
- Pay Type: Stipend
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Undergraduate Assistant SA014
Undergraduate Assistant SA014 | This title is used for the Undergraduate Assistant TA and Grader/Reader positions. These undergraduate titles use the same Job Code and are distinguished only by the rate. Use salaried rate for the UA-TA (exempt), or hourly rate for the UA-Grader/Reader (non-exempt). Teaching and Learning must review and approve these positions.
Undergraduate Assistant – Teaching Assistants (UA-TA) should normally be 33.4%-50% similar to TA’s (Teaching and Learning review and approve these)
The compensation rate for the Undergraduate Assistant TA and Grader/Reader positions is the same as the Graduate Assistant Positions. Both compensation rates are set by the College of Letters & Science.
Additionally, the same policies and procedures for the Graduate Assistant positions applies to the Undergraduate Assistant positions. Pay-Basis, Continuity, and EJED for the Undergrad TA/PA are the same as the Graduate TA/PA
The UA-TA and UA-Grader/Reader positions are not student help/hourly positions, they are different positions with a different Job Code SA014.
Undergraduate Assistant (TA’s or Grader/Reader) SA014 | The undergraduate assistant title is used in those rare circumstances in which no qualified graduate student is available to perform what would normally be a project assistant or teaching assistant function. Use of the title must have the approval of Teaching and Learning, and documentation must show that attempts have been made to locate qualified graduate students.
Undergraduate Assistant – Teaching Assistant (“UA-TA”) | Instructional positions include such duties as lecturing, grading papers, supervising laboratories, leading discussion sections, or developing course curriculum
- Appointment Limit: 75% domestic, 50% international
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: C-Basis
- Pay Type: Wages (salary)
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Undergraduate Assistant – Grader/Reader (“UA-Grader/Reader”) | (SA014; non-exempt/hourly)
- Service Appointment (does count towards the FTE limits)
- FLSA Status: Non-Exempt (always)
- Pay-Basis: H-Basis (always)
- Pay Type: Wages
- Timesheet completion required
This appointment is processed by the L&S Student+ Team.
Concurrent Appointments
Concurrent appointments describe a situation where a graduate student holds multiple appointments as a fellow, trainee, and/or graduate assistant. Federal agencies and non-federal donors often place restrictions on the amount of work in which an awardee may engage (FTE), or on additional earnings an awardee may receive. In addition, the university has a concurrent appointment policy that places limits on multiple appointments for fellows and trainees.
Student Assistant Appointment Limits
When, how, and why are graduate students limited in their appointments? How is an appointment which has an assigned "FTE" counted towards the appointment limit?
University policy restricts appointment levels for Project, Research, and Teaching Assistants; Fellows; Trainees; and university staff who are enrolled as graduate students. The levels established by the university are maximums, not minimums or expected levels.
Academic Year
During weeks in which academic year classes are in session (Fall and Spring semesters), graduate students are limited in the amount they can work, as follows:
2024-2025
- Sunday, September 1, 2024, through Saturday, December 14, 2024
- Sunday, January 19, 2025, through Saturday, March 15, 2025
- Sunday, March 23, 2025, through Saturday, May 3, 2025
Appointment Limits During this Time:
Domestic vs Foreign National During Other Times of the Year:
- Domestic graduate students are limited to 75% time (30 hours a week) in all combined concurrent appointment
- Foreign national graduate students are limited to 50%-time (20 hours per week) in all combined concurrent appointments.
Lecturer (LSA), Teaching Assistant (TA) and Project Assistant (PA) Appointment Limits During the Academic Year
These appointments are permitted up to 75% for domestic students and 50% for international students during the academic session. A full graduate load may be carried with any PA, Lecturer (LSA), or TA appointment.
Research Assistant (RA) Appointment Limits During the Academic Year
There are special limits when a graduate student holds a concurrent RA appointment because the graduate student is required to be registered/enrolled in classes and there is a concern about the total academic load and intensive nature of these appointments.
Due to the intensive nature of Research Assistant appointments, the graduate school sets appointment limits of any concurrent appointments and on the RA appointment itself.
For this reason, an RA appointment itself can never be more than a 50%-time (20 hours per week) appointment.
- RA Appointments are permitted up to 50%.
- RA Appointments exceeding 50% are not permitted.
- During the academic year sessions, when PA/TA/LSA appointment is combined with a Research Assistant appointment, the maximum combined appointment level cannot exceed 75% FTE (30 hours per week) for domestic students or 50% FTE (20 hours per week) for foreign national students.
Other Times of the Year
During weeks in which academic year classes are not in session and other times of the year, graduate students are limited in the amount they can work, as follows:
Winter Break
2024-2025
- Sunday, December 15, 2024, through Saturday, January 18, 2025
Spring Recess
2024-2025
- Saturday, March 22, 2025, through Sunday, March 30, 2025
Summer
2024-2025
- Sunday May 4, 2025 through Saturday, August 30, 2025
Appointment Limits During this Time:
Domestic vs Foreign National Limit During Other Times of the Year:
- Domestic graduate students can work up to a total of 100% FTE (40 hours per week) in all combined concurrent appointments.
- Foreign national graduate students can work up to a total of 100% FTE (40 hours per week) in all combined concurrent appointments.
Lecturer (LSA), Teaching Assistant (TA) and Project Assistant (PA) Appointment Limits During Other Times of the Year
Domestic and foreign national graduate students can work up to a total of 100% FTE (40 hours per week) in all combined concurrent appointments. A full graduate load may be carried with any PA, Lecturer (LSA), or TA appointment.
Research Assistant Appointment Limits During Other Times of the Year
There are special limits when the graduate student holds a concurrent RA appointment. Due to the intensive nature of Research Assistant appointments, and because the graduate student is required to be registered/enrolled in classes, the graduate school sets appointment limits of any concurrent appointments and on the RA appointment itself.
For this reason, an RA appointment itself can never be more than a 50%-time (20 hours per week) appointment.
- If the graduate student DOES have a concurrent Research Assistant (RA)* appointment, the graduate student (domestic or foreign national) is limited to a total of 75% FTE (30 hours per week) in all combined concurrent appointments.
- If the graduate student DOES NOT have a concurrent Research Assistant (RA)* appointment, the graduate student (domestic or foreign national) can work up to a total of 100% FTE (40 hours per week) in all combined concurrent appointments.
Graduate Student Fellowship and Traineeship Appointment Earning Limits
Fellowships and Traineeships are Non-Service appointments and therefore do not count towards the FTE/appointment limits set by Graduate School policies. There are however two other limits or restrictions which apply when there is a concurrent Fellowship/Traineeship.
- There is an earnings limit when a graduate student holds a concurrent Fellowship/Traineeship, to comply with federal requirements. GAAP policies limit total earnings in all combined appointments during the time of the fellowship to no more than the full-time (100%) RA rate of the student’s academic home department.
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- Whenever assistantships (RA, TA, or PA) are combined with fellowships or traineeships, total compensation cannot exceed the full-time RA rate of the student’s academic home department, as it was reported to the Graduate School for the current year (fellowship/traineeship + assistantship = total compensation).
- There is a restriction on some other types of concurrent appointments, while on a Fellowship/Traineeship. When a graduate student has a concurrent Fellowship/Traineeship, graduate school approval is required for them to hold a concurrent academic staff, university staff or LI appointment during that time.
How FTE is Calculated
How does graduate school policy ‘count’ the amount worked, for an appointment which has an FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) assigned to it?
Some jobs/appointments at UW-Madison have FTE assigned to them, while some are Hourly (Student Hourly/Student Help, or Project Assistant Hourly or "H-Basis”).
FTE is a percentage assigned to an appointment, which correlates to number of hours per week.
- For example, a 50% FTE is equivalent to 20 hours per week (50% of a 40-hour week = 20 hours).
For Graduate School policy limits, all work at UW-Madison contributes towards the graduate school and visa limitation, whether the appointment has an FTE assigned to it or not, or whether the work is paid as a lump sum payment or via a lump sum appointment.
If the student has an appointment with an “FTE” assigned to it, graduate school policy (and visa requirements, for foreign national students) takes that FTE and converts it to an equivalent number of hours.
- For example, a 50% FTE is equivalent to 20 hours (50% of a 40-hour week = 20 hours).
The graduate school policy and visa requirements then takes that equivalent number and “counts” it as being worked each week, even if the student did not actually work that number of hours in the week.
- For example, a 50% FTE counts as working 20 hours each week, even if the student only worked 15 hours in the week.
If a foreign national student is appointed at 50% FTE during the academic year, that is the only work they are allowed to do at UW-Madison during the academic year (except during designated break weeks). They cannot work any additional hours or be paid lump sums for any additional work above that at UW-Madison, during the academic year.
Failure to work within appointment limits is a violation of study permit conditions under a F-1 or J-1 visa. For more information, see.
Benefits
How does a Student Assistant appointment benefit the student?
Student Assistant appointments at 33.4% or more (13 hours per week) for at least a semester provide:
- Remission* of both resident and non-resident tuition (students will still need to pay segregated fees, roughly $726/semester); https://bursar.wisc.edu/student-tuition-account/payment-methods/tuition-remission/tuition-remission-policy
- Paid Sick Leave
- Bi-weekly pay
- Eligibility for health insurance (health insurance options for a reasonable premium are among the country’s best group health insurance plans), with appointments of at least a full semester (for academic year positions) or six months (for annual positions). Student employees paid on an hourly basis are not eligible for the graduate benefits package.
- Students also gain valuable skills through these roles. This work may apply directly to their career goals or build broad, transferable skills in areas like communication, teamwork, and leadership.
Tuition
Tuition Remission is a benefit to graduate students to help alleviate the cost of tuition. The tuition charges, although not segregated fees, are waived for eligible graduate students. Students are responsible for paying their segregated fees and any other fees not covered by the tuition remission.
Eligibility for Fall and Spring Remission
Tuition remission eligibility is based on earnings, not FTE, in all eligible student assistantships. The student can be eligible for tuition remission if they have combined eligible student assistant appointments which meet the rate minimums: Tuition Remission Appointment Rate Minimums can be found here.
To receive tuition remission, the student must be at least 33.33% for 4.5 months. If the percentage of appointment is higher, the 4.5-month requirement would be less.
Provided is the link for the tuition remission appointment rate minimums to see how the appointment percentage calculation works: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/making-payments/payments-to-students/tuition-remission/tuition-remission-appointment-rate-minimums/
- Students who finish their degree in the middle of a term will be eligible to keep their tuition remission for that term, as long as they remain on payroll for no less than a 33% appointment, through the date that they receive their degree.
- Students who withdraw in the middle of a term will lose their tuition remission if the duration of their appointment is not sufficient to meet the 33% for 9 pay periods appointment requirement.
- Students enrolled in a program with a service-based pricing tuition structure may accept graduate assistantships (including those above 33.33%); however, they will not receive the tuition remission that is typically part of the compensation package for a graduate assistantship.
Eligibility for the Summer Term Remission
Tuition remission eligibility in the spring semester automatically carries over to the summer semester.
The following requirements determine graduate student eligibility for a full tuition remission based on a TA, PA, RA or LSA for Summer term:
- Continuing graduate students with RA, TA, PA and LSA appointments who earned remission of their tuition in the Spring Term will have their eligibility carry over automatically to the following Summer Term. Departments do not need to provide any additional information to the Bursar’s Office for the summer tuition remission to be applied – the process is automatic.
- For graduate students who have RA, TA, PA or LSA appointments during the summer but did not have a Spring Term full tuition remission:
- Must have at least a 33% appointment for eight weeks during the Summer Term, or an appointment of different percentage and length that nets to the equivalent, to be eligible for Summer Term tuition remission.
- Students who finish their degree in the middle of a term retain their tuition remission for that term, as long as they remain on payroll through the degree completion date.
- Students who withdraw in the middle of a term lose their tuition remission if the duration of their appointment is not sufficient to meet the 33% for 8-week appointment requirement and they have not finished their degree in the middle of the term.
Service-Based Pricing Programs
Graduate students enrolled in service-based pricing programs (online and accelerated programs) are ineligible to receive tuition remission per campus policy. This is communicated to these students when they are admitted into these programs.
- See a list of UW–Madison academic programs with service-based pricing
Regarding “131 programs” and tuition remission eligibility: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1029.
This new policy from 2022 addresses tuition remission for students enrolled in “131 programs” (special “revenue generating” graduate program such as evening master’s programs or other accelerated “professional master’s” programs not like traditional graduate programs. These programs have to generate enough revenue to be self-sustaining, so if they provided tuition remission to their students, they wouldn’t be able to be self-sustaining due to the high cost of tuition remission.
Therefore, UW-Madison set a policy stating that students in these programs will not become eligible for tuition remission, even if they work in a grad assistant position at an FTE level which would otherwise normally make them eligible for that.
- The Business Services/Bursar’s Office on Campus monitors these students and takes steps to make sure these students do not receive tuition remission.
- The departments which run these 131 programs are required to notify the graduate students in their program about this, so those students should all be well aware of this.
- Departments which hire these students may likely know in advance that the student is in one of these programs, but it is ultimately the department’s responsibility to confirm that.
- Note: this policy does NOT affect benefits eligibility in any way. These students can still be eligible for health insurance/benefits.
Health Insurance
Graduate students with assistantships of at least 33.33% time for a minimum of one semester (for academic year appointments) or six months (for annual appointments) have access to benefits similar to those available to faculty and staff.
For health insurance eligibility, the graduate assistant appointment has to be at least
- 33.33% for six months for a 12-month employee – Annual Appointment
- 33.33% for one semester for 9-month employee – Academic Appointment
During the academic year, if the academic appointment is anything less than a full semester (even one day less), it will not be eligible for health insurance. It must be a full semester.
If students have been awarded a fellowship, traineeship, or an assistantship with at least a 33.33% (one-third) appointment per term (or an equivalent), they qualify for full medical benefits.
Newly-benefits-eligible grad assistants & short-term academic staff:
- Have 30 days from their benefits-eligible start date to enroll in or decline insurance
- Direct employees to enroll online via MyUW Self Service (eBenefits)
- If you the graduate student cannot enroll via Self Service, printable forms are online: hr.wisc.edu/benefits/grad
- Health insurance elected timely is effective (or retro-effective) as of the first day of the month on or following their start date
Reference: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/general-employee-info/
Leave
Many student assistant appointments qualify for paid sick leave and paid vacation leave. See the L&S KB for more information on leave eligibility and amounts, using and counting leave, tracking leave, TA sick leave coverage, and leave without pay.
See L&S Student Assistant Leave https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/24845
Degree Conferral and Payroll End Dates
Near the end of each Semester, L&S Payroll Director distributes list of important dates regarding graduation, commencement and conferral dates, with links to Graduate School websites providing more information to assist with determining how long the student employee can remain employed:
Doctoral candidates: through the end date of dissertation deposit or through the official conferral date of the term
Non-thesis master’s candidates: through the completion date stated on the warrant or through the official conferral date of the term
Thesis master’s candidates: through the date the thesis is received by the Memorial Library or through the official conferral date of term
Student Assistant Pay Rates/Earning Levels
The rates of Student Assistantship appointments for each graduate program at UW-Madison are noted online: https://grad.wisc.edu/funding/graduate-assistantships/
Campus sets minimum compensation rates (stipend rates) for graduate student assistant appointments each year. L&S can request rates as a college which are higher than the campus minimums.
Graduate programs may adjust compensation rate amounts above the campus minimum to remain competitive in attracting top students. The Graduate School centrally reviews, approves, and posts program rates annually (using 50% FTE Rate).
Rates: Academic Department vs Employing Department
Research Assistants are different than other student assistant appointments because per graduate school policy, they are paid at the RA rate of their home academic department and not at the RA rate of their employing department. This is the process even if the student is no longer on guarantee with that home academic department, and even when this results in them being paid a different rate than other RA’s in the department in which they are employed.
Research Assistants (RA) are paid at the program-specific rate for the graduate program in which they are enrolled – i.e. the rate for their “academic home department” (not where they are employed). This ensures all RAs in a given program are paid the same wherever they are located/employed on campus.
- Example: all graduate students in the Physics graduate program are paid the same, whether hired/employed in the Chemistry department or Math department
See https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/28638 for L&S-specific rates. For campus minima refer to the Grad School's website.
See Graduate School policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1238:
Student Help/Hourly Positions
Student Help/Hourly SA014 | Many departments employ student hourly positions. These appointments are often essential to departmental functioning and, at the same time, provide an important means of support for students. The job duties and responsibilities of Student Hourly employees vary greatly and may or may not be related to their field of study. The department is responsible for verifying the student hourly employee's eligibility and maintaining documentation of verification.
Student Hourly (“SH”) appointments are NOT “Student Assistant” appointments. Student Hourly appointments are NOT eligible for (and do not contribute towards): health insurance, tuition remission, or paid sick leave or paid vacation. For that reason, it is very important to hire using the correct title. If the expertise at the level of a graduate student is needed to carry out the assigned duties, the position should likely be a student assistant appointment and filled by a graduate student. See L&S Student Hourly Positions for more information.
Please consult with the department L&S HR contact if there are questions about the appropriate employment designations.