Hiring - Graduate Assistant - Considerations

Hiring managers can find additional considerations to make when determining whether they should be hiring a Graduate Assistant vs. a Student Hourly.

Graduate Assistant/Project Assistant (Student Assistant)

If a position description is written with duties that are more professional including program development, research, and writing, requiring the expertise of a graduate student the position would likely be more suited as a Graduate Assistant.
Graduate Assistant positions at 33% FTE or above (depending on appointment duration) qualify for Tuition Remission. This benefit helps to alleviate the cost of tuition of the student and would be covered by the unit.
Depending on the FTE and appointment duration, leave will be given to the employee.
Leave is tracked manually by the employee and supervisor and not entered in HRS or tracked there.
Needs to meet an FTE every week.

If the duties do align with those mentioned under Graduate Assistant/Project Assistant and do not require the expertise of a graduate student, we should look toward hiring as a Student Hourly.
Student Hourly appointments cannot require degrees (although they can prefer them) and they can be paid between $10 and $25 per hour and that rate choice is set by the employing department.
Pay can be $10 – $25 per hour.
Hours can vary and the employee can work up to 25 hours per week during the semester (or 20 hours/week for students on certain visas). Students can work up to 40 hours/week during the summer as long as the average of hours does not exceed 30/week.
Degree requirement must be removed from job description or marked as preferred.
SH jobs do not come with leave.