graduate assistant ships guidelines

8/2/2019 Graduate Assistant Ships Guidelines

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A limited number of grad ua te a ssistantships are a va ilab le to qua lifiedinc om ing graduate students. Assistantships are awa rded on a c om petitive

basis and ma de a t the sole d isc ret ion o f the university. Prospec tivestudents must a pp ly for a g raduate assistantship a t the time of a pp lic a tionto Philadelphia University. Assista ntship app lica tion d ea d lines a re Ma rc h 1for the fa ll sem ester and Oc tober 1 for the sp ring sem ester.

Types of Graduate Assistantships

Trad itiona l Grad uate Assistantship Trad itiona l assista ntships are awardedfor the ac ad emic yea r and a re renew able for a m aximum o f four

semesters (fa ll and sp ring). The assista ntship beg ins on the first d ay o fc lasses and runs through the last d ay of final exam ina tions. Spec ific da tesare inc luded in the a pp ointment letter.

As of January 2010, 22 positions are a va ilab le a nd they are loc a ted ac rossc amp us within various administra tive o ffic es, laboratories, and theGutman Library. Stud ents awarded assista ntships rec eive tuition rem issionfor nine grad uate c red its in eac h o f the fall and spring sem esters and astipend . There a re no trad itiona l g radua te a ssista ntships in the summer.

Grad uate Research Assistantship Researc h a ssista ntships are externally-funded assistantships which p rovide the op portunity for qua lified graduatestud ents to p a rticipa te in resea rc h p rojec ts und er fac ulty supervision.Fund s c om e from a va riety o f sourc es, but m any a re from U.S. fed eralagenc ies sponsoring resea rc h, which ma y req uire annua l review andwhich a re no t automa tica lly renew ed by the funding a ge ncy. Theresea rc h a ssista ntships a re sub jec t to c ont inued outside fund ing.

The assista ntships typ ic a lly beg in in Sep tem ber and c ont inue throug h theend of Ap ril. Spec ific d a tes a re inc luded in the a ppointment lette r. Theseassistantships provide tuition remission for nine graduate credits in each of

the fa ll and spring sem esters and a m onthly stipend tha t is determined a tthe b eg inning of eac h resea rc h p rojec t. Students holding theseassista ntships ma y b e elig ib le to wo rk on resea rc h p rojec ts over thesumme r for which they will be c om pensated. No tuition rem ission isava ilab le for the summe r. Pro jec t-spec ific limita tions ma y ap p ly andprojec t-spec ific qua lific a tions ma y be required and requested a t the timeof applic ation.


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Grad ua te assista ntships are renew ab le for a ma ximum of fo ur sem esters(fall and spring), pend ing c ontinued funding.

Ap p lic ants a re eva lua ted on a numb er of c riteria , but these a re merit-

based awa rds, so the c riteria with the most we ight inc ludeundergraduate g rade p oint ave rage (GPA), sc ores on standard izedexams (TOEFL, GMAT, GRE, for examp le) if app lic ab le, strength o frec om me nda tion letters and a numb er of othe r c riteria . The g oa ls of theinstitution and p rog rams, resea rc h a nd other skills, and sta ffing need s a rea lso c onsidered in the eva lua tion proc ess.

Eva lua tion o f ap p lic a tions beg ins the d ay after the dead line (Oc tob er 2for inc om ing stud ent in spring sem esters and Ma rc h 2) and c ontinues untila ll assista ntships a re a warded . This mea ns tha t tho se w ho sub mitted

c om pleted app lic a tions by the dea d line will be given p riority. Suc c essfulc and ida tes ma y be notified as ea rly as five w eeks a fter the d ea d line.

This p rogram is for new, inc oming stud ents only. Current stud ents who arealrea dy enrolled in a program are enc ourage d to seek o ther types offinanc ia l support. For other types of financ ial a id , p lea se see k the adviceof your program d irec tor, the a ssoc ia te p rovo st, and the d irec tor of theFinanc ia l Aid Offic e. The G raduate Financ ia l Aid and the G raduateStudent Resources we b pages a lso p rovide advic e a nd informa tion a boutother sourc es of financ ia l a id .

Required Graduate Assistantship Application Materials

Ap pointment to a grad uate a ssistantship is c om petitive a nd based on thefollow ing (a ll of which is to b e submitted a t the same time / as a c om pletepac kage, othe r than m ateria l sent from offic ia l sources):1. Comp leted Grad uate Assistantship App lic a tion.2. Official undergraduate transcript (English version).3. Entranc e e xamination sc ores: GMAT, GRE, or othe r as req uired by the

app lic ants program .

4. Eng lish proficienc y e xaminat ion sc ore (non-U.S. c itizens).5. Resume and/ or pe rsona l sta tement6. Two profe ssiona l refe renc es.Ad d itiona l criteria , suc h a s spec ific c om puter skills or dem onstra tedresea rc h experienc e may be req uired . Ap p lic ants ma y also b e a sked tointerview w ith the p rospec tive sup ervisor in the o ffice in which assista ntshipis offered. When eva lua ting app lic ants, all c riteria a re c onsidered and the


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expec tation is that a c andida te is exc ep tiona l in one or more a rea s(undergrad ua te G PA, entranc e e xamination sc ore, resea rc h skills, etc .)Students with be low a 3.25 undergradua te G PA, or who sc ore below a500 on the G MAT or below 1070 on the G RE exam s, or if more tha n 5found ation c ourses are need ed , will genera lly not b e c onsidered for an

aw ard. Awards are c ompe titive a nd ma de at the sole disc retion o f theuniversity. Incom plete applications may not be a ccepted.

Compensation

Co mp ensation is for the a c adem ic yea r, unless spec ified otherwise in theappointment lette r. Grad ua te a ssistants must be enrolled for ninegrad uate c red its ea c h sem ester (fa ll and spring). Compensa tion inc ludes:

1. Tuition rem ission for nine gradua te c red its ea c h fa ll and spring te rm. Anamo unt equiva lent to nine grad ua te c red its is c red ited to thegraduate students ac c ount a t the b eg inning o f ea c h seme ster (in2008-2009, tha t wa s eq uivalent to $13,428 per ac adem ic year; or$6,714 pe r sem ester). Tuition a nd fees above a nd beyo nd this amo unta re the responsibility o f the stud ent. Stud ents must m a inta in e nrollme ntin a minimum of nine c red its to rem ain e ligible for the a ssistantship.

2. Sem ester stipend or monthly stipend dep end ing up on typ e o fassista ntship ( in 2008-2009, $2,575 per ac ademic year; or $1,287.50 persemeste r for assista ntships. Stipend s fo r research assista ntships aretyp ica lly sub sta ntia lly higher.) The a c tua l stipend amount is listed in the

appointment lette r for eac h g raduate assistantship .Full-time students are also eligible for student health insurance plan.

Renewa l o f Grad uate Assistantships

Assistantships will be renewed on an a nnua l basis, up to a ma ximum oftwo yea rs (four sem esters, exc lud ing summ ers) per stud ent, based onsc hoo l/ dep artment need s, sa tisfac tory performanc e and fund ingava ilab ility. Continuation of the assistantship is c ontingent up on a

satisfac tory performanc e review performed ea c h semester by theimm ed ia te sup ervisor. Stud ents must ma intain a minimum c umula tivegrad uate GPA of 3.25 (exc lud ing founda tion c ourses and und ergraduateprerequisites) while hold ing e ither type of g radua te assistantship. As notedabove, renew al of g radua te resea rc h a ssistantships is sub jec t toc ontinued external funding.


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Grad uate Assistantship Responsibilities

1. Enrollment as an entering full-time student (nine credit hours in fall andspring terms 18 to ta l c red it hours annua lly).

2. Work assignm ent o f twenty (20) hours per week. Spec ific hours will bedetermined by the assista ntship sup ervisor.

3. Suc c essful c om pletion o f ad ministra tive and / or resea rc h func tions asoutlined in the position d esc rip tion for eac h gradua te a ssistantship.

4. Sub mission o f mo nthly ac tivity reports. These a re d ue on the 15th of themo nth (Oc tob er, Novem ber and Dec em ber in fall sem esters, andFeb rua ry, Marc h a nd Ap ril in the spring sem esters) and should besubmitted elec tronica lly to the assoc ia te p rovo st.

Procedures for Awa rding Graduate Assistantships

Shortly after the app lic a tion dea d line for grad ua te assistantships, theOffic e of G raduate Admissions c om p iles a list o f inc om ing grad uatestud ents who m ee t the qua lific a tions for a g radua te a ssistantship.Graduate p rog ram d irec tors rec om mend students from their p rog rams forassista ntship positions either trad itiona l gradua te assista ntships orgradua te resea rc h assista ntships. The a ssoc iate p rovost extend sassista ntship offe rs to those incom ing stud ents who a re rec om me nd ed bytheir respec tive p rog ram d irec tors. Stud ents who ac c ep t the assista ntshipoffe r are then p lac ed into one of the ava ilab le assista ntships. Supervisorsof g radua te assista ntships ma y interview stud ents befo re a fina l

place ment is ma de .

A fo rma l ap pointment let ter out lining the terms of the assista ntship issigned by the President o f Philadelphia University a nd sent to the stud ent.Stud ents must sign a nd return this appointment let ter to the assoc ia teprovost in order to rec eive tuition rem ission and stipend . The stud ent ssigna ture on this appointment letter signifies rec eipt a nd a c c ep tanc e o fthe Guide lines for Gradua te Assista ntshipsdoc ument (this doc ument).

When new gradua te students a rrive o n c amp us, they must go to the

Business Office in Arc her Ha ll to c om plete nec essary p aperwork.Inte rna tiona l stud ents must mee t with the Direc tor of Interna tiona l Stud entProg rams and must b ring their passports with them when c om pleting thepaperwork.


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Graduate Assistantships and Internship

Grad ua te stud ents who ho ld g radua te a ssistantships or gradua teresearch assistantships must seek approval to complete an internshipexperienc e. Since gradua te assistants must ma inta in a full-time c red it load

of nine c red its and must work 20 hours per wee k in the ir assista ntshippositions, pa rtic ipa tion in a n internship experienc e ma y not b e advisab leor feasible. If approva l is granted for grad ua te a ssista nts to p articipa te inan internship, the internship experienc e m ust no t exceed 12 hours perwe ek. In a dd ition, it is strongly rec om me nded tha t stud ents reg ister for theinternship e xperienc e as part o f the ir req uired nine hours of c oursereg istra tion for the sem ester ra ther tha n a s an add itiona l three c red its or atota l of 12 cred it hours for the sem ester. (Stud ents enrolled in p rog ramstha t inc lude a req uired internship m ust a gree to fulfill the internshiprequirement during the summer. In the se c ases, the re is no restric tion on

the num ber of hours of w ork per wee k.)

In g enera l, a student is expec ted to put the ir sc hoo l work as the toppriority a nd the ir g radua te assista ntship responsibilities sec ond . It is strong lyrec om mended tha t you not seek add itiona l wo rk besides these twoc om mitments; it ma y jeopard ize your performa nc e in sc hoo l and tha two uld jeo pard ize the renewa l of the a ssista ntship award . Plea se b e a waretha t the re a re a dd itiona l restric tions about work for those hold ing visas.

The approva l proc ess must b eg in in the sem ester prior to the sem esterduring whic h the internship is anticipa ted . An approva l form is ava ilab le

from the Internship Offic e a nd must b e c om pleted p rior to registra tion forinte rnship. The fo llow ing peo p le must approve a n internship p lac em ent (inthis order): the gradua te a ssista nt s sup ervisor or p rinc ipa l investiga tor; thedea n of the sc hoo l in whic h the grad uate a ssistant is enrolled ; the dea n o fthe sc hool in which the g radua te a ssistant is assigned (if ap p lic ab le); thed irec tor of the internship p rog ram; and the assoc ia te provost. As inte rnshipp lac em ent will not b e ma de until and unless a ll approva ls have b eenob tained. The a pp licant is a lso expec ted to prepa re a statementdesc ribing how the inte rnship supports the stud ent s c aree r goa ls. Theap p lic ant must p rovide c ontac t informa tion a nd de tails abo ut the firm,

the supervisor, a c om p lete job desc rip tion, and a sta tem ent from theem ploye r tha t work req uirem ents will not exc ee d 12 hours per week. Theseare to ac c ompa ny the ap plic ation mad e to the assoc iate p rovost.


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Graduate Assistantships and Academic Integrity

Grad ua te assistantships are reserved for those gradua te students whome et minimum elig ib ility standards. Stud ents must q ua lify for grad ua teassistantships by d em onstra ting superior ac adem ic c red entia ls, inc lud ing

superior unde rgrad uate ac hieveme nt a nd standard ized test sc ores. Inadd ition, they must ma inta in minimum grade p oint ave rage s of 3.25(exc lud ing found a tion c ourses and undergraduate prerequisites) tocontinue in their assistantship assignments. Further, it is assumed thatgrad uate assistants will demonstra te ac adem ic integ rity in their grad uatestud y and resea rc h a c tivities.

All g radua te stud ents, inc lud ing gradua te assista nts, are responsible fo rund ersta nd ing and follow ing the guidelines of Philadelphia University sAc ademic Integ rity. Grad ua te a ssistants who a re found to b e in violation

of the Ac adem ic Integ rity po lic y, either by the ac tion o f ind ividua l fac ultymemb ers or by ac tion o f the Student Cond uc t Comm ittee , a re a t risk ofhaving their assistantships terminated. In cases where a graduate assistanthas been found in violation of the Ac adem ic Integ rity po lic y, theassoc ia te provo st w ill de termine whe ther or not the c irc umstanc es of theinc ident in que stion wa rrant the termination o f the g radua te a ssista ntship .

On rare oc c asions, an assistantship ma y be awa rded to a gradua testud ent a fter the stud ent has bee n enro lled a t the University. In the sec ases, the assistantship will be awa rded for one sem ester.

If the student ha s been found in violation of the Ac ademic Integ rity po lic y,either by a c tion o f an individual fac ulty membe r or by ac tion o f theStudent Conduc t Com mittee, tha t student will be inelig ib le for assignm entto a gradua te assistantship .

Stud ents enrolled in prog rams with a required internship o r simila rob liga tion must a gree to perform the internship during the summ er monthsonly.

Stud ents enrolled in p rog rams tha t a re p red om inantly online or d ista nc e

must develop a wo rk c ontrac t with the student s p rog ram d irec tor andthe assista ntship p osition sup ervisor. The work contrac t must b e sub mittedto the p rog ram d irec tor a t lea st one m onth p rior to the b eg inning o f theassista ntship. The w ork co ntrac t must c onta in an explana tion of theresponsib ilities and desc ribe how the stud ents wo uld fulfill ap p roxima tely600 hours of work per sem ester (20 hours per wee k over 15 we eks is thege neral c ontrac t d ura tion). The a wa rd will be c ontingent upo nac c ep tanc e of the wo rk c ontrac t buy the assoc ia te p rovost.

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