Graduate Assistant Appointments, Reappointments, and Termination

Owner
Associate Dean for Graduate Education
Amended Date
Amended

Key Contact

If you have questions, please contact the Assistant to the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.

Applicability

Graduate assistants.

Policy Purpose and Description

All Graduate Assistants must be issued an appointment letter and their appointments must be processed through the HR Transaction System prior to the start date of their appointment. Appointment, reappointment and termination of Graduate Assistants must adhere to the procedures outlined in the April 15 resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools, the UI Graduate Assistant Employment Manual and the UI Manual of Operations.

Definitions

N/A

Procedure

Graduate Assistant Appointment Paperwork:

A graduate student who will be teaching must be appointed as a teaching assistant and not at another academic rank, such as instructor, lecturer, or assistant in instruction.  

Graduate Assistant offer letters are issued using the appropriate CLAS template and signed by the DEO or the DGS, as the DEO or DGS are the academic officers to whom the Graduate Assistant ultimately reports.

In accordance with the 1990 Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants of the Council of Graduate Schools, prospective graduate students cannot be pressured to respond to an offer prior to April 15.

To appoint a Graduate Assistant who has signed and returned the offer letter, the department enters the appointment into the HR Transaction System, which will be routed electronically to the required signatures.

The appointment must be finalized by the payroll cutoff day of the month in which the appointment takes effect (usually the 15th of the month), to ensure that the appointee receives payment on the first day of the following month.

Reappointments for Academic Year:

In accordance with the UI Graduate Assistant Employment Manual, reappointed Graduate Assistants must receive their reappointment letters for the summer or fall semesters no later than April 15 and prior to November 1 for the spring semester.

Reappointments of Graduate Assistants for the upcoming academic year should be processed before August 1 by using the Graduate Assistant Reappointment process located within the Self Service portal under Human Resources Systems / HR Transactions.

Graduate Assistants who held an appointment in another department in the previous academic year are considered reappointments. However, the new department will not automatically have access to the graduate assistant's record on the HR Web Data Access Applications. The new department should ask the previous department to change the graduate student's position code on the data access applications to reflect the new department. The new department will then have access to the graduate assistant's record and can complete the reappointment. See https://clas.uiowa.edu/deos/administrative-manual-appointment-forms-reappointments for further information.

Termination of Appointment:

Graduate assistant appointments are terminated at the end of the appointment only if the graduate assistant will not be reappointed. If the graduate assistant is to be appointed in another department, their current appointment should not be terminated. Terminations are done through the HR Web Transaction System.

Prior to terminating a Graduate Assistant for poor performance or policy violation during the term of their appointment, the DEO or DGS must consult with the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, who will ensure that the Graduate Assistant Employment Manual and UI Operations Manual have been followed, adequate documentation has been assembled, and a reasonable effort has been made to assist the Graduate Assistant in improving their performance.

If a graduate assistant is terminated during the term of their appointment, the termination form must be forwarded to the Associate Dean for Graduate Education for approval before going to HR.

Forms

2024-25 TA Template for an Offer Letter for Graduate Assistants 

2024-25 RA Template for an Offer Letter for Graduate Assistants 

Summer 2024 TA Template for an Offer Letter for Graduate Assistants 

Fellowship/Award Offer Letter Template 

*2024-25 Information on Tuition and Fees for new Graduate Students has been attached as an addendum to each contract this year. 

**CLAS AY 2023-24 templates can still be downloaded from https://grad.uiowa.edu/funding/graduate-student-employment-standards/appendix-offer-letter-templates-and-related-resources

***For the Sample Fiscal Year Graduate Appointment Letter 2024-25 (RA), see Appendix A of the Graduate Student Employment Standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

N/A

Related Information

Graduate Assistant Employment: https://www.grad.uiowa.edu/graduate-assistant-employment

Revision History