Appointment Deadlines for Graduate Assistantships

Richard J. Lutz, Associate Dean

The BOR-GAU collective bargaining agreement contains guidelines for the appointment and reappointment of all graduate assistants. Specifically, Article 2.4 of the contract reads as follows:

2.4 Notice.

(a) Fall Appointments. Employees serving in at least one (1) semester appointment during an academic year shall be provided with a letter of intent regarding continuation or noncontinuation of employment for the subsequent Fall semester by April 30. A final letter of appointment, if necessary, shall be provided to the employee by June 30. 

(b) Spring Appointments. Employees who will be offered an appointment to commence at the start of the Spring semester, shall be provided with a letter of intent by August 30. A final letter of appointment for mid-year appointees, if necessary, shall be provided to the employee by October 30. 

This contract clause assures that, whenever possible, graduate students will be provided due notice regarding their employment future. The Graduate School is sensitive to the fact that monies for departmental or grant sponsored assistanships often arise at the last minute, making it difficult for departments to comply with the above deadlines. However, when appointment decisions are largely driven by departmental course offerings or ongoing research grants, it should not be unreasonable for departments to meet the above deadlines for most appointments. Reduced levels of budgetary uncertainty should allow for the prompt notification of the vast majority of Spring appointments. Departmental decisions to delay the notification process results in unnecessary financial uncertainty for students and should be avoided whenever possible.