Graduate Assistantships

Purpose of Graduate Assistantships

Graduate assistantships are awarded by the School of Labor and Industrial Relations to: 

  1. make high-quality students available to School faculty, primarily in non-sponsored research and secondarily in instructional tasks; 
  2. attract superior students into the Master of Human Resources and Labor Relations (MHRLR) degree program and the Ph.D. in Industrial Relations and Human Resources, so that academic excellence may be more readily maintained in these two graduate programs; 
  3. enable the School faculty responsible for research grants and contracts to meet their obligations under the terms of the grants or contracts; 
  4. provide graduate students with opportunities to develop scholarship and professional skills while working under the guidance of faculty. 

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Definitions

An "assistantship semester" consists of an academic semester in which a person holds an assistantship, whether on a half-time or quarter-time basis. "External funds" are funds from formal grants and contracts administered by the School. 

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Criteria for Selection of New Graduate Assistant

  1. Normally only students admitted to the MHRLR program or the Ph.D. in Industrial Relations and Human Resources are eligible to receive assistantships from funds administered by the School. However, when the project for which an assistant is needed clearly cannot be staffed with available MHRLR or Ph.D students, degree candidates from other academic programs at MSU may be awarded assistantships. 
  2. Students enrolled on a non-degree basis are ineligible to hold assistantships.
  3. Foreign students who do not have English as their primary language or who have not demonstrated competence in English (by means of scores on the English Language Center, the TOEFL, or any similar established test) are ineligible for graduate assistantships, unless they have spent at least one full academic year in undergraduate or graduate study in the United States at the time of scheduled enrollment in the School or unless their foreign language competence is of substantial value to the faculty members for whom they would be working. 
  4. Within the limits under items 1, 2, 3, above, graduate assistantships will be awarded on the basis of the factors listed below: 
    • Ph.D. candidates in Industrial Relations and Human Resources. 
      1. Ph.D. candidates in their first academic year of enrollment who are in residence at Michigan State University in the Ph.D. program will be given priority consideration in awarding one-half time assistantships for two semesters. 
      2. Ph.D. candidates in their second or third year of enrollment in the Ph.D. program, who are in residence at Michigan State University, will normally be awarded one-quarter time assistantships for two semesters and may also be considered for one-half time assistantships if funds are available. 
      3. Ph.D. candidates who have been enrolled in the Ph.D. program more than three years, who are in residence at Michigan State University, may be awarded assistantships on the basis of the needs of the School and the individual situation of the Ph.D. candidate. 
    • MHRLR candidates will normally be awarded assistantships on a quarter-time basis and according to the following criteria: 
      1. Demonstrated academic performance; 
      2. Undergraduate academic major, training and experience; 
      3. Compatibility with research or teaching interest of the faculty of the School of Labor and Industrial Relations. 
  5. In case of graduate assistantships supported by external funds, weight will also be given to special skills and background necessary for proper performance of duties under the respective grant or contract, as indicated by the faculty member responsible for the grant or contract who will inform the Associate Director for the Graduate Program about the graduate assistant resource requirements for the project. 
  6. Financial need is not a criterion for awards of graduate assistantships. 

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Procedure for Selection of New Graduate Assistants

Within the limit set by the number of assistantship units available for new appointments, students awarded new graduate assistantships in the School of Labor and Industrial Relations shall be selected by the Associate Director for the Graduate Program after consultation with the principal investigator (when applicable). The selection shall be in accordance with the School of Labor and Industrial Relations Policy on Graduate Assistantships and shall give consideration to the recommendations of the Academic Program Committee. Pursuant to University regulations, the Director of the School of Labor and Industrial Relations must approve all awards of assistantships. 

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Stipends, Stipend Advancement, and Promotion

There are three classes of graduate assistantships: Level 1, Level 2, and Senior Level. In any one academic semester, the stipend per assistantship unit is the same for all assistantships in a class. Actual stipend rates are set in the summer and become effective on August 15. 

In order to be eligible for a Level 2 assistantship appointment, a student must possess a master's degree or the equivalent in a field deemed relevant to labor and industrial relations or have completed two assistantship semesters at Level 1. After completing two assistantship semesters, the student is automatically transferred to Level 2 for the duration of the appointment. 

Upon completion of all course work and Ph.D. comprehensive examinations, doctoral candidates are promoted to Senior Level graduate assistants for the duration of their appointment. The Senior Level appointment shall begin the next semester the assistant is scheduled to receive an assistantship. 

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Tax Status of Stipends

Following explicit regulations of the University, the School designates graduate assistantships paid from general funds as compensation for services rendered. The same designation applies to assistantships funded by federal research grants and contracts containing prohibitions against use of any of the funds for fellowship and scholarship payments. Other assistantships are designated in accordance with regulations of agencies supplying the funds and with reasonable interpretation of Internal Revenue Service Regulations. 

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Procedures for Evaluation Performance

The performance of graduate assistants will be reviewed and evaluated annually by the faculty member to whom the assistant is assigned. Click here to view the Annual Assessment for Master's Students form. The date of the performance review will be selected by the faculty member. In addition, the assistant's progress towards his or her degree will also be evaluated. Students must continue to make satisfactory progress towards their degree in order to maintain the assistantship.

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Term of Appointment

All graduate assistantships are for a stated period of one or two assistantship semesters, depending on needs and available funds of the School as known at the time of award and on the circumstances stated below. 

Except for externally funded assistantships, summer assistantships are awarded only after provision has been made to meet the needs of the subsequent regular academic year, are dependent upon School need for summer assistance, and are normally reserved for reappointments on a quarter-time basis. 

All reappointments, including summer assistantships, are contingent upon School needs and funds and subject to satisfactory performance as a graduate assistant and a graduate student, as determined in performance evaluation. No reappointment is automatic. 

Assistantships may be suspended or terminated by the School in advance of the stated expiration date, when the assistant's performance is unsatisfactory. Any of the following may result in an unsatisfactory performance rating: 

  1. Transfer from regular to provisional status for low grades or failure of an MHRLR student to complete any remaining undergraduate course prerequisites in the first two semesters; 
  2. failure of an MHRLR or doctoral student to earn at least six credits toward the degree each semester; 
  3. failure of a doctoral student to make satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D. degree as described in the Ph.D. program description as determined by the doctoral student's guidance committee; 
  4. unsatisfactory performance as a graduate assistant, as determined in performance evaluation (see above). 

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Work Load and Duties

An assistant holding a quarter-time appointment is available to the designated supervisor for a total of 10 hours per week for the duration of the appointment period; an assistant holding a half-time appointment is available for a total of 20 hours per week. These hours may be balanced over a longer period of time by mutual agreement of the assistant and the faculty supervisor. 

Assistants are required to perform all work assigned to them by their supervisor. Faculty members should facilitate task accomplishment by providing the student with access to clerical help or supplies where this has been agreed to as part of the work assignment. 

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Grievance Procedure

Student grievances over graduate assistantships are processed in accordance with the regular student grievance procedure of the School. 

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Adopted by the Academic Program Committee
Winter 1980; Revised for Semester System July 1992