There are three types of assistantships:

1. Graduate Assistantship (GA) stipends are $12,400 per academic year.
2. Research Assistantship (RA) is a minimum of $12,400 per academic year with variances
expected to accommodate the knowledge and expertise required for the job.
3. Teaching Assistantship (TA) is $13,300 per academic year.

General Policy on Graduate Assistantships

1.0 PURPOSE

The College of Charleston, in support of the graduate programs at the Graduate School of the College of Charleston, provides graduate assistantships to students enrolled in those programs. The purpose of this document is to define the types of available graduate assistantships and state the approved academic and financial policies and procedures that govern those assistantships.

2.0 DEFINITIONS AND CONDITIONS

The Graduate School at the College of Charleston recognizes student employment as an assistantship only under the definitions, conditions and categories below. Student employment outside these parameters will not be deemed assistantships. Non-resident graduate students employed as graduate assistants, (half-time or more), are eligible for an abatement of the non-resident portion of their tuition during the terms in which they hold an assistantship.


2.1 Eligibility

Only students fully admitted to degree seeking status in a master’s program at the Graduate School at the College of Charleston are eligible to receive a graduate assistantship. Such students will remain eligible for an assistantship as long as they maintain a 3.0 grade point average in their graduate programs, are enrolled in the appropriate number of credit hours for their category of assistantship (see Section II below), and remain a student in good standing at the College. Graduate Assistants who become ineligible will be removed from their assistantships, and may not be reinstated until all eligibility criteria have been satisfied.


2.2 Types of Graduate Assistantships

2.2.1 Graduate Assistantships (GA)



Graduate Assistantships (GA) are general assistantships which provide project and other support either in the students’ program office or in other offices at the College.

2.2.2 Research Assistantships (RA)

Usually funded under a grant, research assistantships (RA) focus on supporting and engaging in the research of an established College professor or researcher affiliated with the College.

2.2.3 Teaching Assistantship (TA)

Teaching assistantships are teaching positions, which place graduate students in an undergraduate class or lab setting. SACS criteria which must be met require that each TA must be under the direct supervision of a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, receive regular in-service training and be evaluated regularly. In addition, graduate teaching assistants who have primary responsibility for teaching a course or lab for credit and/or for assigning final grades for such a course must have earned at least 18 graduate semester hours in their teaching discipline. Graduate teaching assistants will normally not be the “instructor-of-record” for any course or lab. Exceptions must be approved by the appropriate school dean, who will forward written approval to the Graduate School Office.
NOTE: Graduate program directors are responsible for insuring that teaching assistants in their programs comply with these criteria.


2.3 Graduate Assistantship Workload

2.3.1 Full-Time Assistantship
A full-time graduate assistantship is based on a workload of 20 hours per week for which the student receives the appropriate full-time stipend, depending on the length of the contract.

2.3.2 Less Than Full-Time Assistantships
The Graduate School recognizes half-time and three-quarter time graduate assistantships. Half-time assistantships are based on a workload of 10 hours per week and three-quarter time assistantships are based on a workload of 15 hours per week. Both are prorated based on the full-time stipend.


2.4 Length of Contract

The length of contract is the period of time during which a graduate assistantship is required to work. Assistantship contracts are for a semester, (fall/Spring and summer, with summer being considered one semester), an academic year or fiscal year, except as noted for summer assistantships in section 2.5. Normally the fall semester contracts begin August 16 and end no later than the end of the final exam period and spring contracts begin the Monday before spring semester classes begin and end no later than spring commencement. An academic year is the period of time from the beginning in August to the end of school in May which encompasses the fall and spring semesters.


2.5 Length of Service as a Graduate Assistant

Students serving as Category A graduate assistants (see section 3.1.1) during the academic year will complete at least eighteen credit hours towards their degree each academic year and no degree program requires more than 48 hours of coursework. Hence, no student should hold a category A graduate assistantships more than three years. Students who qualify for a Category B assistantship (see section 3.1.2) are normally eligible for such an assistantship for at most one year.

2.6 Summer Assistantships
2.6.1
Continuing students are not required to be enrolled in summer terms in order to qualify for a summer assistantship.

2.6.2
Summer assistantships must be divided between fiscal years (May 15-June30; July 1-August 15). As stated above, the summer as a whole is considered one semester. However, because summer contracts must be split between fiscal years, the assistantship stipend must be prorated accordingly. A full-time assistantship lasting the entire summer could encompass a time period of May 15 through June 30 in one contract document for ½ the full time stipend, and July 1-August 15 for the other half of the full-time stipend.

2.6.3
The length of service for summer assistantships can vary, but the stipend must be prorated using the definition of the entire summer as one semester and the full-time stipend as a baseline. Where warranted by a special need, a student may hold a time and a half assistantship during the summer, requiring a 30 hour work week. These special assistantships would have prorated stipends using the full-time assistantship stipends as a baseline.

2.6.4
Non-resident students who hold at least a half-time assistantship during any part of the summer are eligible for an abatement of the non-resident portion of their fees during each summer term in which they hold an assistantship.

3.0 CATEGORIES OF GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS

3.1 Candidates for an assistantship must meet the eligibility requirements of either a Category A or Category B assistantship, as describe below.

3.1.1 Category A Assistantships – Assistantships awarded to fully admitted (not provisionally admitted), qualified, degree seeking graduate students who must be enrolled in nine (9) semester hours of graduate coursework per semester, and who maintain a satisfactory grade point average of at least 3.0. (See Section 2.1).

3.1.2 Category B Assistantships- Assistantships awarded to qualified, degree seeking graduate students who have completed all required coursework for their degree with the exception of thesis/research credits, and who maintain a satisfactory grade point average of at least a 3.0. These students must enroll in four (4) graduate hours per semester, to maintain their assistantships for a period of one academic year only. Exceptions to this policy may be granted by the Dean of the Graduate School for those students who have completed all coursework, but who must take a required course not offered within the time frame stated above. In this case the time fram may be extended by one academic year only. It is assumed that even less frequency offered, but necessary, courses will be offered within two academic year period. Student wishing to qualify under Category B must complete an “Application for Approval of a Category B Graduate Assistantship” form available from the Graduate School Office.

4.0 STIPENDS

4.1 All stipend levels are in effect at the date of this policy, but are subject to change.


4.2 Graduate Assistantships (GA) Stipend - $12,400 per academic year (starting fall 2007 semester) for a full-time assistantship.


4.3 Research Assistantship (RA) Stipend – A minimum stipend per academic year for a full-time assistantship equal to the full-time academic year stipend for a Graduate Assistantship (GA). It is understood that since research assistantships are funded from grant monies, the upper level of these awards to students will vary, sometimes considerably. This variance may be attributed to the level of knowledge and/or expertise needed for student assistants in different fields of research and for specific projects. In addition some funding agencies require a minimum stipend level for students working under a specific grant. Widely divergent stipends for student working in similar areas of research and within the same program and/or research entity, however, are not acceptable. When the RA stipend exceeds the TA and GA stipend, a statement justifying the variance must be attached to the Graduate Assistantship Employment Approval Form. Graduate program directors, principle investigators and research administrators are cautioned to maintain oversight of equity issues which may arise surrounding differing stipends for grant funded research assistantships.


4.4 Teaching Assistantships (TA) Stipend - $13,300 (starting fall semester 2007) per academic year for a full-time assistantship.