Grand Valley State University
Office of Graduate Studies
GUIDELINES FOR REQUESTING
SPECIAL PROJECT GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS
2011-12
With funding from
Office of Graduate Studies
318C DEV, 331-7123, www.gvsu.edu/gs
Due on or before February 28, 2011
Please review the Graduate Assistantship Policy to familiarize yourself with the eligibility
guidelines and appointment procedures. Graduate Assistantship forms and procedures are
located on our web site at www.gvsu.edu/gs.
Special Projects Assistantships pay stipends of $4,000 per semester for a full-time
assistantship (20-hour work week/15 weeks/semester) and $2,000 for a half-time
assistantship (10-hour work week/15 weeks/semester).
Important Considerations for Special Projects Graduate Assistantships
 Priority will be given to funding graduate assistantships that have a clearly unique
special project identified in the application.

Priority will be given to funding assistantships for full-time graduate students,
enrolled in 9 credit hours per semester.

Priority will be given to providing assistantships to graduate degree programs/units
with no current base-budget funded positions, and to programs that do not currently
have sufficient graduate assistantships for their full-time students.

Funding is primarily for academic year assistantships (Fall/Winter semesters).
Winter/Spring-Summer positions will be considered but at a lesser priority.

Please do not plan to get continuation funding from this funding source. These
positions will not convert to base-budget funded positions. We do consider
continuation requests but they may not receive as high a priority as new requests of
equal importance.

Tuition is paid by the University for up to 9 credits per semester for full-time
assistantships, or for 6 credits per semester for half-time assistantships.
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To request a Special Project graduate assistantship, please submit an application containing
the following information to the Office of Graduate Studies (318C DEV) by 5:00 pm on
Monday February 28, 2011:
1.
Baseline Information about any existing base-budget funded or grant-funded
assistantships in your unit:
Indicate the number of assistantships already available to your department and the
source of funding:
 Base budget positions, either previously authorized by Academic Affairs OR
created from your own discretionary budget
 Grant-funded or non-base positions typically earmarked for your students
 If you have no budget allocation for assistantships but your dean or Vice-Provost
Office does have such funds, please indicate the number of assistantships your
unit was allocated last year.
 If you earmark these positions for students in one or more master’s programs at
GVSU, please list the program(s) for which these assistantships are earmarked.
 If you are requesting a renewal for a position awarded in 2010-2011, please
provide evidence that your request for this position to be moved to the base
budget was indeed submitted to your unit head (Dean/Vice Provost) and also
included in that Dean or Vice Provost’s requests for new funds this year.
2.
If you received funding for a graduate assistantship position for 2010-2011 from the
Office of Graduate Studies, please submit a Progress Report as requested in the
original award notice.
Submit a brief report describing the contributions made by the graduate assistant(s)
toward the goals outlined in your original position description. Please answer the
following questions: How did this assistantship further the educational purposes of the
assistantship and/or build on or advance the skills of the student? How did the graduate
assistant contribute to your successful achievement of the stated goals of the position?
3.
Brief Job Description
Please provide a brief job description and include the following: (a full job description
will be required if your request is approved).
TERMS:
 Is this a full time of half time assistantship?
 Will you hire a full time student or part time student? Please provide a brief
rationale for this request.
POSITION DESCRIPTION:
 Briefly describe the responsibilities that will be assigned to this position, and in
what ways it will enhance/expand the student’s academic experience and/or build
on advanced skills.
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QUALIFICATIONS:
 List the type of skills and prior academic and work experiences desired. If
advanced skills are required, please describe them.
 Indicate which graduate students will be eligible (e.g., will it be made available
only to your own program or to students from a number of programs?).
 If your department does not offer graduate programs, please explain your
decision to limit the programs from where you plan to hire your GA.
WORK STATION/DESK
 Will your GA have a dedicated work station? Where will the work station be
located?
ORIENTATION/SUPERVISION:
 Who will supervise the GA? What is his/her position and title?
 How frequently will the GA be given performance guidance and reviews?
 Will the GA be given a formal orientation? If so, what elements will be covered?
RENEWAL LIMITATIONS:
 If your request is approved, please keep in mind that the position is not
automatically renewed.
 All awards will be subject to a new application next year.
 Preference is given to positions that involve assignments that are clearly nonrecurring special projects.
 If your GA position fills an ongoing need, please request to your Dean/VP to
base-fund your position. Please keep a copy of that request in the event you
reapply for a special projects GA next year.
SELECTION PROCESS:
 Where will you advertise your GA position?
 What information do you request from applicants?
 What is your screening/interviewing process?
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