Grand Valley State University
Graduate Studies Office
GUIDELINES FOR REQUESTING
SPECIAL PROJECT GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS
2009-2010
With funding from
Office of Graduate Studies and Grants Administration
388C DEV, 331-7123, www.gvsu.edu/gsga
Due on or before March 24, 2009
Basic Graduate Assistantship Information
 Graduate Assistantships serve a dual purpose: (1) they provide graduate
students with part-time, paid work experiences in their field of study, and allow
them to expand and/or apply their discipline knowledge and skills under
supervision; and (2) they provide GVSU faculty and/or university staff with
assistance in carrying out special projects or other assignments that require the
advanced discipline skills of graduate students. The activities assigned are to
have educational value for the student. Graduate assistantships are not to be
used in lieu of hiring student employees for clerical and office support.

Please review the Graduate Assistantship Policy to familiarize yourself with the
eligibility guidelines and the new award offer and appointment procedures.
Graduate Assistantship forms and procedures are located on our web site at
www.gvsu.edu/gsga.

The GA positions offered by the Graduate Studies Office pay stipends of $4,000
per semester for a full-time assistantship (for 300 hours @ 20-hour work week/15
weeks/semester), $2,000 for a half-time assistantship (for 150 hours @ 10-hour
work week/15 weeks/semester.). If your department desires to pay more than
these amounts, please indicate in your request (see below) that your department
has the funds available in its budget to supplement these stipend levels. You are
not permitted to split a full-time assistantship into two half-time positions,
without prior approval of the Graduate Dean.
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Priority Considerations for Graduate Studies Funded Positions
 Priority will be given to funding assistantships for full-time graduate students,
enrolled in 9 or more credit hours per semester (and successfully completing
them). Any assistantship intended for a part-time graduate student will require
prior authorization of the graduate dean. Enrollment status will be verified prior
to approval signature on an individual award offer.

Priority will be given to providing assistantships to graduate degree
programs/units with no current base-budget funded positions, or to programs
that do not currently have any or sufficient graduate assistantships for their
full-time students.

Current funding is primarily for academic year assistantships (Fall and Winter
semesters only). No funds are available for 10-month appointments, although we
will consider positions which run for another two sequential semesters.

These positions will not convert to base-budget funded positions. Please do not
plan to get continuation funding from this funding source. We do consider
continuation requests but they may not have as high a priority as new requests of
equal import.

Tuition reimbursement at in-state rates is available for up to 12 credits per
semester for full-time assistantships, or for 6 credits per semester for half-time
assistantships, consistent with the newly revised GA policies and procedures.
Anyone hiring non-resident students on half-time appointments should
understand that the student must pay the non-resident rate for any credits
beyond the 6 covered by the tuition grant.
To request Special Project graduate assistantship(s) please submit the
following information to the Graduate Studies office (388C DEV) by March
24:
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
 total funding for assistantships
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If you have no budget allocation for assistantships but your dean or Vice-Provost
Office does have such funds, please indicate:
 number of assistantships your unit has been allocated per year for the past 3
years
 total funding you have had for those assistantships per 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.
2.
If you received funding for a graduate assistantship position for 2008-2009
from the Graduate Studies Office, please submit a Progress Report as
requested in the original award notice.(one to two paragraphs):
Submit a brief annual report describing the academic progress of the student,
and the contributions made by the graduate assistant(s) toward the goals
outlined in your original position description. Indicate whether or not this
assistantship has contributed significantly to the academic knowledge and
related professional skills of the student, and the significance of the student’s
contribution to the project or activity in which they were engaged. In other
words, 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? No new funding will be offered until this report is on file.
If you are requesting a renewal for a position awarded in 2008-2009, you should
provide evidence in writing 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.
3.
Assistantship Request for 2009-2010
Include the following information about the GA position requested:
 TERMS: Indicate whether the assistantship position you are requesting is for
a full-time (20 hour per week) or half-time (10 hour per week) position.
Indicate the proposed beginning and ending date for the position. Note
whether you would intend this position (if half-time) to be offered to a fulltime or part-time student. If part-time, provide a rationale for offering an
assistantship to a part-time student.
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
Position description (remember priority items above, when developing your
position description): Describe the responsibilities that will be assigned to
this position. Briefly describe the ways in which this assignment will
enhance/expand the student’s academic experience and/or build on advanced
skills (listed under qualifications) of this student. If any “clerical and office”
types of responsibilities are included in this position description, be sure to
differentiate them from general clerical work for your department, by
indicating how this position and these responsibilities benefit the student (not
just your department). Heavily clerical positions should use hourly student
employees, not graduate assistantship positions.

Qualifications: List the type of skills and prior academic and work
experiences desired. Note that admission to a master’s degree program at
GVSU is a prerequisite for a graduate assistantship. If there are advanced
skills required, please describe them. Indicate which graduate students will
be eligible (e.g., will it be made available only to your own program, if
applicable, or to students from a number of programs?). If you do not offer
graduate programs in your department, please justify your decision to
reserve these positions for students in only one or two graduate programs
(instead of making them open to students in all graduate degree programs
offered by GVSU).

Work Station/Desk: Describe briefly the work set-up/station, for this
student. Include the facilities/space/computers/etc. that your office provides
to enable the graduate assistant to complete the assigned responsibilities. If
many students must share the same workstation, address how you will
ensure that each student has access to an appropriate workstation to carry out
the terms of their appointment (10 or 20 hours per week).

Orientation/Supervision: Describe briefly how you orient supervisors to
their responsibilities with graduate assistants and the types of factors you
cover in an orientation for graduate assistants. Include information on how
the assistants are supervised, how frequently they get performance guidance
and reviews, how their performance is assessed. Also indicate a willingness
on the part of the designated supervisor to participate in a GA Supervisor
orientation.

Renewal Limitations: Please acknowledge that you understand that this
position is non-renewable. Preference will be given to positions that involve
assignments that are clearly non-recurring special projects. All awards will
be subject to a new application next year. Do you see the need for this
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assistantship position to be temporary (for no more than one year) or
ongoing? If ongoing, please plan to request to your Dean in writing that the
position be base-funded in the future. Copies of that request to the Dean
and/or verification by the Dean’s of his/her request to the Provost should be
sent to the Graduate Dean.

Selection Process: Describe how you plan to advertise the assistantship and
select the recipient. What information do you request from applicants?
When you have multiple applicants what process is used to select one person
for the position? What other requirements will you use (GPA, faculty
recommendations, discipline(s) given priority, hours available, specific
knowledge and skills required, etc.)?
You will be advised in writing of any graduate assistantship to be awarded from the
Graduate Office to your Unit for the 2009-2010 AY year by March 31. We anticipate
that this may permit you to have time to interview and select your GA’s prior to the end
of the Winter Semester.
You should continue to make your assistantship needs known to your own Dean or
Vice Provost, for base budget funding. While we will work closely with you and your
Dean in making these appointments, all of these positions will remain in the Graduate
Studies Office budget, and the Graduate Dean will be the appointing officer. If you
have any questions or need for clarification, please contact Dean Kimboko at
kimbokop@gvsu.edu or call her assistant, Irene Fountain, at 1-7123.
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