Stipends for Graduate Assistantships

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Type of Policy: 
Administrative
Effective Date: 
August 2015
Last Revised: 
May 2019
Review Date: 
May 2020
Policy Owner: 
Graduate Studies
Contact Name: 
Bonnie Ferri
Contact Title: 
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Affairs
Contact Email: 
Bonnie.ferri@gatech.edu
Reason for Policy: 

Set a minimum stipend for graduate research and teaching assistants across the Institute and describe processes and responsibilities for setting stipends at or above the minimum.

Policy Statement: 

For the 2019-2020 academic year, the minimum stipend level for each doctoral graduate research or teaching assistant shall be $1,483 per month, regardless of whether the student is working one-third or one-half time. The minimum stipend level for each master’s student who is a graduate research or teaching assistant shall be $978 per month, regardless of whether the student is working one-third or one-half time. Any exceptions to the application of this policy must be approved by the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development.

Scope: 

The policy applies to all graduate students enrolled in all degree-seeking programs.

 

Definitions:

Stipend The salary paid to the graduate student employee for teaching or research services provided.
Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) Part time research job held by a graduate student.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) Part time teaching job held by a graduate student.
Procedures: 
Institute Level
Setting the Institute Minimum The Office of the Provost will determine a new minimum stipend level by January 1st of each year to apply to the following academic year. The revised minimum will take into account: (1) Georgia Tech’s projected mandatory and elective fees for the next year; (2) projected graduate student health insurance premium level; (3) current level of stipends on NSF fellowships; (4) state employee pay increase percentage; (5) other costs factors affecting graduate students; (6) available funding. This policy will be updated annually based on the Provost’s determination.
Unit and Program Level
Setting and Reviewing Unit or Program Stipend Levels Each academic unit or inter-school degree program shall determine the stipend levels for its students. The stipend levels shall be determined by the following factors: (1) peer institution stipend levels for individual disciplines, taking into consideration the tuition waiver policies and cost factors for peer institutions for comparability (peer reviews to be conducted by academic units); (2) the student’s progress toward his/her degree, including whether the student is a masters or doctoral student; (3) whether the student is asked to work one-third time or half-time, as determined by each department; (4) level of teaching or research work conducted by the student; (5) past experience and performance of the student in research or teaching; (6) for an international student, the estimated cost of living as determined by the Office of International Education through the I-20 form (http://www.oie.gatech.edu/); (7) available funding.
Reviewing Stipends Annually and Anticipating the Need for Raises Each academic unit shall annually review the overall stipend levels for its students based on the factors noted in 5.2. If Georgia Tech is authorized to provide annual salary increases to permanent employees, comparable increases for graduate assistants funded through non-sponsored funds shall be considered. Raises for graduate assistants funded through sponsored funds should be anticipated through escalation factors in grant budgets.
Publishing Stipend Levels; Maintaining Equity In order to maintain equity and transparency in stipend levels, each unit should publish its stipend levels in a location accessible to both students and faculty in that unit. Unit heads are responsible for maintaining equitable stipends in their units through regular review of the stipends being paid and supporting the rationale for any differences.
Responsibilities: 

Provost
Sets Institute-level minimum stipends.

Units and Programs
Set unit or program stipend levels; review them annually and raise them as appropriate; anticipate the need for increased stipend amounts and include them in unit and grant budgets; maintain equity in pay through regular review.

Enforcement: 

The Institute reserves the right to address violations by raising the stipends of individual students to the minimum using the budget of the hiring unit.

To report suspected instances of noncompliance with this policy, please visit Georgia Tech’s EthicsPoint, a secure and confidential reporting system, at: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/en/report_custom.asp?clientid=7508

Related Information: 
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistant Schedule Flexibility
Policy History: 

 

Revision Date Author Description
May 2019 Provost Office Updated Stipend Information
March 2017 Provost Office Updated Stipend Information
May 2016 Provost Office Updated Stipend Information
May 2015 Provost Office Updated Stipend Information
June-2008 Provost The policy set the minimum stipend effective August, 2008.