Graduate Assistant Information
Graduate Assistant Information
You will find a summary of important information on eligibility, tuition and fee remission, the hiring process, and student health insurance requirements on the Office of Graduate Studies Graduate Assistantships webpage.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Graduate Assistants at Portland State University are represented by the PSU Graduate Employees Union, AFT/AAUP. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Graduate Employees Union and Portland State University.
Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs)
Research assistants will be hired by the research accountant managing the grant that is funding the position. GRA positions can be made available by faculty based on available research. Interested applicants may reach out to any faculty they are interested in working with to learn more about funding opportunities in their research groups.
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)
GTA positions are determined by the Admissions Committee and may be available to students admitted fall term. Any additional GTA positions will be open to all admitted students to apply to and will be announced by the Department 1-2 months before the start of fall, winter, or spring terms. GTAs will be hired by the CEE Department.
Eligibility for Appointments
To be eligible for a GA appointment, a graduate student must be enrolled as a full-time, degree-seeking student in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward a degree. Details can be found on the Office of Graduate Studies Graduate Assistantships webpage.
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Hiring
Steps
1. Hiring Paperwork
Before beginning work, Graduate Assistants must complete hiring paperwork at the Office of Human Resources. Students must bring a government photo ID such as a driver's license, ID card, or passport. Additional information about new hire documents can be found on the Office of Human Resources website. New international students will need to obtain an employment authorization from International Student Services and apply for a social security number before completing new hire paperwork with Human Resources and beginning work. Detailed instructions for students with F-1 and J-1 visas can be found on the International Students website.
Directions and contact information for HR.
2. Notice of Appointment
Once the hiring paperwork is complete, notify the CEE Department Manager at ceedept@pdx.edu. The CEE Department Manager will create the hiring appointment, and after a multi-step approval, the student will also accept and approve the GTA/GRA appointment in myPSU. When the appointment is ready to accept, students should receive a Notice of Appointment via email to read. Please note that the Notice of Appointment cannot be sent until the new hire paperwork is completed.
Instructions on how to accept your appointment in myPSU can be found on the Human Resources website: select "Banweb" > the "employee services" tab > "EPAF: Electronic Personnel Action Form" > "EPAF Approver Summary" > select position from queue > follow prompts to review and approve position.
3. Complete FERPA Training
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Because graduate assistants will have access to student information (grading papers, etc.), they need to complete PSUs FERPA training, located on the Office of the Registrar website under FERPA Tutorial. Enroll in this course and it will populate in Canvas. Once this training is done and the quizzes are completed, email the certificate of completion to the CEE Department (ceedept@pdx.edu).
4. Register for credits
Graduate Assistants are required to register for 9 or more credits during each term that they have a GA appointment. There are two (2) scenarios under which a GA can potentially register for fewer than nine (9) graduate credits in a term. First, a maximum of four (4) of the nine (9) required credits can be undergraduate credits if these undergraduate courses are needed as prerequisites or are important for the student's program of study. Second, a GA can register for as few as five (5) graduate credits in the final two (2) terms before graduation provided no additional credits are needed to meet degree requirements. International students must complete a Reduced Courseload Request e-form in WorldLink if they will register for fewer than 9 credits - students may speak with the Immigration Advising Team before making this request.
5. Contact and schedule to meet with faculty
GTAs will be assigned and connected to a faculty member to work with for the upcoming term. GRAs will meet with their faculty advisor.
Pay Schedule and Work Hour Limits
Pay is distributed on the last working day of the month. For example, if October 31 is a Sunday, the paycheck will arrive on Friday, October 29.
During the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms, Graduate Assistants are limited to 0.49 FTE for all of their on-campus work combined during each term the assistantship is in effect. During the Summer Term, GAs may be appointed to an FTE up to 1.0. International students may not work full time and attend classes full time during the same term, so they may be appointed to an FTE greater than 0.49 and up
to 1.0 during the Summer Term only if they are taking a vacation term (either not registered or taking fewer than 9 credits). For payroll purposes, terms are defined as follows:
Fall term: September 16 – December 15
Winter term: December 16 – March 15
Spring term: March 16 – June 15
Summer term: June 16 – September 15
If graduate assistants plan to work on campus in another job while working as a GTA/GRA, please inform the Department as soon as possible, regardless of whether it is a GA or hourly position.
Tuition and Fee Remission
Graduate Assistants must be fully registered in 9 credits or more in order for the tuition and fee remission to post to their student account. If graduate assistants register for fewer than 9 credits for one of the two reasons described in the “Register for Credits” section above, then they must inform the CEE Department as soon as possible to prevent delays in tuition remission processing.
NOTE - the CEE department will only pay for 9 credits of tuition. If a graduate assistant decides to take more than 9 credits, that is fine, but the department cannot cover that overage.
Any late fees on the student account that result from a delay in the posting of the tuition and fee remission will be automatically waived by Student Accounts. If a graduate assistant receives a late fee due to a remission posting delay and it is not removed from the account within a few days of remission posting, please contact the CEE Department so that we can resolve this issue. It is the student's responsibility to pay the Student Accounts balance for any remaining student fees and health insurance by the deadlines set by the Student Accounts Office.
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