EHE College-Funded Graduate Associate Positions

Graduate Associate (GA) positions funded by the College of Education and Human Ecology are intended to support the College’s and University’s mission in terms of teaching, research, and service.
Appointment decisions should be made with consideration of the best interests of both the program and the individual graduate student in mind. In creating GA appointments funded by the College, the following principles apply in addition to those established by the Graduate School:

1. Funding, from either the College or the department, will not exceed two years for a master’s student and four years for a doctoral student. Bachelor’s degree students, who are admitted directly into a Ph.D. program, in which they will earn a master’s degree, are eligible for up to six years of funding. These time limits are unaffected by the FTE of the GA (e.g., 25% or 50%). Renewal of funding beyond the initial year will be based on a combination of annual performance, availability of funds, need for services, student eligibility, and progress towards degree completion as determined by the department chair and faculty advisor. Eligibility for funding does not guarantee funding. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the dean or dean’s designee.
   • Fellowship funding obtained from sources outside of EHE is not included in the College funding calculation for college funded positions. Fellowships funded with EHE funds, such as gift, scholarship, and dissertation funding contributing to the GFA, are considered College/department funding. 
   • GA positions funded outside of EHE (positions funded by other colleges, GRA positions funded by grants and projects, etc.) are not included in the calculation for college-funded positions.
   • Departments/units assigning College funds can determine the combination of funding to support their students (fellowships, external GAs, College-funded GAs, etc.), but the total College funding a student receives cannot exceed the designated maximums.
   • Graduate students are not eligible for scholarships distributed by the College of Education and Human Ecology if they hold a 50% GA or higher or receive a College or University Fellowship.
     • Exceptions may be made for doctoral students who are enrolled in programs that award graduate associateships or fellowships to all students. Other exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis, but they must be approved by the Department Chair, College Finance Officer, and Scholarship Manager.
     • Students with a GA appointment less than 50% GA are eligible to receive scholarship funding. 
   • Years of funding are defined as follows:
     • 1 Year = Autumn and Spring semester or Autumn, Spring, and Summer
     • ½ Year = Autumn or Spring semester
     • Note: Summer is not included in the calculation of funding due to the limited course and work opportunities during the summer. %FTE and compensation are not taken into consideration when calculating years of funding.
   • Questions can be directed to the Graduate Associate Manager who is responsible for tracking funding limits.
      
2. In order to be considered for a College-funded GA position, all students (including new, current, and students with GA positions) must complete a GA application on a yearly basis. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the dean or dean's designee and communicated to the Graduate Associate Manager.
    
3. Graduate students appointed to Graduate Teaching Associate (GTA) positions without prior college teaching experience should be appointed initially to a mentored/supervised GTA position for a period of at least one semester, which may involve supporting the instructor of record or serving as the instructor of record with intensive mentorship. Graduate students with limited teaching experience are also encouraged to take a formal course offered by the EHE Departments and focused on teaching at the collegiate level. GTAs will receive direct supervision from a faculty or staff member regarding the design, administration and evaluation of student assessments and support services suggested, such as Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning resources and observations. GTAs are to be observed at least once per semester by their assigned faculty supervisor. Generally, such supervision should be provided by a member of the full-time faculty; exceptions should be discussed with the Graduate Studies Chair. The intention of the mentored/supervised experience is to support the graduate student with the expectation that they will progress to serving as the instructor of record of courses once they have sufficient training and experience to do so.
    
4. Graduate students appointed to Graduate Research Associate (GRA) positions should be appointed based on the match between the student’s intended area of study and the faculty member’s expertise and research agenda and based on the needs of the project as defined by department administration. There is no assumption that GRA positions will be equally distributed among faculty members.
    
5. Priority of funds should be given to GTA and GRA positions. However, college-funded GA positions may support administrative duties upon department discretion in a Graduate Administrative Associate (GAA) position. In certain limited circumstances, students may be assigned to service positions (e.g., in extension or outreach programs.) In situations in which a GAA is hired, the student should be notified that because GAAs are not engaged in teaching or research activities, their tuition and fee waivers are excluded from their taxable income under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code, up to a total of $5,250 annually.
    
6. Consideration should be given to the overall balance of a graduate student’s experiences during their time in a program. It is desirable that students receive a variety of GA experiences, including both teaching and research, across multiple years of funding. Having to re-apply annually for positions may help facilitate this variety of experiences. It is recommended that before switching from a GTA to a GRA position, the student inquires with their department regarding future GTA assignment eligibility.
    
7. GTAs should be based on meeting the needs of the students they serve and ensuring faculty are adequately supported to promote equity in teaching load based on course enrollments and the nature of the course. In order to provide teaching experience for career development and meet the terms of teaching appointments, GTAs will be expected to work exclusively on the funded activity for the equivalent of percent FTE of the appointment type. For example, a 50% GTA appointment would focus exclusively on teaching for 20 hours per week. If a student is expected to perform research as part of their duties, they would need to be hired into a split appointment, such as 25% GTA and 25% GRA.
    
8. To encourage faculty members to include GRA positions in grant applications, the PI may seek matching funds from the College or Department through the EHE GA Matching Program. Additionally, PI’s are encouraged to explore eligibility for the Ohio State Graduate School’s Matching Tuition and Fee Award Program, which provides fee authorizations for graduate students who receive a competitive stipend from a funding agency that does not provide funds to cover tuition and fees.
    
9. A GA may not hold an appointment of more than 75% FTE (30 hours per week), whether as a single appointment or combination of appointments, which includes requests for one-time or outside GA appointment term work experiences, such as facilitating a workshop on a weekend, providing expertise three times a month for a research project, etc. International students are not permitted to hold an appointment for more than 50 percent FTE (20 hours per week) total during non-vacation terms. The expectation is that GAs will not hold full-time external work positions while they are serving as a GA.
   
   GAs should consult with their graduate advisors and supervisors before engaging in employment within and outside the university to ensure that these additional commitments would not interfere with their academic progress or GA responsibilities.
   • If additional employment is approved, the GA must receive approval in writing from their faculty advisor and supervisor and forward to the GA Manager. GAs who engage in work external to the university must ensure that the work does not detract from the performance of their duties and responsibilities to the university and/or create conflict of interest with their assigned university responsibilities. It is expected that such external work will take place outside of the GA’s designated work time. GAs who wish to engage in external work which may be a conflict of interest must obtain authorization prior to starting the activity via the Outside Activities Approval Form and obtain approval before engaging in any outside activities.
   • If additional employment is not approved, the GA may appeal to their Graduate Studies Committee in writing and notify the GA Manager.
   • GAs who are funded 50 percent or higher by EHE must make their EHE appointment a priority over any additional approved appointments.
   • GAs who do not report external employment may jeopardize the GA appointment and/or renewal.
      
10. Summer fee authorization: Graduate students holding a 50 percent or greater GA appointment for autumn and spring semesters are entitled to a full fee authorization during the immediately following summer term without being on appointment. Graduate students holding a 25 percent GA appointment for two consecutive semesters are entitled to a summer fee authorization at half the full fee authorization rate. The summer fee authorization is a benefit provided to graduate students who hold a position throughout both autumn and spring semester, and students cannot be told not to enroll in summer classes in order to conserve funds. Students planning to enroll in the summer are encouraged to discuss the necessity of summer enrollment with their faculty advisor to discuss a summer plan that aligns with their goals.
    • The funding source (or combination of funding sources) that funds the autumn and spring semesters is the funding source(s) for the summer fee authorization benefit.
    • Students on a summer fee authorization may hold a 25 percent or less GA appointment. The summer fee authorization for these students will still be funded by the funding source(s) that funded the autumn and spring appointment. Once the student exceeds a 25% GA appointment, the funding source(s) for the summer appointments will fund the fee authorization.
    • In most instances, grant funding cannot cover student fee authorizations unless the student is actively working for the grant. For this reason, it is recommended that GA appointments funded through grants be hired on a 12-month appointment for the academic year (autumn, spring, and summer) as the department/college will not fund a summer fee authorization if a grant is unable to provide funding. 
    • Students on fellowships or non-GA appointments for one or both semesters are not eligible for the summer term fee authorization.
    • A graduate student who elects not to enroll during the summer may not defer the use of the summer fee authorization.
       
11. The College of Education and Human Ecology, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Graduate School and Office of Human Resources, will individually review requests for a leave of absence. GA leave requests can be submitted online through the following forms.
    • Personal, Professional Development, and Short-Term Sick/Bereavement (1-3 days) leave request.
    • Parental and Long-Term Sick/Bereavement (more than 3 days) leave request.
    • Any GA who has questions and/or would like to discuss a leave of absence should contact the Graduate Associate Manager who will assist the GA, supervisor, and department through the process.
       
12. If GA performance is determined to be unsatisfactory, the supervisor should collect documentation of communications and performance feedback and work with the GA Manager, EHE HR, and the Graduate Studies Chair to discuss and create a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). The Department and College may dismiss any GA mid-year for unsatisfactory performance. The GA Manager should be notified any time a GA appointment will be terminated to ensure the appropriate steps are taken with the Graduate School and HR.
     
13. GA, Fellowship, and Trainee positions have enrollment requirements for eligibility purposes and to trigger the fee authorization to post to the statement of account. GAs, Fellows, and Trainees must be enrolled in the minimum required credit hours for their position by the deadline for Initial Tuition, Fee and University Residences and Dining Services Payment each semester. If a student is hired after this deadline for the semester of hire, the student must be enrolled prior to GA Manager approval as part of the GA Hire Request process. GAs, Fellows, and Trainees who do not meet this enrollment deadline may not begin working until meeting the enrollment deadline, and the position will be terminated from the Workday system.
     
14. Graduate students for whom English is not their first language must certify their proficiency in spoken English before assuming Graduate Teaching Associate (GTA) duties. EHE minimal requirements to obtain a GTA appointment will follow those of the Intercultural English Language Programs (IELP).
    • TOEFL iBT Speaking 28 or higher
    • IELTS Speaking 8.5 or higher
    • Those who do not meet the minimal requirements above will take the Oral Proficiency Assessment (OPA) to get a certified score of a 4.0 or higher. (Departments will be responsible for funding a student’s first attempt at the OPA test if funds permit.)

Those who are not certified will be assigned to IELP courses, as determined by the OPA score, to raise performance level to a 4.0 or higher. GTAs who do not earn the necessary certification for teaching duties may maintain employment as long as 1) the department is able to assign other duties, such as lab support, grading, etc., and 2) the student is enrolled in the appropriate IELP Spoken English course through the Intercultural English Language Program as indicated by their OPA score. Students will be given autumn, spring, and/summer semesters to work on raising their score as necessary. 

General Timeline of GA Process

The intended purpose of this timeline is to provide faculty, staff, and students with an idea of when certain processes take place regarding the GA hiring process. The timeline is subject to change.

• Application available to students: December 2 through February 1
• Application review: February through early March
• Funding communications to students: mid-March through mid-April
• Workday hiring process: May-July
• GA Appointment dates:
  • Autumn: August 16 through December 31
  • Spring: January 1 through one business day prior to the start of Summer Term.
  • Summer: The first day of Summer Term through August 15

For questions regarding these guidelines and/or graduate associate appointments, please contact the Graduate Associate Manager, Amanda Crall (crall.25@osu.edu).

Revisions approved annually by the EHE Executive Committee January 2025.