Procedures for hiring a graduate assistant
Initial Steps to Hiring:
- Prior to preparing the position, contact the Dean of the Graduate School for approval of a graduate assistant tuition waiver scholarship
- Determine the duties you need the student to perform and the skills required to complete them
- Post the position on your website
- Determine the account number in which you wish to pay the student
- Determine the contract period (exact start and end dates) and stipend level
- transfer funds into the personal services graduate assistant line (61160)
Documents for all new graduate assistants:
- I-9 with two forms of identification, such as driver's license, social security card, passport, birth certificate (return to the Graduate School)
- Statement of Student Loan Default (return to the Graduate School)
- W-4 form (return to the Payroll Office)
- Direct Deposit form with a canceled check attached (return to the Payroll Office)
- International Students are required to bring, in addition to the forms listed above, their VISA and I20 to the Graduate School
Things to consider when hiring a graduate assistant:
- Graduate assistants may apply online through their MyEIU portal.
- Graduate assistant contracts will not be issued for a period less than nine months (an academic year position) or four months (one semester position); summer term contracts will be issued for no less than one month and no more than three months
- Graduate assistants are:
- paid on the last working day of each month
- not eligible for employment benefits
- exempt from overtime
- exempt from unemployment
- Supplemental payments may be made to graduate assistants for special events
- The supplemental contract and regulations are posted at the Graduate School website: https://www.eiu.edu/graduate/forms/assistantships_contract.html (contract form) https://www.eiu.edu/graduate/students_assistantships_contractregulations.php (regulations)
- Work Load: Maximum work load for graduate assistants shall not exceed nineteen (19) clock hours per week (academic year) and/or fifteen (15) clock hours per week (summer team)
- Academic Load: Fall and Spring assistantship appointments require enrollment in a minimum of nine (9) semester hours, and a maximum of sixteen (16) semester hours of graduate course work (courses numbered 4750 or above). Summer assistantship appointments require that graduate assistants remain enrolled in a minimum of three (3) semester hours, and a maximum of thirteen (13) semesters hours of graduate course work
- Resignation must be submitted in writing to the Graduate School and the sponsoring unit
- Resignation prior to mid-term will include loss of the stipend as specified by the supervisor and loss of the tuition waiver scholarship for that term
- Resignation after mid-term will include loss of the stipend as specified by the supervisor but the tuition waiver scholarship will remain intact
- Additional questions should be addressed to the Graduate School, 581-2220 or 581-7490.
