Hiring Graduate Assistants
The appointment of graduate assistants is done through the “Graduate Assistantship Appointment Form” under MyCSU. The form is submitted by the hiring supervisor when the hiring department or unit identifies the graduate student they want to hire. The form asks the student’s CSU id and populates the name and program information of the student. The hiring supervisor fills in the remaining information on the form and submits it to go through the approval steps. The steps include hiring department chair/unit head, International Students & Scholar Services (for international students), academic department chair, academic dean, Graduate School, Budget Office, and Human Resources.
In case of missing or inconsistent information, the form is sent back to the submitter with comments pointing to the issue(s). If this happens, the submitter needs to address the issue(s) and resend the form through the approval process.
Please remember the following:
- A student needs to be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours of graduate coursework to be appointed as a GA.
- A minimum graduate program GPA of 3.0 is required to be appointed as a GA. (This does not apply to students who are in their first semesters in the graduate program.)
- If a student is enrolled in more than 10 graduate credit hours, then submitter needs to provide a justification acknowledging that the student is advised to take that many credit hours and will be able to carry out both their course load and the GA responsibilities successfully.
- A student can be appointed for one of these four durations:
- Fall only
- Fall/Spring
- Spring only
- Summer (any term in summer)
- Graduate Assistant applications are due the week before the semester starts.
Important Notes
- Graduate Assistants cannot begin work and will not be paid until a clear background check is complete.
- It takes up to two weeks for the background check to be completed, so the sooner you can submit the form the sooner students will be able to start working.
- The graduate assistant tuition waiver covers 10 credit hours of graduate courses except for $25. Tuition for additional credit hours as well as the fees are paid by the student.
- All GAs are required to have health insurance as employees of CSU. They are automatically
enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP) provided by the USG when they
are hired.
- If a student has their own insurance, they are eligible to apply for a health insurance waiver. The application for the waiver can be submitted only after they are hired in the system.
- If a graduate assistant’s appointment is not completed before the semester begins, then the student will miss the window to apply for the waiver and be required to pay for the health insurance fee.
- Waivers are valid for one semester only! Students will have to submit a new waiver each semester.
- International students CANNOT use foreign health insurance coverage to waive out of the SHIP. They need to have U.S. insurance plan that meets the ACA requirements.
- All new graduate assistants are required to participate in Graduate Assistant Orientation provided by the Graduate School. Graduate assistants hired any time after the Fall training must attend next Fall's training. Additional information will be sent out to the GAs prior to the start of the Fall term.
Useful Links
For additional information or questions regarding Graduate Assistantships, contact Yesem Kurt Peker at peker_yesem@columbusstate.edu or 706-507-8187.
