Graduate Appointments

I. SCOPE

This policy defines the different types of appointments (assistantships and lectureships) that Graduate Students may hold and the required qualifications for such appointments. Graduate degree-seeking students are not eligible to be hired as an Adjunct Faculty.

II. POLICY STATEMENT

The purpose of this policy is to formalize and standardize the hiring of graduate students as Graduate Assistants or Lecturers.

 

III. DEFINITIONS

Graduate Assistantship: A form of student employment for admitted, full-time master’s and doctoral students that involves a supervised, educationally appropriate experience, stipend, and possibly tuition support. The university offers three types of assistantships: graduate professional assistants (GPAs), graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), and graduate research assistants (GRAs).

Graduate Lectureship (GL): A form of student employment for admitted, full-time or part-time, master’s or doctoral students for which they are Instructor of Record for a credit-bearing undergraduate course.

Graduate Student: A student enrolled in a doctoral or master’s program.

Instructor of Record: Graduate students who serve as Instructor of Record for undergraduate courses and are under the supervision of a faculty member but are responsible for all teaching and support activities associated with the course to which they are assigned.

  • GTA Instructor of Record assignments and GL assignments require that the students have at least 18 hours of graduate-level course work in the teaching discipline to be assigned full responsibility for teaching an undergraduate course.
  • International students who will be assigned as a GTA Instructor of Record or GL and who were required to take an English Proficiency Exam for admission into George Mason must participate and sufficiently perform in a language proficiency assessment administered by INTO Mason’s Learning Resource Center prior to starting their first GTA or GL assignment. The Learning Resource Center defines and determines sufficient performance.

Full-time Assistantship: An assistantship of at least 20 hours of work per week.

Part-time Assistantship: An assistantship of less than 20 hours of work per week.

Stipend: A fixed, periodic payment granted to a student for services rendered as a Graduate Assistant or Lecturer.

III. POLICY STATEMENT

The purpose of this policy is to formalize and standardize the hiring of graduate students as Graduate Assistants or Lecturers.

Graduate Assistantships and Lectureships provide a supervised opportunity for graduate students to gain experience in their field of study through teaching, research or professional career preparation. Consequently, any assistantship or lectureship must aid the student in the successful completion of the graduate degree.

To ensure academic quality for undergraduate students, George Mason University requires that all graduate students appointed as a Graduate Teaching Assistant or Graduate Lecturer and serving as the Instructor of Record must hold a minimum of 18 graduate credits in the discipline of instruction, consistent with the requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

To meet these standards, the university must ensure that graduate students are appropriately qualified to teach the courses to which they are assigned, but also that their credentials and qualifications are documented in a timely fashion and in accordance with SACSCOC requirements. Graduate students must not be permitted to begin teaching until their qualifications have been evaluated and documented according to the relevant procedures.

Graduate Assistantships and Lectureships provide a supervised opportunity for graduate students to gain experience in their field of study through teaching, research or professional career preparation. Consequently, any assistantship or lectureship must aid the student in the successful completion of the graduate degree.

To ensure academic quality for undergraduate students, George Mason University requires that all graduate students appointed as a Graduate Teaching Assistant or Graduate Lecturer and serving as the Instructor of Record must hold a minimum of 18 graduate credits in the discipline of instruction or a related discipline, consistent with the requirements of the George Mason University Faculty Credentialing Manual and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).To meet these standards, the university must ensure that graduate students are appropriately qualified to teach the courses to which they are assigned. In addition, GTA and GL credentials and qualifications must be documented in accordance with SACSCOC requirements, University Policy 3005, and the Faculty Credentialing Manual. Graduate students may not be permitted to begin teaching until an official transcript has been submitted to their local academic units, their qualifications have been evaluated and have met the above criteria. If a master’s degree has been conferred and the student is continuing studies in a doctoral capacity, a second transcript form must have been submitted to their local academic units, their qualifications evaluated and found to have met the same above criteria.

A. Graduate Assistantships

  1. Assistantship Qualifications

To hold any Assistantship, graduate students must:

a. be admitted to a master’s or doctoral degree program,

b. be full-time students as defined by the University Catalog,

c. be in good academic standing, enter with and maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in
each semester they hold an Assistantship, not have any unsatisfactory grades both at the time
of hire and for each term they are to hold an assistantship, and

d. meet the university’s English proficiency requirements as described in Section II.

               e. not exceed 20 hours of work per week during terms of enrollment. Graduate students seeking to work
more than 20 hours per week must obtain permission through the graduate student work authorization
form prior to starting the appointment but cannot exceed 30 hours per week.

2. Assistantship Payment and Benefits:

a. Compensation for graduate students is determined by the level of skill and experience.
Minimum compensation rates offered for graduate assistantships are established each year by
the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President and published on its website.

b. In addition to stipends, Graduate Assistants may receive tuition support through graduate
tuition grants or tuition waivers. Graduate Assistants may also be eligible for subsidized
health insurance (see University Policy 6001: Health Insurance for Graduate Students) and
in-state tuition rates (see University Policy 6003: In-State Eligibility for Doctoral and MFA
Students).

B. Graduate Professional Assistants (GPAs):

a. Graduate students participating in non-teaching/non-research positions performing work

                    i. related to their program of study,
ii. commensurate with their level of study, and
iii. providing professional experience in their field of study.

b. Positions must be significantly connected to the students’ fields of study and career preparation and pre-approved by the Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Human Resources and Payroll.

c. Students should not be hired into GPA positions for work that should be done by a nonstudent employee of the university. The intent of this position is to provide students direct experience in their field of study.

C. Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs):

  1. GTAs either serve as Instructors of Record or support faculty who are Instructors of Record (see Qualifications for details).
  2. Classroom Instruction Support:
    i. Graduate students participating in classroom instruction support under the supervision of a faculty member
    assist department faculty in teaching courses, including laboratory teaching assignments, or in providing
    other appropriate professional assistance. This may include:
    a. Tutoring individuals or small groups of students
    b. Holding office hours and meeting with undergraduate students
    c. Assisting with the grading of homework or exams or written assignments
    d. Administering tests or exams
    e. Assisting a faculty instructor with a large lecture class by teaching students in recitation, laboratory, or
    discussion sessions
    f. Helping software users in a computer laboratory
  3. Assignment Limits for All GTAs:
    i. GTA assignments are limited to two undergraduate lecture courses (maximum of 6 credit hours), or six
    semester hours of recitation sections, or nine semester hours of laboratory per semester.

D. Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs)

  1. Graduate students participating directly in research or research-support activities under faculty supervision.

E. Graduate Lecturers

  1. Graduate students who serve as Instructor of Record for credit-bearing undergraduate courses under faculty supervision.
  2. Graduate lectureships are intended for graduate students who wish to gain teaching experience but are not eligible for graduate teaching assistantships. Graduate degree-seeking students are also not eligible to be hired as an Adjunct Faculty.
  3. Lecturer Qualifications
    i. To hold a lectureship, graduate students must:
    a. be fully admitted to a master’s or doctoral degree program,
    b. be enrolled as either a part-time or full-time student as defined by the University
    Catalog,
    c. be in good academic standing, enter with and maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in each
    semester they hold the lectureship, not have any unsatisfactory grades both at the time of hire and for
    each term they are to hold a lectureship, and
    d. meet the university’s English proficiency requirements as described in Section II.
  4. Compensation and Tuition
    i. GLs are paid by didactic hour in accordance with the Adjunct Faculty Matrix.
    ii. Graduate lecturers are not eligible for employment tuition exemption benefits. Full-time graduate students
    that are provided tuition assistance should be given graduate teaching assistantships instead.
  5. Assignment Limits for all GLs
    i. GL assignments are limited to 2 courses (maximum of 6 credits hours), or six semester hours of recitation
    sections, or nine semester hours of laboratory per semester.

III. DEFINITIONS
     A. Full-time Assistantship: An assistantship of at least 20 hours of work per week.
     B. Graduate Assistantship (GA): A form of student employment for admitted, full-time master’s and doctoral
          students that involves a supervised, educationally appropriate experience, stipend, and possibly tuition
          support. The university offers three types of assistantships: graduate professional assistants (GPAs), graduate
          teaching assistants (GTAs), and graduate research assistants (GRAs).
     C. Graduate Lectureship (GL): A form of student employment for admitted, full-time or part-time, master’s
          or doctoral students for which they are Instructor of Record for a creditbearing undergraduate course.
     D. Graduate Student: A student enrolled in a doctoral or master’s degree program or a graduate certificate
          program.
     E. Health Insurance Subsidy: University-subsidized health insurance for eligible graduate students.
     F. Instructor of Record: Graduate students who serve as Instructor of Record for undergraduate courses and
          are under the supervision of a faculty member but are responsible for all teaching and support activities
          associated with the course to which they are assigned.
             a. International students who will be assigned as a GTA Instructor of Record or GL and who are required to
             take an English Proficiency Exam for admission into George Mason must participate and sufficiently perform
             in a language proficiency assessment administered by INTO Mason’s Learning Resource Center prior to
             starting instructional responsibilities. The Learning Resource Center defines and determines sufficient
             performance.
     G. Part-time Assistantship: An assistantship of less than 20 hours of work per week.
     H. Stipend: A fixed, periodic payment granted to a student for services rendered as a Graduate Assistant.
     I. Tuition Grants: Funded scholarships that can be awarded to graduate students whether or not they hold an
          assistantship.
     J. Tuition Waivers: Unfunded scholarships that represent revenue foregone by the university.

IV. COMPLIANCE
A. Each school, college, institute, department, and unit of the University shall make Graduate appointments in
compliance with this Policy.
B. The Office of the Provost shall create Procedures to implement this Policy.

V. DATES
A. Effective Date
This policy will become effective upon the date of approval by the Senior Vice President for Administration and
Finance and the Provost and Executive Vice President.

B. Date of Most Recent Review:
N/A

VI. TIMETABLE FOR REVIEW
This policy, and any related procedures, shall be reviewed every three years or more frequently as needed.

VII. SIGNATURES

Approved:

_/S______________________
Carol D. Kissal
Senior Vice President, Administration and Finance

_/S_______________________
Mark R. Ginsberg
Provost and Executive Vice President

Date approved: June 26, 2017
Revision Approved: June 15, 2021