Graduate Assistantships

• You are expected to observe standard norms of professional behavior in your interactions with faculty and students.
• The faculty member(s) supervising you should clearly specify your duties and responsibilities prior to the start of the semester, or at a time sufficiently in advance of the date of expected completion. If you are unclear about your specific responsibilities, it is your responsibility to consult with your supervisor. If you are still unclear, please make an appointment with the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
• GAs with a ¼ time appointment are expected to work 10 hours per week (½ time appointment=20 hours per week) averaged over the length of the appointment (Aug. 16-Dec. 31 and Jan. 1-May 15).
• TAs (but not RAs) will be provided a desk and office space (to the extent permitted by the space available to the College of Music) and access to a computer as needed for assistantship work. Supplies for use in fulfilling assistantship responsibilities are also furnished.
• You must report to your faculty supervisor prior to the first day of class and must be available for work for the number of hours specified from the start to the end of the semester (defined as the last day of final exam week).
• You are required to attend the College of Music’s graduate assistant orientation and training program prior to the beginning of each academic year. Additional training sessions may be required, as necessary, through the Teaching Assistant Program, in cooperation with The Graduate School.
• If you are the instructor of record for a course or ensemble, it is your responsibility to be present for each class meeting or rehearsal. If you know in advance that you will miss a class, you must consult your supervisor and together determine coverage for that class period or rehearsal. Only when there are no other options, should the class or rehearsal be cancelled. The best solution is for another GA in your area to substitute for you, possibly in exchange for you covering a future class for her/him. If that is not possible, you may engage another graduate student (non-GA) or an outside guest lecturer. Because of liability issues, you may not engage someone to cover your class who is not a faculty or staff member or a GA for more than two consecutive class meetings. If you are ill or a situation occurs that forces you to miss a class without advance notice, you should contact the students immediately via email and contact the main office at PHONE and EMAIL, asking them to post a note on the classroom door.
• If you are the instructor of record for applied lessons, it is your responsibility to be present for each lesson. If you know in advance that you will miss a lesson, you must re-schedule that lesson at a time that is mutually agreeable to the student. All lessons missed because of your absence must be re- scheduled. If you are ill or a situation occurs that forces you to miss a lesson without advance notice, you should contact the student immediately via email or text and contact the main office, asking them to post a note on the studio door.
• If you are assigned to accompanying duties, it is your responsibility to be present for each lesson or rehearsal as determined by the faculty member to whose studio or ensemble you are assigned. If you know in advance that you will miss a lesson, you must re-schedule at a time that is mutually agreeable to the student and faculty member. All lessons missed because of your absence must be re-scheduled. If you know in advance that you must miss an ensemble rehearsal, the best solution is for another GA in your area to substitute for you, possibly in exchange for you covering a future obligation for her/him. If that is not possible, you may engage another graduate student (non-GA) or an outside pianist. Because of liability issues, you may not engage someone to cover your class who is not a faculty or staff member or a GA for more than two consecutive class meetings. If you are ill or a situation occurs that forces you to miss a rehearsal without advance notice, you should contact the instructor immediately. You may also contact a replacement as outlined above.
• If you have a long-term medical condition that prevents you from meeting your TA or RA responsibilities, you must speak with your supervisor AND with the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. The GEU contract offers you certain protections in this situation (including continuing your appointment and maintaining your salary), but it is essential that you work with your supervisor and the Associate Dean to develop a plan to cover your responsibilities. Under no circumstances should you make arrangements for someone to assume your GA responsibilities for an extended period of time.
• If you are the instructor of record for a course, ensemble, or applied lessons, you must prepare and distribute a course syllabus (either in print or online) to your students at the beginning of the semester. Items covered at this website include information on what should be included in the course syllabi, how the syllabi should be distributed, what’s appropriate and inappropriate to include in the syllabi etc.https://msu.edu/unit/ombud/classroom-policies/syllabus-faq.html . Consult your faculty supervisor for assistance in constructing your syllabus. For those TAs teaching instrumental techniques courses, Michael Armendariz, the graduate advisor, will schedule a meeting before the beginning of the semester to discuss course objectives and construction of syllabi.
• Class lists are linked with your name on the Schedule of Courses. If you are not linked it is probably because your GA appointment has not been completely processed. Please check with Anne Simon (Graduate Secretary). To access your class list and to submit grades:
  • Go to the Registrar’s Office website (http://reg.msu.edu)
  • Choose Instructor Systems menu under Faculty and Staff Headings
  • Input your user name and password
  • You should be able to navigate form there
  • Request for computer to send a copy to you

Enrollment

Graduate assistants must be registered each semester in which they hold an assistantship. The minimum and maximum credit loads are below. While the University has a set minimum enrollment for GAs, you have 9 credits covered each semester you are appointed. The College of Music monitors enrollment to ensure that students receive the optimal benefit from their tuition.

** Assistantships are not applied to your bill if you are enrolled for less than 3 credits. ** 

Credits

For a quarter–time graduate assistant, minimum enrollment is 6 credits for master’s degree students and 3 credits for doctoral students (including credits in courses numbered 899 or 999); maximum enrollment is 16 credits (excluding credits in courses numbered 899 or 999).

For a half–time graduate assistant minimum enrollment is 6 credits for master’s degree students and 3 credits for doctoral students (including credits in courses numbered 899 or 999); maximum enrollment is 12 credits (excluding credits in courses numbered 899 or 999).

Minimum enrollment for doctoral students who have successfully completed all comprehensive exams (ABD – All But Defense) is 1 credit. Deviation from the minimum enrollment requirements listed above is permitted only during:

• Summer session, when a 3–credit minimum enrollment is allowed for all types of assistants
• The semester in which the degree is granted, when all types of assistants must enroll for at least the number of credits required to complete the degree or meet the University minimum registration requirement.

Any deviation from the maximum enrollment requirements listed above must have the approval of the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies prior to enrollment. In meeting the credit requirements, graduate assistants should be enrolled in courses that are recognized as being of graduate level unless the student’s department or school has granted written permission for course work constituting an exception to this rule.

Grade Point

A graduate assistant in the College of Music must:

• Maintain a cumulative grade–point average of at least 3.25.
• Not accumulate deferred grades (identified by the DF–Deferred marker) in more than 8 credits in courses (excluding courses numbered 896, 897, 898, 899 or 996, 997, 998, 999).

If at the end of a semester a graduate assistant fails to meet one or both of the requirements specified above, the graduate assistant shall receive a warning and be allowed to hold the graduate assistantship for one additional semester. If at the end of the additional semester the graduate assistant has failed to meet one or both of the requirements specified above, the graduate assistantship shall be withdrawn.

http://titleix.msu.edu/learn-more/online-education-programs.html

All faculty and staff (including graduate teaching assistants and research assistants) are required to complete an online training program within 30 days of hire and biennially thereafter. This program includes foundational information on relationship violence and sexual misconduct as well as important information about MSU’s policy and mandatory reporting protocols. Failure to complete the required online training will result in notification to Human Resources or Academic Human Resources, which may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Program Access:

Faculty and staff will receive an email, sent to their MSU email account, with instructions to complete the training program upon hire or 30 days before they are due to re-certify. The training program is provided by MSU’s vendor, Student Success. Faculty and staff will use MSU’s secure single sign-on to access the course, but your password and other sensitive information will not be provided to the vendor.

Faculty and staff who have received a notice to complete the training, but can no longer find the training notice, can access the course by navigating to https://hub.msu.edu/student-success/. Please note, individuals who have not received a training notice will not be able to access the course. If you are not required to take the course at this time, but would like to do so, please contact the Office of Institutional Equity at (517) 353- 3922 or titleix@msu.edu to request access.

Program Overview

Online training programs for students include information on the following topics:

• Providing information to identify sex discrimination and sexual harassment, including relationship violence and sexual misconduct
• Raising awareness of the impact of these issues on the campus community and encouraging community members to engage in efforts to end these types of violence
• Advising members of the MSU community about their rights and reporting responsibilities under the Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Policy
• Communicating behavioral expectations for all members of the MSU community as outlined in the policy
• Connecting community members with support and resources\
• Training employees on their roles in administering the policy

Accommodations:

Individuals who believe they may have an overwhelming or intense emotional reaction to the content of the online training programs should contact the Office of Institutional Equity at (517) 353-3922 or titleix@msu.edu to request accommodation. For reasonable accommodation requests, please contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at (517) 884-7273 (RCPD).

The Student Perceptions of Learning Survey provides an opportunity for students to evaluate the instruction they receive in relation to (1) the provisions of the Code of Teaching Responsibility, and (2) the various instructional models in operation in the university. The purpose of this system is to provide student input toward assessing and improving course design and teaching performance. The university and individual departments are responsible for designing and administering their respective survey forms to obtain such evaluations.

The results of these surveys are made available to the instructor and to persons involved in personnel decisions, but are not made public. Teaching units may elect to administer the SPLS survey forms in a paper format, use SPLS online for all classes, or use the paper format for face-to-face classes and SPLS online for online/virtual classes.

The Michigan State University CODE OF TEACHING RESPONSIBILITY holds all instructors to certain obligations with respect to, e.g., course content consistent with approved descriptions, timely statement of course objectives and grading criteria, regular class attendance, published office hours, and timely return of examinations and semester papers. This Code is printed in full in the Academic Programs catalog or is available online at https://www.msu.edu/~ombud/classroom-policies/index.html#attend-code. It includes specifics about complaint procedures available to students who believe that their instructors have violated the Code.

In accordance with the Graduate Education Union contract, (http://geuatmsu.org/), Faculty are required to fill out a College of Music evaluation form or a narrative letter evaluating the performance of each graduate student assistant assigned to them. This is for each semester the student is employed. The student signs the evaluation and has 20 days to respond to the evaluation, in writing, if they so choose. These evaluations (and rebuttals) are placed in the student’s personnel file.

For master’s degree students, if an assistant’s studies and teaching are satisfactory, reappointment for a second year may be possible but requirements for a master’s program should be completed by the end of the second year. 

Reappointment For a doctoral degree if an assistant’s studies and teaching are satisfactory, reappointment for a second and third year may be possible. 

Unsatisfactory performance in course work or in performance of duties will result in termination of an assistantship. 

https://www.hr.msu.edu/employment/graduate-assistants/

There are three classes of graduate assistantships: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Actual stipend rates are set in the summer and become effective on August 15 each year. Your appointment offer letter states what your bi-weekly stipend will be.

Level 1:

Graduate Assistants must have a bachelor’s degree and less than two semester’s experience as a graduate assistant or full-support fellow.

Level 2:

Graduate Assistants must possess a master’s degree or the equivalent in a music field or have completed two (2) assistantship semesters. After two (2) assistantship semesters, students are automatically transferred to Level 2 if re-appointed for the following academic year.

Level 3:

Graduate Assistants have more complicated requirements:

Successful completion of doctoral comprehensive exams is required to be Level 3.

Level 3 is acceptable for Teaching (T) assistants (but not required) when students have a master’s degree or the equivalent in a music field or have completed 4 or more semesters of experience as a graduate assistant or have the equivalent experience at the faculty level. (Level 3 required criteria have not been met.)

Level 3 is required for Teaching (T) assistants when students have a master’s degree or the equivalent in a music field and have 6 semesters of experience as a Teaching (T) assistant at MSU (or equivalent experience at the faculty level) in the employing unit or in a relevant department. The chairperson of the employing unit has discretion over defining whether experience at the faculty level is “equivalent” and whether experience in a different department is considered “relevant”.

Level 3 is required for Research (R) assistants when successful completion of doctoral comprehensive exams, as defined by the department in which the student is enrolled and has 6 semesters as a graduate Research/Teaching (R/TE) assistant at MSU, or equivalent. The definition of equivalence is left to the discretion of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the appointing unit, but it is expected that only experience in research-oriented assignments count toward the 6 semesters of experience as an RA. (Level 3 is not acceptable for Research (R) or Teaching (TE) unless all 3 criteria listed above are met.)

Graduate assistants are paid bi-weekly. The pay period begins on August 15 and the assistant receives a paycheck every two weeks, (on Friday) beginning in September. Most GA’s sign up for Direct Deposit through the Payroll Office at 350 Administration Building or it can be done online at e-payroll (http://www.ctlr.msu.edu/copayroll/directdeposit.aspx). Students not choosing direct deposit will be asked to use: MSU Paycard. https://ctlr.msu.edu/COPayroll/PayCard.aspx

Graduate assistantship stipends are not subject to Social Security (FICA) taxes. Stipends are subject to income taxes with few exceptions. The taxability of stipends is subject to review by the Internal Revenue Service. Contact the Payroll office for more information at 355-5010.

A nine-credit tuition waiver is granted each semester while holding an appointment. A waiver of out-of-state tuition fees is granted to out-of-state students during the semester of appointment, and for full academic year appointees, for the summer session that precedes or follows an appointment for an entire academic year.

The College of Music does not offer summer session appointments.

* Please note that the Tuition Waiver Policy outlined above is distinct from the Teaching Assistant Tuition Waiver Pool that is outlined below *

Teaching Assistant Tuition Waiver Pool

http://geuatmsu.org/health-dental-vision/tuition-waiver-pool/ https://grad.msu.edu/events/ta-tuition-pool-application-opens

During GEU’s contract bargaining with the university, GEU negotiated for 450 extra tuition waiver credits for Teaching Assistants to use. So, if you need to take more than 9 credit hours in the Spring or Fall or more than 5 credits in the Summer, be sure to take advantage of this opportunity. Keep in mind, once you are awarded extra tuition waiver credits, they cannot be awarded to someone else. So please be responsible and courteous to your fellow TAs when you apply. *Research Assistants/Accompanists are not eligible for this.* You must enroll for these credits as they are available only for the semester they were approved.

Michigan State University and the Council of Graduate Students worked together to offer graduate assistants health insurance coverage beginning Fall Semester. “Student only” coverage will be automatically provided, at no cost to graduate assistants. MSU will provide a full 12 months of coverage if your appointment is at least 9 months long. It begins August 15 and covers until August 14 of the following year.

For questions, concerns and enrollment for your spouse and/or dependent children, please contact the MSU Benefits office at 800-353-4434 or email SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu.