Policy

As specified in the OSU Tuition Remission Policy, only academic units may award tuition remissions. Administrative units may award tuition remissions indirectly by supplying associated stipend dollars to an academic unit to be used to recruit an eligible graduate student.

The OSU Tuition Remission Policy defines academic units as "all academic Colleges including the Graduate School and interdisciplinary degree programs reporting to the Dean of the Graduate School."

Administrative units may continue to use graduate assistants, but they must do so by coupling their stipend funds to a tuition remission by partnering with an academic unit/program.

Intent of Policy

Graduate assistant tuition remissions are used as part of financial packages to recruit and retain academically superior graduate students to OSU. To maximize the use of graduate tuition remission resources, only academic programs may determine the quality and competitiveness of graduate students to be recruited to OSU.

Guidelines for Administrative and Academic Unit Partnerships

To achieve policy objectives, an administrative unit is required to collaborate with an academic unit prior to the beginning of the graduate assistant hiring process. The following describes the steps required to engage in administrative and academic unit partnerships for the purpose of hiring graduate assistants:

  1. The administrative unit must specify the qualifications and skills associated with the graduate assistant position to be filled.
  2. The administrative unit must contact the academic program(s) most likely to attract a pool of graduate student applicants who will have the desired qualifications/skill set.
  3. Establishment of the recruitment pool will be the responsibility of the academic units in which partnerships are being pursued, with the goal of maximizing the recruitment of the best and most qualified graduate students to OSU.
  4. Administrative and academic partners will make every effort to engage this process during the graduate student recruiting season with the goal of making the assistantship offer by the national offer deadline of April 15.
  5. The administrative unit will select a graduate student from the recruitment pool established by the academic unit partners.
  6. The administrative unit will notify the academic unit in which the graduate student is enrolled that a selection has been made.
  7. The academic unit will draft and extend the letter of offer to the graduate assistant based on information provided to them by the administrative unit.
  8. Once the letter of offer has been signed by all parties, the academic unit will process the appointment paperwork and submit it to the Office of Human Resources.
  9. The administrative unit will draft the graduate assistant position description and provide a copy to the academic unit.
  10. Based on funding source, the administrative unit will either transfer the stipend funds to the academic unit in which the student is enrolled or provide the academic unit with an appropriate payment index (for details by funding source, see "Guidelines for Accounting & Reimbursement-GA Tuition Remission").
  11. The administrative unit will evaluate job performance in consultation with the academic unit to ensure the graduate assistant's ongoing academic success and eligibility for appointment renewal.
  12. Please note, effective 2021-2022, this policy requires a minimum appointment level of 0.38 FTE and a maximum of .49 FTE each term of the appointment. Graduate assistants are required to enroll for a minimum of 12 credits each term and 3 credits during summer session. Graduate Assistant appointments less than 0.38 FTE are no longer allowed. Lower FTEs may be used with multiple department appointments for an individual student but the total FTE must be at least 0.38.

Note: All academic units as defined above have full authority to extend offers and process graduate assistantship appointments regardless of the program of enrollment of the appointee. Academic units are encouraged to consult with the student's academic home to ensure their academic progress warrants the appointment.

Financial support offers — CGS April 15 Resolution

Oregon State University is a participant in the Council of Graduate School's Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants. We seek your assistance in complying with its terms. Please read the Resolution carefully so that all parties understand the expectations implicit in agreements for financial support. In brief, the resolution states "students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution." The Resolution also states "...acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made."