Section Four: Policies

Disability services for graduate assistants are provided through the Office of Disability Services. Graduate assistants may be eligible to receive reasonable modifications to policies/procedures that enable them to access university programs related to their assistantship duties. Information about how to engage in that process is available at Accessing Accommodations.

Assistantships are awarded for the academic year or on a semester basis. Stipends for assistantships are provided between August and May based on the term of the award. Within the award period, each department may determine specific beginning and ending dates. In rare cases, departments have unique start and end dates that extend beyond this standard.

Full-time assistants are required to work an average of 20 hours per week throughout a semester. Due to the nature of academic pursuits, there may be some weeks in which students may work more or less than 20 hours per week, but the expectation is that a full-time assistantship will average a 20-hour-per-week commitment. F-1 visa students may not work more than 20 hours per week during the semester. Summer is considered a semester for this purpose for F-1 students beginning their MU program in the summer or ending their program in August. Except in rare cases, graduate assistants may only work during the period of time in which they are receiving a stipend; however the specific starting and ending dates within that time period, duties, distribution of hours over the semester, and assignments to faculty are made by each department chair or director of graduate studies.

Some departments may also require that their assistants work during regular university recesses such as winter and spring holidays. F-1 visa students may not work more than 20 hours per week while school is in session.

The duties of a graduate assistantship should not detract or distract a graduate student from pursuing his or her educational progress. The assignments of assistantships should enhance students’ development by exposing them to advanced professional activities and disciplinary concerns, involving them in university activities related to their academic and professional interests, and giving them opportunities to work closely with faculty and other university personnel.

Performance evaluation of duties and assignments will be conducted by supervisors as specified by the Graduate School. For further information see Performance Evaluation in the Responsibilities of the Assistant’s University Department section of this guide.

I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form

Graduate assistants must submit a completed I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form to the Graduate School within 72 hours of the start of their assistantship. To complete and submit your I-9 Form, you must schedule a time with the Graduate School and bring an acceptable form of identification (see page three of the I-9 form, available at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9, to your appointment.

International Students

In addition to submitting an I-9 form, Assistants on F-1 student visas must also submit a Confirmation of On-campus Employment Authorization for an F-1 Visa Student memo from Marquette’s Office of International Education. 

Form W-4 Employee’s Withholding Certificate

The default for the W-4 Employee’s Withholding Certificate form is Zero/Single. If a domestic student plans to claim anything other than Zero/Single, then they will need to complete the W-4 form and submit it to the Payroll Department. Otherwise, the W-4 form does not need to be completed. All international students, however, must complete the form. The form is available on the Payroll Department’s website (restricted to campus or Marquette VPN).

Social Security Number

All graduate assistants must have, or must have applied for, a social security number. International students work with the Office of International Education to obtain a social security number.

Direct Deposit Form

Graduate assistants are encouraged to sign up for direct deposit of their stipend checks on CheckMarq. Instructions are available on the Payroll Department’s website (restricted to campus or Marquette VPN).

The Graduate School often receives award (sometimes called “employment”) verification requests from employers, lenders, and rental agents, and can provide such verification only with the signed consent of the student. The Graduate School only provides assistantship titles, assistantship, and stipend information. It cannot provide an assessment of work or address specific skills. Requests should be submitted to gradfinaid@marquette.edu. 

Graduate assistant Marquette ID cards have “Grad Assistant” designations on them. They can be used to access university buildings, on-campus recreation centers, university libraries, PrintWise, and MarquetteCASH. More information is available from Union Station. 

Grievances may be pursued regarding conditions of the assistantship. The following grievance procedure is restricted to interpretation or application in accordance with this handbook and applicable Graduate School and university policies. Grievances may include unequal treatment by a supervisor or directing faculty, irreconcilable differences with a supervisor or directing faculty, unresolved difficult collegial working, assignment of responsibilities outside the scope of the assistantship, and unacceptable working conditions, workload or work hour assignments. It does not apply to tuition and fees, stipend level or tuition scholarship or any benefits allocated through an assistantship.

Prior to filing a grievance, graduate assistants are encouraged to seek resolution with their directing faculty or supervising director of graduate studies, as appropriate, using informal discussion, collegial interaction, and existing departmental structures and policies to resolve conflicts and to remedy personal and professional concerns whenever possible. If the student contacts the directing faculty, and the directing faculty is not the supervising director of graduate studies, the directing faculty must notify the director of graduate studies about the nature of the grievance and the resolution. When issues are brought to the supervisor and/or department chair, they should be documented.

If the grievance cannot be resolved at the department level, graduate assistants may bring the grievance to the Graduate School. This must be done in writing by submitting the Graduate Student Grievance Form, including an attachment describing the issue, the relief sought, and the steps taken to resolve the issue, as well as prior correspondence regarding this issue raised in the grievance.

Within 10 business days of having received grievance, the Grievance Committee of the Graduate School, consisting of the associate and assistant deans of the Graduate School and the dean or a dean’s designee from the faculty supervisor’s home college, will schedule a conversation with the student to further understand the situation and gather additional information. The Grievance Committee of the Graduate School will also schedule a conversation with the supervisor, similarly, to gain understanding and for fact finding. The Grievance Committee of the Graduate School will contact other people involved in the situation, as required. In a timely manner, the Grievance Committee will provide resolution of the situation in writing to the grievant, the grievant’s directing faculty and the supervising director of graduate studies.

If the decision of the Grievance Committee of the Graduate School is not acceptable to the grievant, the grievant has 10 business days from the receipt of the decision to file an appeal with the dean of the Graduate School. Appeals must be submitted in writing and include a description of the issue, the relief sought, the steps taken to resolve the issue, and prior correspondence regarding this issue raised in the grievance. In a timely manner, the dean of the Graduate School will provide a response to the appeal in writing to the grievant and the grievant’s supervisor. The dean’s decision is final.

Assistantships may be rescinded prior to the end of the award if assistants are not: maintaining a 3.0 GPA (each semester and cumulatively), making progress toward their degrees, and satisfactorily performing the responsibilities assigned by their departments. In most cases, the department chair or director of graduate studies shall inform the graduate assistant in writing that rescission is possible as soon as the unsatisfactory performance becomes evident. The warning letter should:

• Outline the assistant's performance deficiencies.
• Suggest required remedies.
• Set a date when the matter will be reviewed to recognize improvement or recommend rescission of the award to the Graduate School.

At the specified review date, should the acceptable improvement not be evident, the department chair or director of graduate studies will recommend to the associate dean for academic affairs and student development of the Graduate School or the unit funding the assistantship, in writing, including the reason for the rescission and the opportunity provided for improvement.

In serious cases, a department may recommend to the associate dean of the Graduate School or unit funding the assistantship that an assistantship be rescinded immediately. In these cases, the department is not obligated to use the above warning procedure. However, the supervisor is encouraged to have a conversation with the student, when possible, as a part of their professional development. 

After making such a recommendation to the Graduate School or unit funding the assistantship, the department may immediately suspend any/all duties of the assistant pending the decision of the Graduate School or funding unit regarding the rescission. Serious cases include, but are not limited to, violations of university policy/procedures and violations of ethical or professional codes or standards.

Rescission appeals must be made in writing to the dean of the Graduate School within 10 business days of the rescission decision and include the rationale for the appeal, along with any supporting documentation.

All stipends end on the date of rescission. Tuition scholarships remain in place until the end of the term.

There are two types of leave: short-term (generally one week or less) and long-term leave (generally longer than one week). Short-term leave is paid, and long-term leave is unpaid.

Short-Term Leave

In seeking short-term leave, graduate assistants must be mindful of their assigned duties and how they fit into the departments’ operational needs. Every effort should be made to prevent disruption of those operational needs. If it becomes necessary to ask for time off, the assistant should contact their supervising director of graduate studies, including their directing faculty in the communication, as much in advance of their absence as feasible so that the department can arrange coverage for the assistant's duties.

Appropriate reasons for short-term leave may include illness, injury, bereavement, or celebration of religious holidays that are not observed on the university’s holiday schedule.

Eligibility: All graduate assistants qualify to be considered for short-term leave from the beginning of their appointments.

The Short-Term Leave Process:

1. The assistant must contact their supervising director of graduate studies, including their directing faculty on the communication, as soon as they know they will not be able to come to work. Contact can be verbal or by email.
2. The assistant’s supervising director of graduate studies will approve or refuse the request in a timely manner. Any conditions to the approval (making up hours, work, etc.) will be provided in writing. A refusal will detail, in writing, the reasons why the leave is not acceptable. Assistants may appeal a refusal in writing first to their department chair, or to the associate dean for academic affairs and student development of the Graduate School, if the department chair is the graduate assistant’s directing faculty.
3. If approved, assistants are relieved of all work duties during the short-term leave. Their pay will continue during the leave.
4. All assistantship duties are resumed at the end of the leave period.
5. An excessive number of absences can affect an assistant’s performance evaluation and assistantship renewal.

Every effort will be made to accommodate short-term leave requests, within reason. If a short-term leave request is not granted, the graduate assistant can follow the Grievance procedure detailed in this handbook.

Long-Term Leave

Requests for leaves longer than one week fall into two categories:

1. Long-Term Leave (generally, full-semester or less) from Assistantship While Maintaining Graduate Program Enrollment.
2. Long-Term Leave (generally full-semester or longer) from Assistantship with a Temporary Withdrawal from the Graduate Program.

Appropriate reasons for long-term leave may include illness, injury, caregiving, military service, maternity, and paternity.

International students are advised to consult with the Office of International Education regarding their immigration status prior to applying for a leave from their assistantship or a temporary withdrawal from their graduate programs.

Some key components to keep in mind about a long-term leave:

1. It is unpaid leave. The stipend of the graduate assistant will be suspended on the start date of the leave and will resume after the unpaid period on the date the assistant returns to work, as long as that reinstatement is within the award period.
2. Tuition scholarships associated with a graduate assistantship will be unaffected by the leave unless the leave entails an entire semester and includes withdrawal from the academic program. Students will not be required to pay back applied tuition credits.
3. Departments cannot ask assistants to make up work missed during the time of their unpaid long-term leave. 
4. A leave granted from one’s assistantship is not a leave granted from one’s registered courses. A student who intends both must request both. Students should consult their advisers on the appropriateness of completing courses as planned, withdrawing from them, or requesting incomplete grades.

Long-Term Leave While Maintaining Enrollment

A request for a long-term leave from only assistantship responsibilities, while maintaining enrollment in an academic program, the graduate assistant must be initiated by submitting Temporary Withdrawal from Courses and/or Assistantship Form to the Graduate School at gradrecords@marquette.edu, indicating the requested leave is only from the assistantship. This type of leave is appropriate for assistants who need a leave from assistantship responsibilities but will continue to meet the responsibilities of the courses in which they are enrolled. 

The leave request includes an end date at which point the requesting student is expected to be able to return to their assistantship successfully. Should this not be the case, the student is expected to pursue a subsequent leave (though rarely granted) or resign the assistantship.

Requests are reviewed by the student's directing faculty, supervising director of graduate studies and department chair, as well as the Graduate School. The Graduate School will notify the student of the decision.

Long-Term Leave with Temporary Withdrawal from the Graduate Academic Program

A request for a long-term leave from assistantship responsibilities and a temporary withdrawal from the graduate academic program, for a semester or longer must be initiated by submitting the Temporary Withdrawal from Courses and/or Assistantship Form to the Graduate School at gradrecords@marquette.edu, indicating the requested leave is from both the assistantship and the graduate program (courses or continuous enrollment, for dissertating and thesis-writing students). This type of leave is appropriate for assistants who need a leave from assistantship responsibilities and who also need to a temporary withdrawal from their graduate program. This type of leave is appropriate for a semester or longer. Under unusual circumstances, a leave may extend beyond a semester; however resignation of the assistantship will likely be more appropriate in these situations. 

The leave request includes an end date at which point the requesting student is expected to be able to return classes and their assistantship successfully. Should this not be the case, the student is expected to pursue a subsequent leave (though rarely granted) or resign the assistantship.

Requests are reviewed by the student's adviser, department director of graduate studie and chair, as well as the Graduate School. The Graduate School will notify the student of its decision.

Some key components to keep in mind about temporary leave from an assistantship and courses for a full semester or longer:

1. It must be requested prior to the start of the semester of the leave.
2. It is unpaid leave. The stipends and tuition scholarships of graduate assistants are suspended during each full semester withdrawal.
3. The long-term leave from an assistantship will not affect the renewal of an assistantship. However, students must return to their academic program before resuming an assistantship and resumption of current awards must be within the award period.

If you are injured in the course of performing your duties, immediately contact your supervisor and Risk Management.

Domestic Students

Unless prohibited by a funding sponsor and notified in their letter of award, domestic students with a full-time (50% effort/20 hour per week) TA/RA/GA appointment at Marquette may, at their discretion, be employed up to 10 additional hours per week. Students electing to have such outside employment up to 10 hours/week, do not need to inform the university, but should consider the following:

1. Working for a company fully or partially owned by the chair of the student’s dissertation or thesis committee represents a possible conflict of interest. In such cases, the student should either not accept the outside employment or find a different chair for the thesis or dissertation committee.
2. Students should not seek outside employment at an organization/company that already funds that student’s assistantship or research.
3. Students should not seek outside employment at an organization/company that directly competes with the organization that funds the student’s assistantship or research. If such employment is sought, see General Standards of Conduct: Conflicts of Interest.

Students wanting to work more than 10 hours per week must disclose their arrangement with the Graduate School by completing the Declaration of Outside Employment Form. The Graduate School will then facilitate a discussion between the student and either the student’s mentor, DGS, or department chair (the student can choose) to ensure the additional employment is not hindering the student’s academic progress or completion of assigned duties.  If the department offers the student a TA/RA/GA appointment, the student understands that duties of the appointment take priority over any external employment.

Information about employment opportunities and career development are available at Graduate Career Resources.

International Students

Due to federal regulations, international students here on a student visa cannot work on campus more than 20 hours per week during the semester. Summer is considered a semester for this purpose for F-1 students beginning their MU program in the summer. With respect to off-campus employment, the Marquette Office of International Education has published guidelines for F-1 Student Employment.

Graduate assistants must register no later than the last date of registration of the first semester of their awards. Graduate assistants must be registered full-time during the fall and spring semesters of their awards. Failure to comply may result in the cancellation of the assistantship.

Departments count on the services of their assistants for the entire academic year. If an assistant resigns, they must:

1. Discuss the resignation with their department chair or director of graduate studies well in advance of the resignation.
2. Submit a signed letter explaining the reason(s) for, and the exact date of, the resignation to the Graduate School.
3. Return their assistantship-issued keys and other university items to their department.

Stipend payments will end and final checks will be prorated to the date of resignation.

Award recipients are expected to accept or decline offers as soon as they can and must follow the instructions for responding included in their offer letters.

Offers issued between January 1 and April 1, for awards beginning in the fall term

Students have until April 15 to respond. If a response is not received by April 15, the Graduate School may rescind the offer. The April 15 deadline is in compliance with the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistantships.

Offers issued on or after April 2 (for both fall and spring terms)

Students must respond within two weeks of receipt of the award letter, or the Graduate School may rescind the offer.

The university’s Severe Weather Policy applies to the work of graduate assistants, including TAs who are instructors of record.

Training for service assistants is provided by individual departments.

Each first-time teaching assistant is required to participate in and complete the new teaching assistant training, regardless of the specific responsibilities assigned to the position. The training addresses both discussion-based and lab-based teaching assistants. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• Pedagogy and classroom management (first day best practices, facilitating a good discussion/lab, classroom and student management, professionalism).
• Assessing Student Learning (grading).
• Academic Integrity/Plagiarism.
• Implicit Bias Awareness.
• Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition and Creating an Inclusive Classroom.
• Inclusion and Support Offices and Policies (Office of Disability Services, FERPA, Title IX).

The training is offered annually in August, shortly before the start of the fall semester. Graduate assistants who are required to attend will be contacted by the Graduate School with details. This training from the Graduate School is in addition to any training offered and required by individual departments and programs.

TAs should be prepared to pay attention to student's behavior in the classroom, including sudden or significant changes that suggest difficulties or unusual levels of stress, such as  belligerent or antisocial behavior, chronic tardiness or attendance problems, unusual changes in behaviors or mood, abrupt changes in performance level, or an inability to complete assigned work. Any severe problems or activities that appear to negatively impact a student, students, or your entire classroom should be reported to an immediate supervisor or department chair.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) requires education in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) for all undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs funded by its grants (Section 7009 of the 2007 America COMPETES Act [42 U.S.C. 1862o-1]). Section 7009 of the America COMPETES Act requires that higher education institutions have a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in the proposed research project.

NSF makes institutions responsible for verifying that their undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF to conduct research have received RCR training. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars may satisfy the RCR requirement by successfully completing the training assigned by the institution.

Responsible Conduct of Research is a zero-credit, no-cost, semester-long training that is voluntary for graduate students, unless required by the program/department as part of an assistantship. If required, supervisors will notify the graduate assistant and contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to enroll the graduate assistant in this course. This course is available to all students who wish to voluntarily enroll by contacting the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at postaward@marquette.edu.

Teaching assistants and research assistants may be required to complete additional training by the department.