LSU

GRADUATE ASSISTANTS:
Policies, Procedures, and Best Practices

LSU Graduate
School Sept 2021 LSU I
 LSU Graduate Assistant Requirements
 New Admit
• Graduate student must be admitted by both the department and the Graduate School
• View admit status in mainframe in the ADM MENU under APPL
• Student must be a 10-clear admit or a 20-admitted provisionally

 Continuing Student
• Must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA in order to be a graduate assistant
Note: First Semester Graduate Students who earn a semester GPA of less than 3.0 will also be their
cumulative GPA
• View GPA in mainframe in the SRR MENU under VACA

 Minimum Stipend per PS-21

• 20 HR (50% FTE): $10,800 for 9 month GA; $13,450 for 12 month GA; $2,650 for summer only GA; $5,400 for
Fall or Spring Only GA
• 10 HR (25%FTE): $5,400 for 9 month GA; $6,725 for 12 month GA; $1,325 for summer only GA; $2,700 for
Fall or Spring Only GA
• All graduate assistants in the same unit should be equally compensated for the same job/job description.

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 LSU GA Enrollment Requirements

 ALL graduate assistants must be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program at all times to be
eligible for graduate assistantships

• Fall and Spring: 9 hours with 6 hours for graduate credit

• Summer: 6 hours with 3 hours for graduate credit
• View schedule in the SRR MENU under VSCH to review a student’s schedule
• Note:
o Audit courses do not count towards fulltime enrollment
o Students in online-only programs and non-matriculating students are ineligible to hold an assistantship

 Graduate assistants may enroll in research hours only, coursework only, or a combination of both

 Degree Only students are not enrolled students; therefore, they are not eligible to be graduate
assistants or student workers

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 LSU GA Appointments in Workday
 All GAs are a 12 over 12 (fiscal) appointment in Workday (AWP/DPP)
 Salary conversion: Divide academic salary by 9 to find the monthly salary, then multiply by 12 to find
the annual salary amount for Workday
• The student will only be paid for the compensation dates entered into Workday
 Compensation End date and End Employment date need to match
 Actual Start/End dates general guideline:
• GAs can start work after international orientation (all new GAs) and end after commencement (9 month GA)
• General rule of thumb is GAs can start working 1 week prior to the start of classes
 Workday Start and End dates 2020-2021 for even distribution of amounts in checks:
• 9 Month GA: 8/15/2020 to 5/14/2021
• Fall Only: 8/15/2020 to 12/14/2020
• Spring Only: 1/15/2021 to 5/14/2021
• Summer Only: 5/15/2020 to 8/14/2020

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 LSU GA Offer Letter
 Offer letter
• Must be signed by the supervisor and graduate assistant
• Dates in offer letter are the actual dates the graduate assistant will work
o These are not necessarily the same dates that will be loaded in Workday
• Offer letter must include the actual amount the graduate student will be paid
• Template of offer letter from each department should be sent to the Graduate School annually

 Job Description
• Must be signed by the graduate assistant

 Council of Graduate Schools Statement

• Must be included with all offer letters even if the April 15th date has passed

 If a graduate assistant’s appointment is being continued past the original offer dates, a new offer letter is
not required unless job duties have changed.

 Sample offer letter and CGS statement can be found on the Graduate School’s Forms website:
itservice.lsu.edu/TDClient/37/gradschool/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=652

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 LSU GA Record Keeping Requirements
Per PS-21, the following must be maintained in hiring units for all GAs:
 Letter of appointment signed by the student
 Job description of the position to which the assistant is being appointed, signed and dated by the student
to indicate that she or he has received a copy
 All Timesheets....Currently Suspended due to Covid 19
 Annual written evaluations signed by both the student and evaluator

These documents should be kept on file in the department and attached to the student’s record in Workday
 Under the “Personal” tab, attach in the “Documents” section

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 LSU Probation & One-time Grace
 Grace periods are granted only once per the current version of PS-21
 Admission Probation:
• 16 or 22-admitted on Probation: A graduate student who enters the Graduate School on probation, may be
awarded or permitted to retain the assistantship only if the student’s department, can justify the retention to the
Dean of the Graduate School and only if the student’s cumulative grade point average is at least a 3.0.
o Must have approval of the college dean
o Submit justification with the admission petition
o Must receive 9 graded credits and a 3.0 GPA the first semester to continue on GA

 Continuing Student:
• Per PS-21, for making a “U” in research, or below a cumulative GPA of 3.0: Department chair/graduate advisor
with the college dean may submit a request for a one-time grace to allow the student to hold an assistantship while
on probation
• Some GAs will need to petition for their assistantship even if they do not have to petition for academic
reinstatement
 Graduate students approved to hold assistantships while on probation must be removed from probation by the end of the
semester in order to continue on funding

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 LSU Types of Graduate Assistants
 Teaching Assistant 1 (TA1)- Assist with preparing examinations and class lectures, grading papers,
maintenance of class records, and tutoring students outside formally scheduled classes. Does not
include contact with students in scheduled meetings of class and laboratories
 Teaching Assistant 2 (TA2)- In addition to the duties of TA1, make presentations in laboratories or
classrooms, conducts lectures, and lead discussion groups provided that the TA is neither the instructor
of record nor has primary responsibility for assigning grades
 Teaching Assistant 3 (TA3)- In addition to the duties of TA1 and TA2, teach classes for credit as the
instructor of record and/or as the person responsible for assigning grades
• TA3 graduate assistants cannot be assigned to more than six semester hours of instructional duties in either the fall
and spring semesters and three semester hours in the summer
• The Teaching Assistant Departmental Certification Form (18 hour certification) is required prior to students being
TA3s. This form needs to be submitted to the Graduate School only once during the student’s academic career
• Form can be found on the Grad School Forms site: https://itservice.lsu.edu/TDClient/37/gradschool/Requests/ServiceDet?
ID=591

 Service Assistant (SA)- Possible tasks include assist the editors of scholarly journals housed at LSU,
conduct analyses, assist with library services, and other academic/professional assignments
 Research Assistant (RA)- Conduct research for an academic or administrative unit

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 LSU International Students
 International students must have the appropriate Visa (F-1 or J-1) in order to be graduate assistants (Visa/Passport, I-20, and I-94 are
required to process the assistantship in Workday during the Quick Start Hire Process)
• ADM MENU under INTS (for admitted students)
• SRR MENU under VINT (for enrolled students)

 For additional information regarding employment of international students, contact ISO:

 isodoc@lsu.edu for incoming students’ awards and assistantships
 isosevis@lsu.edu for current students’ updates and changes to assistantships and awards
 isoemp@lsu.edu for International Student employment questions

 TA2s or TA3s:
• Graduate assistants who serve as instructors of record (TA3—those having primary responsibility for assigning final grades of a credit course) must have
earned at least 18 hours of graduate semester hours in their teaching discipline prior to their appointment.

• Before being appointed as a TA2 or TA3, International students must pass the ESL spoken English test (Oral Interview). During international orientation,
international graduate students receive information about ESL testing.

• For additional information regarding ESL testing, contact Dr. Albert Camp at acamp2@lsu.edu

 Limitations:
• Cannot work more than 20 hours per week in Fall and Spring semesters due to visa regulations
• Summer hours for International GAs depend on the enrollment status of the student during the Summer semester

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LSU ESL REQUIREMENTS
 View in SRR MENU under VDNI

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY CODES FOR INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE ASSISTANTS WHOSE NATIVE

LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH (THIS INFORMATION IS FOUND ON SRRMENU UNDER THE FIELD “DNI”)

COURSE TEACH PROFICIENCY RESULT

BLANK BLANK NO ACTION TAKEN BY STUDENT (NEEDS TO SEE THE ENGLISH

COORDINATOR TO SET UP ORAL).
0000 Y TAKEN ORAL INTERVIEW (EXEMPT FROM ENGL 1051 SPOKEN
ENGLISH COURSE [STUDENT MAY TEACH)
0000 N STUDENT HAS TAKEN ORAL INTERVIEW (MUST COMPLETE ENGL
1051 SPOKEN ENGLISH COURSE)
1051 N STUDENT HAS TAKEN THE ENGL 1051 SPOKEN ENGLISH COURSE;
HOWEVER, SHE OR HE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TEACH
1051 Y STUDENT HAS TAKEN ENGLISH 1051 SPOKEN ENGLISH COURSE AND
HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED TO TEACH

*International graduate assistants may not be appointed as TA2 or TA3 without passing the oral
interview OR receiving the “Recommendation to Teach” upon completion of English 1051.

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 LSU GA Tuition Exemption
 20 hour GA (50% effort)
• Tuition exemption & Non-resident fee waiver, if applicable
• Also applies to a GA with two 10 hour appointments

 10 hour GA (25% effort)

 Non-resident fee waiver only, if applicable

 View in ABS MENU under SAWD

 Summer Tuition Exemption:

 If GA works 9 month academic year (August to May), the GA will automatically receive a summer tuition
exemption (TRX code X013)
 Includes 9 month appointments as well as Fall Only & Spring Only combination

 GA Tuition exemptions do not apply for winter or spring intersession

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 LSU GA Tuition Exemption (continued)
 GAs must be hired on or before the following dates to receive the tuition exemption:
• Fall: October 1st
• Spring: March 1st
• Summer: 1st Day of Classes, 2nd Session
 A GA may not be terminated until the 2nd of the above listed months and retain their tuition exemption for
that semester. If terminated before the 2nd, student will be loose waivers and be responsible for full
amount of fees.

 Tuition Remission:
• Departments are responsible for a portion of the tuition only if the graduate assistant is being paid from a grant
• SPA will work with the PI to include this funding when writing the grant proposal

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 LSU Additional Compensation
 Domestic GA
• Maximum of 5 additional hours per week with prior approval from the Graduate School
o An extra compensation form must be submitted to gradawards@lsu.edu. If possible, please do not campus mail the forms.
o The updated form can be found on the Grad School Forms site: https://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/forms.php#grad-student-forms
o The approved extra compensation form must be attached to the Additional Job hire or One-Time Payment form loaded in Workday

 International GA
• Cannot work more than 20 hours per week in Fall and Spring semesters due to visa regulations
• Summer hours for International GAs depend on the enrollment status of the student during the Summer semester

 University Breaks/Holidays – applies to both Domestic and International GAs

• 9 month and 12 month GAs now work when the university is open and are paid for all working days. Working between semesters is included
in their salary.
o A 9 month or 12 month GA could work up to 5 additional hours per week during Winter Intersession or Spring Break with prior Grad School approval
o A Spring Only GA could only work up to 5 additional hours during Spring Break with prior Grad School approval
o A Fall Only GA could work up to 40 hours per week during Winter Intersession as they are not employed as a GA during that time period

 If a student has a 10 hour graduate assistantship, they may work 10 hours at an additional job with no Grad School approval
needed

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 LSU GA Work Schedules

 Graduate assistants are salary and will be paid even if they do

not work their required 20 hours per week

 Graduate assistants are expected to work when the

university is open. Graduate assistants are off when the
university is closed (i.e. Labor Day, MLK Day, Good Friday,
etc.)
• 9 month and 12 month GAs are already compensated in their salary for all
holidays and breaks during the academic year

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 LSU GA Timesheets & Evaluations
 Timesheets are required for all GAs by HR for auditing purposes and to comply with federal regulations. Currently suspended due to Covid 19
• Timesheets must be signed by the supervisor and student.
• Timesheets should be stored within the department.
• Timesheets may be submitted bi-weekly or monthly.
• Graduate assistants cannot submit timesheets in Workday.

 Annual Written Evaluations:

• Supervisors should evaluate their graduate assistants annually.
o May: Academic Appointments
o June: Fiscal Appointments
• Instructors of record (TA3) should be evaluated at the end of each semester.
• All evaluations must be signed by the student and should be stored within the department and/or Workday.

 GA and TA evaluation forms can be found on the Grad School Forms site:
GA Form: https://itservice.lsu.edu/TDClient/37/gradschool/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=587
TA Form: https://itservice.lsu.edu/TDClient/37/gradschool/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=589

 If not using the template, a sample must be submitted to the Graduate School at gradawards@lsu.edu; when more than one evaluation form is
used, copies of each type must be on file in the Graduate School.

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 LSU Terminating a Graduate Assistant
 Graduate assistants may be terminated at any time that a supervisor is not satisfied with their work
performance; however, it is recommended to have feedback sessions prior to this point.
• Recommended: Supervisor meets with the graduate assistant and have him/her sign a memo of understanding that his/her
assistantship has been terminated. Keep documentation of meeting, timesheets, emails, etc.

 Graduate assistants cannot work as graduate assistants after they graduate.

• Termination & end employment dates must be the last Workday date for the semester. This may vary from the actual
working date.
• May be hired as transient after termination if desired.

 If a GA drops below full-time enrollment at any point in the semester, their GA must be terminated
immediately. GAs cannot work while part-time.

 End Employment dates only end compensation for a GA. You must load a termination to remove them as
a GA.

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 LSU Payments Excluded from Workday

 Department Cash Awards or Prize Payments

• Cash award/prize for a competition: can be paid via the Foundation
• Cash award for Scholarship: must be paid through SAE
o Not One Time Payment in Workday
• Non-enrolled student cash award/prize payments: paid by Accounts Payable

 Department Enrichment for Fellowships

• Enrichment payments must be processed through a TRX code in SAE
o Cannot process via Workday payment or hire as GA to distribute

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 LSU Additional Information

 PS-21- Graduate Assistantships

https://www.lsu.edu/policies/ps/ps_21.pdf

 PS-85- Preparation of Graduate Assistantships

https://www.lsu.edu/policies/ps/ps_85.pdf

 Graduate School Forms Website:

 https://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/forms.php

 For additional information or questions, please email gradawards@lsu.edu

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