Graduate assistants receive a tuition exemption for each semester in which they are employed. Likewise, graduate assistants are not responsible for the non-resident fee as they are considered state residents (for fee purposes only).
Graduate Assistants are responsible for paying any other fees assessed to them. While holding a graduate assistantship, no additional employment is allowed without the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School/Vice Chancellor of Research.
In order to hold a graduate assistantship, graduate students must be:
Graduate assistants may be hired for the Academic or Fiscal year. GAs can be appointed as academic only if the Personnel Action Form adheres to the dates listed in the front of the UNO catalog.
A fiscal-year graduate assistant's work is typically based on a twelve-month appointment. An academic-year graduate assistant's work is based on a nine-month appointment (or 4.5 months per semester). Academic graduate assistants holding an appointment for both the fall and spring semesters of an academic year are exempt from tuition for the following summer session regardless of their summer employment status.
Graduate assistants receive a stipend, which is determined by the hiring department. In addition, a 10% discount will be granted in the university bookstore upon proof of assistantship. The stipend is considered taxable income and as a result tax forms must be submitted.
Please note: Employment of International Students (those on F-1 and J-1 visas) is subject to federal immigration and labor law. As per the Code of Federal Regulations: “(i)On-campus employment. …Employment authorized under this paragraph must not exceed 20 hours a week while school is in session…An F-1 student may, however, work on campus full-time when school is not in session or during the annual vacation” [8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)]. A J-1 student may be authorized for work if “[e]employment totals no more than 20 hours per week, except during official school breaks and the student’s annual vacation” [22 CFR 62.23(g)(2)(iii)].
Should a graduate assistant resign or be terminated from the position, he/she will be held accountable for all University fees.
Special Note: The tuition exemption does not cover summer institute courses, intersession courses or any course that generates its own fee structure.
The Graduate School cannot process GA 101s until the entire hiring packets (New or Reappointment) have been submitted without errors. All 101’s (New and Reappointments) are done on SharePoint. Please submit all required hiring paperwork to the Graduate School in AD 205. The 101 will then be approved by the Dean.
