Graduate Assistantship Rules 2025-26

GA Hiring Process:

• All GA positions must be posted in Workday.
• All GA hiring must be completed through Workday.
• Graduate assistants cannot begin work until their GA hire process is complete and fully approved in Workday, the GA has completed mandatory New GA Orientation provided by The Graduate School, and the GA has submitted a completed I-9 with proper documentation to Student Employment.

Qualifications:

To qualify for and hold a graduate assistantship at GVSU, the student must:

• Be fully admitted as a degree seeking student in a GVSU graduate program at the time of appointment. Students with conditional admissions, provisional admissions, and who are non-degree seeking are not eligible for a graduate assistantship,
• Be in good academic standing and maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA,
• Successfully maintain a minimum course load of 9 graduate credit hours per semester for a full-time GA, OR carry a minimum course load of 4.5 graduate credit hours per semester for a half-time GA.

Tuition Waiver Credit Hours:

• Standard Academic Year Position GA – 18 credit hours (Fall: 9, Winter: 9)
• Extended Position GA – 21 credit hours (Fall: 9, Winter: 9, Spring/Summer: 3)
• Full Year Position GA – 24 credit hours (Fall: 9, Winter: 9, Spring/Summer: 6)

Credit Hour Limits:

• Base-budget funded students are limited to a maximum of 9 credit hours of tuition waiver during the Fall and Winter semesters, and 6 credit hours during the Spring/Summer semester.
• Externally funded students may exceed these limits with prior approval from the Graduate School.

Usage of Tuition Waivers:

• Waivers are only for graduate coursework at GVSU.
• Waivers cannot be used for 696/796 coursework without Graduate School approval.
• Unused tuition waiver credits cannot be rolled over into future semesters without approval from the Graduate School.

Full-Time to Half-Time Positions:

• Full-time assistantships can only be split into half-time positions with prior Graduate School approval.
• Half-time,  Standard Academic Year GA positions receive 4.5 credit hours of tuition waiver for both Fall and Winter semesters (9 credit hours total).
• Half-time, Extended GA positions receive 4.5 credit hours of tuition waiver for both Fall and Winter, and 1.5 credit hours for Spring/Summer (10.5 credit hours total).
• Half-time, Full Year GA positions receive 4.5 credit hours of tuition waiver for both Fall and Winter, and 3 credit hours for Spring/Summer (12 credit hours total).

Job Descriptions:

• All GA job descriptions must align with The Graduate School's GA job description template. 
• All assistantship job descriptions must be reviewed by The Graduate School annually.
• To comply with IRS definitions, GA responsibilities must include a significant instructional or research component. Non-instructional or non-research duties result in Federal, State, and Local tax withholding on tuition remission and stipends.