Graduate Assistant Appointment Eligibility

The following eligibility requirements govern all Graduate Assistant (GA) and Residential Graduate Assistant (hereafter referred to as Graduate Assistant or GA) appointments at the University of Kansas, Lawrence and Edwards campuses:

Graduate Assistants are active student employees (either salaried or hourly, as determined by Human Resources) who hold a position that furthers the professional and/or academic development of the graduate student. The duties performed are professional in nature, must require the training and expertise of a post-baccalaureate student, and are performed under the direct supervision of faculty, academic professionals, or administrators. While the duties may involve classroom instruction or research related to the student’s degree program, those activities are not the primary focus of the job. The Graduate Assistant's job duties should not include grading student work, developing course content, or taking responsibility for a course or section as Instructor of Record. Graduate Assistants who engage in classroom instruction or research should spend no more than 10% of their work time doing so. The Graduate Assistant's responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, administrative and professional internships. The Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies must approve GA appointments prior to a University offer of employment being made if any of the following apply:

• Newly created (not backfilled) positions
• Substantive changes are made to the position description or duties assigned
• The FTE increases to or above .40 FTE.

[Note: Graduate Assistant positions are a distinct category of graduate student support. This category does not include Graduate Research Assistants, Graduate Teaching Assistants, or student-hourly positions held by graduate students.]

In order to be eligible for a GA appointment, a graduate student must meet all of the following criteria:

1. During the term of appointment, the student is admitted to and enrolled in a graduate degree program offered by the University of Kansas;
2. During the fall and/or spring semesters in which the graduate student holds a GA appointment, the student must be enrolled in accordance with the Office of Graduate Studies policy definition of full-time enrollment for students with a GTA position. GAs on summer session appointments may enroll but are not required to do so.

a. Enrollment and Post Comps: Full-time enrollment for the student includes enrollment in fewer than 6 hours for doctoral students who have successfully completed the oral comprehensive exam, all other Graduate Studies and departmental requirements for candidacy to the doctoral degree, and are enrolling in accordance with  Doctoral Candidacy policy.

3. During the term of appointment, the GA must be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree, as determined by the GA’s home academic department and/or their school or college in accordance with the Office of Graduate Studies’ Good Academic Standing policy. A graduate student must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 to remain in good academic standing. However, if a department judges that a graduate student whose GPA falls below 3.0 after the first semester at KU is nonetheless making satisfactory progress, the department may recommend to the Dean of the school/college that the student be allowed to keep the GA position for one (1) additional semester, despite being on academic probation. In all other cases of academic probation, the student is no longer eligible for employment as a GA and the appointment must be terminated due to ineligibility.
4. The student must successfully pass a background check established by the University.
5. A student who has earned a graduate degree may not continue in a GA appointment after the graduation date unless the student has just completed a master’s degree and is enrolled in a doctoral program in the same field or a closely related field, or the student is a doctoral graduate who has been accepted into another graduate program.