Graduate Teaching Assistant Appointment Eligibility

The following eligibility requirements govern all graduate teaching assistant (GTA) appointments at the University of Kansas Lawrence and Edwards campuses.

Graduate Teaching Assistants are salaried student employees whose job duties consist primarily of direct involvement in classroom or laboratory instruction. The duties are performed under the supervision of faculty. The University also requires that a GTA’s teaching assignment be in the student's own field of study or one that is closely related. Out-of-field appointments require consultation with the student’s home academic unit and the explicit approval of the Dean's Office of the student's home academic school or College.

In accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the University of Kansas, the Kansas Board of Regents, and the Graduate Teaching Assistants' Coalition, American Federation of Teachers - Kansas (GTAC; representing Graduate Teaching Assistants at the University of Kansas, Lawrence), in order to be eligible for a GTA appointment, a graduate student must meet all of the following conditions:

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 term of appointment, the student is enrolled in accordance with the Office of Graduate Studies policy definition of full-time enrollment for students with a GTA position, or other credit hours as required for the student's graduate degree and as approved by the Dean's Office of the student's home academic school or college. [Note: GTAs on summer session appointments may enroll but are not required to do so.]
   1. Enrollment and Medical Leave: Should the student be unable to enroll in six (6) graduate or other approved hours for reasons pertaining to medical condition or other hardship, that student may, with supporting documentation and the approval of the department of employment (and the department of study in cases in which the two are different), petition the Dean’s Office of the home academic school or College that this requirement be waived. Final approval rests with the Dean’s Office.
   2. 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. Short Course Appointments: During the term of appointment for short courses between the Fall and Spring semesters, including summer sessions, the student must be active in a graduate degree program and must have been enrolled in at least one (1) hour during the Fall semester or Spring semester.
3. During the term of appointment, the GTA must be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree, as determined by the GTA's home academic department and/or their school or college in accordance with the Office of Graduate Studies' the Good Academic Standing policy. [Note: Students who are on academic probation are not considered to be in good academic standing for the purpose of GTA appointments. When the reason for academic probation is a cumulative GPA less than 3.0 as a result of the first semester of graduate enrollment at KU, if a department judges that the graduate student is nonetheless making satisfactory progress, the department may recommend to the Dean of the student's home academic school or College that the student be allowed to keep the GTA 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 and the appointment must be terminated due to ineligibility. 
4. The graduate student must satisfy all English competency criteria established by the Kansas Board of Regents and/or the University. [Note: In accordance with the KBOR Spoken English Competency policy for GTAs prior to the University offer of employment for a GTA appointment, every prospective GTA who is a non-native speaker of English must be interviewed to certify the student's spoken English competency. Interviews must be conducted by no fewer than three (3) institutional personnel, at least one (1) of whom must be a student. Non-native speakers of English must also achieve a minimum score of 50 on the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit), a score of 22 on the iBT (Internet-based TOEFL), or a 7 on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).]
5. During the term of the appointment, the student's assigned responsibilities consist primarily of direct classroom or laboratory instruction.
6. The student has satisfactorily completed all of the components of the orientation and training as specified in section 7 of the MOA within the timeframes established by the University.
7. The department may require a GTA to be on campus to assume employment responsibilities up to five (5) weekdays (excluding weekends) prior to the first day of classes each semester. [Note: In accordance with Article 5, Section 1 of the MOA, “Individuals who are being reappointed as GTAs, regardless of whether the appointment is for an academic year or a shorter period, shall begin work on the first day of classes of each semester for which they are appointed, unless notified by the GTA’s department of earlier required assignments. Attendance at GTA orientation prior to the start of the semester is required as a condition of employment for any person who has not previously served as a GTA at the University of Kansas or for any returning GTA who has been identified as needing to attend GTA orientation.”]
8. The student must successfully pass a background check established by the University.

In addition to the conditions of appointment set forth in the MOA, the University has established the following condition:

• During the term of the appointment, the student must be within their maximum allowable semesters as a GTA, as outlined in the Term Limits for Appointments of Graduate Assistants policy.
• A student who has earned a graduate degree may not continue in a GTA 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.