Term Limits for Appointments of Graduate Teaching Assistants

The University of Kansas, Lawrence, has established outer limits on appointments for Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) as specified below. Summer appointments are excluded from term limit calculations. No term limits established by the University or one of its departments, programs, professional schools, or the College constitutes a guarantee of funding for that amount of time.

In accordance with the provisions of 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), a GTA who has exhausted the semester limits may be considered for appointment as a lecturer.

Program-Specific Requirements

Departments, programs, professional schools, and the College may establish shorter term limits for GTAs, as appropriate. Any such limit shall be codified in writing in the program's graduate handbook, the Academic Catalog, and/or the university's Policy Library and shall take precedence over the University's maximum limit.

Maximum Durations within a Single Department

• A student who is admitted to a graduate degree program to obtain only a master's degree is limited to six (6) semesters of GTA appointments.
• A student admitted to pursue only a doctorate or admitted to pursue more than one (1) degree in a single department is eligible for up to a total of 16 semesters as a GTA.
• A KU student may not serve more than 16 semesters as a GTA, except as described under Clean Slates below.

Students who have exhausted the University maximum time to complete a degree are not considered to be making satisfactory academic progress. As a result, they are not eligible to serve as GTAs, even if a time-to-degree extension is granted. In exceptional circumstances, departments may petition for eligibility to serve as a GTA during a time-to-degree extension using the petition process described below.

Clean Slates for Students Pursuing Degrees in Multiple Departments:

When a student is seeking graduate degrees in two (2) or more departments, they may be eligible for full funding from each, in accordance with the per-department maximum durations above. (e.g., A student who works as a GTA for six [6] semesters while pursuing a master's in one [1] department may, at the discretion of the new department, work for up to 16 additional semesters as a GTA, should they choose to pursue a degree in a different department.)

Students who return to the same department after time away (e.g., voluntary discontinuation, Leave of Absence, or break in enrollment after a completed master's degree) will not have their eligibility reset to a clean slate.

In determining whether a person has met the limits described here, all semesters of GTA funding for a specific degree program shall be counted, regardless of which department hired the student as a GTA. When a student pursues two (2) funded degree programs in different departments, the maximum limits will be calculated separately for each department.

Petitions:

In exceptional circumstances, a department or program may, with the written support of the appropriate professional school or College, petition the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies for an exception to the GTA term limits. Petitions may be granted when it is in the best academic interest of the student to extend the term limits or allow appointment as a GTA during a time-to-degree extension.

If a student has exhausted six (6) semesters of GTA employment prior to a change from a doctoral program to a master's program in the same department, the department may petition for additional semesters of GTA funding to support writing and degree completion as appropriate.