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In addition to the required seven semester practica sequence
(plus summer session), many
students are placed in paid graduate assistantship positions
in local agencies as well as our own
Counseling Psychology Clinic. Responsibilities of students
placed in these settings vary
depending on the nature of the clientele, services provided,
and agency need. Students typically
work 20 hours per week and are paid at University GA levels.
Although practica credit is not
granted for these placements, they are formally arranged training
experiences with written
contractual agreements between the University and the agency.
These placements provide
additional experiences for students across a breadth of settings,
but also provide financial support
in the form of stipends and waiver of out-of-state tuition.
In addition, depending upon resource
availability, additional reductions in in-state tuition are
sometimes possible.
Applications to assistantship placements and decisions
regarding these placements are handled by
the Director of Training (Dr. Stoltenberg). Students may not
seek to interview for any of these
placements without first conferring with and receiving permission
from Dr. Stoltenberg.
Program areas in the Department of Educational Psychology
have a limited number of graduate
assistantships. Selection of graduate students to fill teaching
or research positions is made by the
department chair on the recommendation of the program area.
Information on openings in a
particular program may be obtained from the Program Area Coordinator.
All students appointed
to graduate assistantships are required to obtain and read
the current edition of the Graduate
Assistant’s Handbook.
In order to be eligible for an assistantship, a student must
be:
• In good and regular standing in one of the Department
of Educational Psychology
Area programs.
• Minimally enrolled in 6 semester hours during the
fall and spring terms, or 3 hours
during the summer term.
• Capable of performing the duties of a given assistantship.
The primary criterion underlying consideration for all appointments
to assistantships, irrespective
of type, is probably excellence of performance.
The appointment period for an assistantship may be for one
semester, for one academic year
(mid-August through mid-May), for the summer term (June-July),
or for 12 months. It is
expected that students accepting an assistantship appointment
for the academic year will not
resign at mid-year except in cases of emergency. Graduate
assistants appointed for an academic
year are expected to begin their employment on the first day
of regular registration. Salaries are
paid on the last day of each work month.
Students will normally be appointed .50 FTE to a particular
assistantship a maximum of two
years (excluding summers). Appointments beyond the second
year or above .50 FTE will be
based primarily on departmental needs and resources. Appointments
of .75 FTE or above
require justification and special permission from the Provost.
If you have an interest in an assistantship, you should inform
your program area coordinator as
early as possible, but no later than April 1. Applications
will be considered during April for both
the ensuing summer and the academic year periods.
For assistantship offers that are made before April 1, the
student will have until April 15 to accept
or decline an offer as per the following Resolution adopted
by the council of Graduate Schools in
the United States:
“Acceptance of an offer of financial aid (such as
graduate scholarship, fellowship,
traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year
by an actual or prospective graduate
student completes an agreement which both the student and
the graduate school expect to honor.
In those instances in which the student accepts the offer
before April 15 and subsequently desires
to withdraw, the student may submit in writing a resignation
of the appointment at any time
through April 15.
However, an acceptance given or left in force after April
15 commits the student not to
accept another offer without first obtaining a written release
from the institution to which a
commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution
after April 15 is conditional on
presentation by the student of the written release from any
previously accepted offer. It is further
agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to
the above Resolution that a copy of
this Resolution should accompany every scholarship, fellowship,
traineeship, and assistantship
offer.”
Following the written acceptance by the student to the DEP
chair, the Chair will forward the
proper forms. After the appointment is made, the DEP chair
will notify the student as to
completing necessary University employment forms, location
of the student’s office, etc.
The graduate assistant should then report to the Program
Area Coordinator for orientation,
assignment to a supervisor, etc. The university schedules
a required orientation for new teaching
assistants each fall.
Graduate assistants will be evaluated by their assigned supervisors.
Toward the end of the
appointment period supervisors will forward evaluations either
in connection with the annual
spring review of the graduate student, or separately, as appropriate.
Duties, responsibilities and supervision will vary with the
type of assistantship and are discussed,
in turn, below. However, all graduate assistants may be called
on from time to time by either their
supervisor or the Program Area Coordinator to assist with
general area functions such as
recruitment, enrollment, proctoring exams, or helping with
special area projects.
All graduate assistants should exercise care to avoid giving
the impression to book publishers or
others that they are regular faculty members. Graduate students
who do not hold current
assistantships are requested not to use DEP as a
mailing address or use office equipment for
personal projects, academic or otherwise. |
