Faculty & staff

Appointment Letter Forms

Graduate Assistantship Requirements & Departmental Coverage

Before submitting a Graduate Assistantship appointment letter, please ensure the contract covers all required components and credit minimums:

  • Credit Coverage Minimums: The assistantship package must cover tuition for at least the full-time credit threshold:
    • Domestic Students: Must cover a minimum of 6 credits.
    • International Students: Must cover a minimum of 9 credits.
  • Degree Alignment: All credits covered by the assistantship must apply directly toward the student's degree program and be listed on their Graduate Study Plan (GSP) if completed. If covered credits do not align with the GSP, staff will reach out to the department for clarification.
  • Mandatory Departmental Coverage: The issuing department is required to cover tuition (meeting the credit minimums above), mandatory fees (Consolidated & Infrastructure), and health insurance for the assistantship period.

Graduate Assistant Appointment Forms

All graduate assistantship letters must be routed through the NextGen platform:

Appointment Change Requests

If an assistantship letter has already been processed in NextGen and requires changes, please use one of the templates below to submit a change request to HR:

Health Insurance Costs per Semester (AY 26-27)

  • Fall (8/25/26 – 1/4/27): $2,182.00
  • Spring (1/5/26 – 8/24/26): $3,806.00
  • Summer Only* (5/17/26 – 8/24/26): $1,640.00

*Note: Students provided with spring semester insurance are automatically covered through the summer.

Fee Payment Memos

A Fee Payment Memo must be submitted whenever a department or faculty member wishes to cover student expenses such as tuition, Consolidated & Infrastructure (C&I) fees, surcharge, or insurance that aren't covered by an assistantship, and/or fees that are not standard (Consolidated & Infrastructure).

When is a Fee Payment Memo Required?

  • Non-Standard Fees: Paying for fees not automatically included in assistantship packages (e.g., matriculation fees, bookstore bundles, lab fees, course fees, etc.). Standard automatically included fees cover only Consolidated and Infrastructure fees.
  • Uncontracted Costs: Covering any course or program cost not explicitly listed in the student's current contract.
  • Non-Assistantship Students: Covering tuition, fees, or insurance for a student who is not currently appointed to a Graduate Assistantship.

How to Submit

Fee Payment Memos are submitted using this Google Form.

Please include and attach the following required information:

  • Student information (Name, Student ID)
  • Tuition/Fee award dollar amount
  • Detail/Exemption codes
  • Indication of whether health insurance should be provided/covered
  • Proof of Coverage Documentation: An attached memo (see template) confirming coverage approval, an official offer letter, or a scholarship/fellowship award letter.

Deadline Note: Fee Payment Memos should be fully submitted prior to the fee payment deadline of the semester in which the charges should be posted to avoid late fees.

International Student Regulations

IMPORTANT: Federal immigration regulations strictly govern work hours and program duration for international students.

  • Program Completion Dates: Program completion rules may affect a student's ability to finish work duties in their final semester. Issuing departments must be familiar with these constraints and prepared to find a substitute if the student's program completion date occurs before their contract end date.
  • 20-Hour Work Limit: International students are legally restricted to working a maximum of 20 hours per week under ANY circumstances (including midterms and finals week). Exceeding this limit can result in severe status violations for the student.

For questions regarding immigration compliance, contact Reija Shnoro in the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (or review program completion details).