Appointment

The Office of Graduate Studies shall make all Graduate Assistant appointments. No other person is authorized to appoint Graduate Assistants, nor to modify or revise the provisions of any appointment or offer of appointment. No other person is authorized to make statements, either oral or written, which may be construed to be commitments to appointment by the University.

Appointments to the position of Graduate Assistant may be made for the Fall semester, Spring semester, and academic year. Normally Fall semester contracts begin the first day of the Fall semester classes begin and end no later than the end of the final exam period. Spring semester contracts begin the first day of the Spring semester classes begin and end no later than Spring commencement. An academic year is the period of time from the beginning of school in August to the end of school in May which encompasses both the Fall and Spring semesters.

All appointments of Graduate Assistants are conditional upon budget and enrollment.

Students may not hold more than one Graduate Assistantship at a time.

Contracts of Graduate Assistants are also conditional upon progress toward the advanced degree, budget and enrollment. Subsequent appointments are based upon prior performance as a Graduate Assistant and progress toward the advanced degree.

All approved appointments are rechecked by the Office of Graduate Studies after the add/drop deadline to verify continued eligibility.

The official offer to a Graduate Assistant shall also indicate that the appointment automatically expires at the end of the period stated and does not establish a right to subsequent appointments or any further appointment rights. No other notice shall be provided.

The stipend for each semester is paid in equal disbursements on a bi-monthly basis.  As listed below, the stipend is dependent upon the status and number of hours worked in the Graduate Assistant position.

• The full-time Graduate Assistant Stipend is $3,000 per semester.
• The three-quarter time Graduate Assistant Stipend is $2,250 per semester.
• The half-time time Graduate Assistant Stipend is $1,500 per semester.

Please note the stipend is only paid for the Fall and Spring semesters.  Stipends are not paid for Summer semesters as Graduate Assistants are not expected to work during that time.

Fee Waivers are provided to all Graduate Assistants for the semesters in which they hold a Graduate Assistant position.  If a student holds an assistantship position for a Spring semester and has met all of the requirements (full-time status, good academic standing, and satisfactory performance of assigned duties and responsibilities), a fee waiver for the Summer semester may be awarded, based upon the availably of funds.

The value of the tuition and fee waiver will be based upon the West Virginia resident tuition and fee rate.  For non-residents, you are responsible for all tuition and fees in excess of the resident tuition and fees.  In addition, course fees, program fees, and graduation fees are not included in the waiver.

The time limit for the fee waiver is equal to a period of time not to exceed the number of semesters normally required in the recipient’s academic discipline.  At Fairmont State University, this means that a fee waiver period for a master’s student is up to two (2) years.  Exceptions to this time limit may be requested from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Since the Graduate Assistant classification is a student classification, Graduate Assistants are not provided benefits.

Each Graduate Assistants' supervisor is required to submit a written evaluation of the performance of a Graduate Assistant at the end of each semester. This evaluation shall be placed in the academic file of the Graduate Assistant.