Graduate Assistant/Associate Appointment Eligibility Policy

A. To be considered for a GA position, a graduate student must:

1. Be admitted to a graduate degree seeking program.
   1. Students enrolled solely in Certificate programs are not eligible for GA appointments. 
   2. Graduate students in professional programs, including Law (JD), Medicine (MD), Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and Pharmacy (PharmD) are not eligible for GA positions unless concurrently enrolled in a regular graduate degree seeking program.
   3. Non-degree seeking students are not eligible for GA positions.
2. Have a minimum GPA of 3.0. If a graduate student is newly admitted, the admission GPA is considered for this requirement. A graduate student must also maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 during their appointment. Appointing Units may also require a higher GPA. It is important to check the GPA before making an offer of GA appointment so that any issues can be addressed in a timely manner.
   1. Exceptions: The Graduate Assistant/Associate Low GPA Waiver form must be submitted should a hiring exception be necessary. GPA exception appointments are limited to one semester appointments and are not eligible for reappointment until grades are reviewed. In the rare case that a graduate student is hired with a low GPA, the hiring Unit is expected to provide a detailed plan for mentoring the GA and for oversight of the class.
3. Be enrolled in at least 6 graduate level units. Undergraduate or audited courses do not satisfy this requirement. Appointing Units may also require a higher enrollment.
4. Meet any additional University employee requirements for the position. Please note that appointing Units may also have additional criteria that a graduate student must meet in order to be appointed into a GA position.

B. Graduate Teaching Assistant/Associate (TA) Restrictions

1. The Graduate Council has ruled that TAs are prohibited from engaging in any commercial activity related to the courses they are instructing.
2. TAs may not be the instructor of record for graduate level courses. Duties of TAs involved in graduate level courses should be restricted to objective grading, discussion sessions, lab setup, website maintenance, general advising and tutoring, or similar duties.
3. At the discretion of the Unit, TAs may be instructors of record for undergraduate general education courses.

C. Remote Hiring

1. Hiring GAs who live outside the state of Arizona, whether in another state or overseas, may result in additional hiring costs according to the respective place of residence tax and employment laws. It is up to each Unit to determine whether they want to allow the remote hiring of GAs and assume the financial costs that could be associated with doing so.
   1. When a GA works outside of Arizona, the GA and their supervisor must ensure accurate reporting of work location in UAccess Employee.
   2. Continuing GAs must have a valid SSN and be entered in the University payroll system to be hired remotely.
   3. Continuing international GAs must also have valid visa documents.
2. Newly admitted international graduate students who reside outside the U.S. who do not have an SSN and valid visa documents/I-20 and are not in the UA payroll system are not eligible to be hired.