Faculty of Nursing s1

Graduate Assistantships (GAs) Guidelines Faculty of Nursing

There are many conflicting interests when attempting to equitably distribute a finite number of dollars. In an attempt to consistently distribute graduate assistantships year after year within a context of changing personnel, these guidelines were created in 2012, and have been updated in 2016 to include articles of the Graduate Students Association Collective Agreement.

The following variables are taken into consideration:

- Overall budget for graduate assistantships - Commitments made to individual faculty members - Student requests and qualifications - the purpose of the GA is to provide students with an opportunity to develop their teaching or research skills. Attention is paid to match TAs/RAs in terms of areas of interest, the skills the student already has, and the skills that need to be developed. - Requests where there is a match between a faculty and a student are considered and given priority as much as possible.

In assigning GAs: - Priority is given to full time students. - Priority is given to PhD students who are in their first four years of study, followed by MN students who are in their first two years of study.

As stated above the employment of graduate students is regulated by a collective agreement. The collective agreement can be found at: http://www.gsa.ualberta.ca/~/media/gsa/CollectiveAgreement/2016- 2018_Graduate_Students_CA.pdf

Faculty members who are assigned a GTA or GRA must keep in mind that GTAs and GRAs are meant to be a learning experience for students. The following articles of the collective agreement are particularly important:

Articles 8.01 – The duties of a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) are primarily in support of teaching and teaching related duties. Such duties may include, but are not limited to: preparing and conducting seminars, discussion groups and laboratory sessions to supplement lectures; maintaining regular office hours to meet with students; assisting in the preparation and administration of examinations; and grading examinations, term papers and laboratory reports. The duties of a GTA are to help prepare the Graduate Assistant for further academic and professional opportunities. In view of this, GTA functions shall not include routine duties commonly associated with clerical, technical, or administrative work not directly related to instructional activities Article 9.01 The duties of a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) are primarily in support of a faculty member’s academic research. Such duties may include, but are not limited to: collecting/coding/analyzing data, literature reviews, library research, writing reports, designing conference presentations, and preparing materials for submission to funding agencies. The duties of a GRA are to help prepare the Graduate Assistant for further academic and professional opportunities. In view of this, GRA functions shall not include: personal services for the Assistantship Supervisor, administrative work (e.g. clerical or technical), cleaning up after a department function or research symposium, or maintaining the personal equipment (e.g. computer) of the Graduate Assistantship Supervisor.

As you can see from these articles students hired as RAs/TAs should be involved in activities that support their academic development. It is the responsibility of the faculty member who is assigned the TA or RA, to determine in collaboration with her/him what will be the assigned activities for the duration of the contract.

Updated: July 14, 2016 2