All graduate student appointments in the Department of Women Studies are made in concurrence with Executive Orders 28 and 30 which cover most matters related to Graduate Student Service Employees and in concurrence with the requirements of the UW/UAW Academic Student Employee Union Contract. These memoranda and the contract details can be found at the following websites:

Executive Order 28:

http://www.washington.edu/faculty/facsenate/handbook/04-04-06.htm

http://www.grad.washington.edu/fellow/execor28memo.htm

Executive Order 30:

http://www.washington.edu/faculty/facsenate/handbook/04-04-08.htm

ASE Union Contract:

http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/laborrel/contracts/uaw/addons/

All graduate student employee positions carry a tuition waiver which covers most tuition and fees. A small portion of the fees remain the student's responsibility each quarter. To be eligible for the tuition waiver, graduate student service appointees are required to carry 10 credit hours during each quarter in which she/he has an appointment. (During summer quarter, the minimum requirement is 2 credits.)  Exceptions to this minimum credit load must be requested through a petition to the Dean of the Graduate School.  To obtain the Petition For Reduced Enrollment Form from the Office of Fellowships and Assistantships of the Graduate School, go to:
http://www.grad.washington.edu/forms/forms.htm

In an ideal world, Women Studies would fund all of their graduate students with TA or RA positions or fellowships. Unfortunately, the world is not ideal. Most students are guaranteed TA, RA or fellowship funding for their first academic year. The department strives to provide funding for as many quarters as possible for each student in good standing in subsequent training years. The department also helps students identify appropriate funding positions to apply for outside the department.

Each January, all students working toward a Ph.D. in Women Studies who are interested in being funded by the department for the following year must complete and submit an "Annual TA Application" form. This form is available from the Program Coordinator. Once the department has received its budget for graduate student funding for the following academic year, the department chair and administrator consider the funding applications from the current students. Some slots will always be set aside for new students. Equitable distribution of available funding is high priority for the department, recognizing that it always necessary to balance individual and departmental needs.

After the assignments have been made and the level of each student's appointment determined according to Graduate School and Union Contract rules, employment forms are prepared by Carol Langdon (B110). The payroll form (Personnel Action Form, PAF) must be completed for all employees. Students for whom this is a new appointment must complete and sign the Employee Personnel Data / Campus Contact Data Form, a W-4 form, an Affirmative Action Data form, a Conviction / Criminal History form, and INS form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification).

Most funding provided by the department is in the form of Teaching Assistantships. The following will be considered when making decisions about providing Teaching Assistant funding to continuing students:

• Academic progress: In most cases, priority for funding will be related to academic performance. Students doing better academically will be more likely to receive extended funding. Students on External Warn, Probation or Final Probation status (see below) with the graduate school typically will not be eligible for TA or RA funding from the department. A student offered funding, but later placed on warn status or probation may have their funding revoked. Students on Internal Warn Status as noted in the annual evaluation will have low status for funding.
• Teaching Evaluations by Course Instructors: Because the assignment of TAs is primarily intended to provide undergraduate teaching services, formal evaluation of graduate students in terms of their competence as TAs will be considered in making future assignments. For this reason and in keeping with the ASE Union Contract, instructors evaluate the TAs working with them on a quarterly basis.
• Educational Assessment Center Student Evaluations of Teaching: Undergraduate student evaluations are an important factor in continued support of TAs. TA's are expected to have such course evaluations completed each quarter. You should ask that a copy of the evaluation be sent to the chair.
• Students are expected to initiate searches for alternate funding sources such as grants and fellowships. Students who have been actively involved in applying for alternate funding sources will have higher priority for funding than those who have not sought alternate funding.
• Since the Women Studies Department requires that students get teaching experience if they wish recommendations for teaching jobs, students requesting TA positions who have not previously held such a position will have some priority over students who have been TAing regularly. This, of course, will be weighed with other factors, including the needs of the course in question.
• Advanced graduate students may be offered the opportunity to teach a course independently. Such opportunities are often more available during summer quarter than during the academic year. Requirements for teaching independently are found below.
• Curricular needs of the department will always affect the choice of students for funding. Students whose area of concentration matches the needs of a course will have higher priority for funding.

Important: TA funding is for nine months only. Typically, the department has few, if any, TA positions and a small number of independent teaching opportunities for summer quarter. Applications to teach in summer quarter are separate from the annual funding applications and are typically available in October for the following summer.

Teaching your own course as a graduate student:

Students interested in pursuing an academic teaching career are encouraged to gain as much training and experience in the classroom as possible. If the budget allows, advanced graduate students can be permitted to teach independently. Independent teaching is most often available for Summer quarter but budget and curriculum needs sometimes provide opportunities for such teaching in other quarters.

Preparation to teach one's own course typically includes all of the following steps:

• Participation in the Graduate School's TA Conference. This typically occurs prior to the start of the first year the student serves as a teaching assistant although more senior students are invited to participate in the conference if they so choose.
• Serving as a teaching assistant for a variety of courses, particularly courses in which the TA is responsible for the content and conduct of quiz (discussion) sections.
• Serving as a teaching assistant for the specific course you desire to teach independently – assuming that course is part of the regular Women Studies curriculum and the course has TAs assigned.
• Successful completion of a course on pedagogy such as Women 504, Philosophies and Techniques of Teaching. Any number of courses on pedagogy can be substituted for Women 504. Extensive teaching experience can be substituted for this requirement in some cases.
• Successful completion of the General Examination and advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. is preferred.
• Selection of a faculty mentor to serve as a consultant as you develop and teach the course. The mentor is typically someone who teaches the course regularly or who has expertise in the topic of the course.

Research Assistantships

Research Assistants are typically selected by an individual faculty member who controls the position through a grant, contract or other arrangement. If a student is requested by a faculty researcher and wishes to accept the appointment, that student will be awarded the RA position. This is done because such faculty are acting as Principal Investigators and are responsible for the conduct of the research. If the faculty member does not have a particular request, she can ask students to interview for the position.

After a RA has been selected, employment papers are prepared by Carol Langdon, (B110). The payroll form (Personnel Action Form, PAF) must be completed for all employees. Students for whom this is a new appointment must complete and sign the Employee Personnel Data / Campus Contact Data Form, a W-4 form, an Affirmative Action Data form, a Conviction / Criminal History form, and INS form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification).

The RAs responsibilities are to the Principal Investigator and the respective research project providing the salary (which may or may not coincide with the student's own personal research interests). These appointments should never be confused with fellowships which allow the student research freedom.

All ASE positions (TAs, RAs and GSAs) are paid at the levels determined by the Graduate School and UAW 4121. Students entering without a Master's degree are paid at the TA, RA or GSA level. Those entering with a Master's degree or who earn an MA or complete equivalent coursework at the UW are paid at the TAI, RAI, or GSAI level. Following successful completion of the General Examination and advancement to Ph.C. status, pay levels increase to the TAII, RAII and GSAII level. Salary changes take place the quarter following the change in status.

Fellowships and Traineeships

After a traineeship or fellowship has been awarded and a University budget title and number assigned, Carol Langdon prepares the appointment form. See her to be sure your appointment is in order. Positions which require no specific work duties may not be included in the Union contract. Positions which require that the student perform some service or duties are included in the Union coverage.

In many instances, all or part of the student's tuition and fees are paid by the fellowship or training grant. A section of the fellowship appointment form asks which quarters are to be charged to the grant number listed.NOTE: Tuition and fees are not always covered by the award. Questions concerning payment of tuition should be clarified before the onset of the appointment. The granting agency, the grant PI and/or the Graduate School are likely sources of this information.

Appointments in Excess of 50%

All graduate student service appointments are normally limited to 20 hours per week (50% time). This includes hourly supplementation and other forms of University employment when performed in addition to a regular graduate student service appointment. Fellowships and traineeships are also considered as half-time appointments. Students working a single graduate student appointment should not work more than 220 hours during a quarter (typically 20 hours per week for 11 weeks but may be up to 30 hours per week during some weeks for an 11 week total of no more than 220 hours). Under some circumstances students may be offered more than one appointment at a time requiring work in excess of 50% FTE. In such cases, a petition must be submitted to the Graduate School. Petitions for appointments in excess of 50% will be approved only in special circumstances. The petition should include a description of work to be performed and the reason for a work assignment (either hourly or monthly) in excess of 50%. All petitions must be signed by the Department Chair. No petitions are required for fellowship supplements to TA, RA or GSA appointments. Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator (B110) for the appropriate forms.