Note: On this page, we refer to \u201cRAs.\u201d Unless we specify otherwise, this includes both graduate\u00a0research assistants and undergraduate student assistants.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Q:<\/strong> What will I get out of working at CERSE? Q:<\/strong> How does working at CERSE differ from more traditional research roles at UW? <\/p>\n Q:<\/strong> What are non-negotiable eligibility requirements for CERSE RA positions? Q:<\/strong> What are the course enrollment requirements for working at CERSE and can RAs Q:<\/strong>\u00a0Does CERSE hire RAs from all UW units? <\/p>\n Q:<\/strong> What knowledge do you prioritize for hiring CERSE RAs? Q:<\/strong> What technical skills do you need to work as a CERSE RA? Q:<\/strong> Are there any other selection criteria you prioritize? <\/p>\n Q:<\/strong> Do RAs get paid on an hourly or salary basis? Q:<\/strong> What is the one-quarter trial period and how does it work? Q:<\/strong> How long do RAs stay at CERSE? Q:<\/strong> What does a day in a CERSE RA position look like? Q:<\/strong> What kind of flexibility is there in RAs\u2019 schedules? Q:<\/strong> What are the requirements for RAs to track their hours? Q:<\/strong> Do CERSE RAs work on-site at UW or remotely? Q:<\/strong> How much collaboration really happens at CERSE? Q:<\/strong> What opportunities exist for community building at CERSE? Q:<\/strong> What accountability mechanisms exist to ensure an inclusive work environment at Note: On this page, we refer to \u201cRAs.\u201d Unless we specify otherwise, this includes both graduate\u00a0research assistants and undergraduate student assistants. Outcomes of Working at CERSE Q: What will I get out of working at CERSE? A: CERSE RAs gain valuable knowledge, skills, and abilities conducting applied research and\u00a0program evaluation in collaboration with consultants…<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> CERSE RAs gain valuable knowledge, skills, and abilities conducting applied research and\u00a0program evaluation in collaboration with consultants and external organizations. RAs also build\u00a0relationships with educational equity partners. Those considering \u201calt-academic\u201d or \u201cnon-academic\u201d\u00a0jobs may find the experience particularly useful, but a CERSE RAship can also provide valuable\u00a0research opportunities for students seeking an academic career. Many former RAs, including those\u00a0in tenure-track academic positions, have suggested their experience at CERSE helped them obtain\u00a0and\/or succeed in subsequent opportunities.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> Research roles can look very different across units at UW. There are a few ways CERSE positions\u00a0might stand out:<\/p>\n\n
Eligibility<\/h4>\n
\nA:<\/strong> CERSE RAs must be UW students.<\/p>\n
\ncontinue after they graduate?
\nA:<\/strong> For graduate RAs in stipended positions, students must be enrolled for at least 10 credits during the academic year. Typically, the summer positions are hourly and do not cover tuition. Therefore there are no enrollment requirements in the summer. We can hire new RAs to start in the summer term even if they are not enrolled during the summer, if they are continuing at UW the following autumn. Continuing RAs can remain employed at CERSE for up to one quarter after they graduate, if there is project funding.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> Students from all UW units are eligible to work with CERSE. However, because we are grant-funded, sometimes our budgets do not allow us to hire students from fee-based programs.<\/p>\nSelection Criteria<\/h4>\n
\nA:<\/strong> CERSE RAs come from many disciplines and bring various types of knowledge with them to their positions. Most RAs have some background in social science research methods. Knowledge of one or more STEM disciplines, or other topics related to the projects the RA will work on, can provide helpful context for working with STEM professionals and students, but is not required. Knowledge about the fields of education and especially program evaluation are useful.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> Most graduate RAs bring some research experience with them into the position. The specific\u00a0technical skills that are most helpful for a given position depend on the demands of the projects the\u00a0RA will work on. CERSE RAs often conduct observations, interviews, focus groups, and surveys.\u00a0Common analytic techniques include coding and evaluating qualitative information and creating\u00a0descriptive charts from survey data. We currently use Dedoose, Excel, and statistical software\u00a0packages (e.g., SPSS, Stata, or R) most frequently.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> A commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice is essential and applicants should be able\u00a0to explain what this means to them. Being able to apply an equity lens to research is crucial for our\u00a0work.<\/p>\nWorking at CERSE<\/h4>\n
\nA:<\/strong> During the academic year, most graduate RAs work a 50% FTE salary position, which comes\u00a0with the usual benefits that you can find in your RA\/TA union contract. Occasionally we\u00a0offer hourly positions during the academic year for graduate RAs. Undergraduate student assistants\u00a0work on an hourly basis, which is also the case for graduate RAs during the summer. RAs working\u00a0hourly are required to keep up-to-date by adding their hours to Workday for each pay period for\u00a0approval.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> CERSE initially hires RAs for one quarter. If both the RA and CERSE agree and project funding\u00a0is available, positions may extend into subsequent quarters.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> This depends on a variety of factors, but many RAs stay at CERSE for multiple quarters or years.\u00a0Sometimes we hire for positions that have continuous funding beyond the first quarter and other\u00a0times we only have funding for a single quarter. However, additional funding sometimes becomes\u00a0available and\/or positions open up, which can allow RAs to stay longer than originally planned.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> This really depends! Each project requires different things during different times of the year. A\u00a0project may be focused on preparing data collection instruments, coordinating data collection,\u00a0collecting data, processing and analyzing data, and synthesizing and reporting results. A project may\u00a0have multiple forms of data collection on different schedules, so RAs may be working on multiple\u00a0aspects of this work in the same day or week. Some RAs work on multiple projects which can add\u00a0more variety to the work.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> There is typically a lot of flexibility in terms of when CERSE RAs put in their hours. We expect RAs to be available at some point during Pacific Time business hours (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) for weekly meetings with supervisor(s) and regular all-staff meetings. Additionally, we ask RAs to find time during these hours for meetings with external collaborators and data collection, as necessary. Outside of this, RAs can usually work whenever is convenient for them.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> RAs are required to track their hours to ensure that they work the contracted 220 hours per\u00a0quarter. Supervisors generally do not ask to see this documentation, and we generally treat it as a\u00a0mechanism for protecting RAs\u2019 time. (If work is not getting done within the expected time, we will\u00a0have a conversation about how to address that moving forward.)<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> CERSE provides space on-site for all RAs to work if they are local and desire this space.\u00a0However, there are no current requirements to work in-person. Most of CERSE\u2019s activities are\u00a0feasible online (e.g., Zoom meetings, fielding online surveys) and some CERSE RAs spend part or\u00a0all of their RA positions working from outside of Washington.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> Project work tends to be fairly collaborative between RAs and their supervisor(s). Core staff are\u00a0happy to provide whatever guidelines and training are necessary for RAs to complete their work, and\u00a0they review all RA work closely and provide feedback. We usually set up weekly meetings between\u00a0each RA and supervisor to make sure that communication is ongoing and supervisors are generally\u00a0available during business hours to answer any questions via Slack and email. Few projects have\u00a0funding for multiple RAs to collaborate on a specific project.<\/p>\n
\nA:<\/strong> We hold twice-monthly all-staff meetings online via Zoom. We also host ad hoc co-working\u00a0sessions and an occasional meal via Zoom. RAs may decide to work on-site to overlap with other\u00a0RAs and\/or coordinate their own meetups. In addition, we use Slack to share information, problem\u00a0solve, and facilitate communicate. We regularly revisit what we are doing to build community and\u00a0iterate on our activities.<\/p>\n
\nCERSE?
\nA:<\/strong> We are evaluators and understand there is always room for improvement (and we are eager to\u00a0continue growing)! CERSE recently began fielding an annual survey for all staff who have worked at\u00a0CERSE in the last calendar year to anonymously share feedback on inclusion in our center. We also\u00a0try to keep two-way communication and feedback openly flowing between RAs and supervisors and\u00a0set aside at least annual meetings to formally discuss how things are going. We also set aside one all-staff meeting per month for LOVE meetings (\u201cLiving Our Values for Equity\u201d), which is a space for\u00a0mutual accountability for living our equity values and discussing relevant topics. Finally, we conduct\u00a0exit interviews with all outgoing staff, who share their feedback with a core staff member of their\u00a0choosing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"