HOW TO HIRE A GSR

1. It is important to notify as soon as possible Rafael Acevedo (rdacevedo@ucsd.edu) and Devaney Kerr (dakerr@ucsd.edu) upon thinking about hiring a GSR, even if you are unsure about the fund source.

PLEASE READ ABOUT STUDENT ELIGIBILITY. Rafael may have to resolve issues of student eligibility, concurrent employment, and financial support. Devaney will confirm that your fund source (or help to determine one) is adequate to support the GSRship.

Please let us know of your intentions to hire a GSR well before the quarter begins because:
a. Near the beginning of the quarter it is difficult to change TA assignments if one student is pulled for a GSRship.
b. Your student's tuition and/or fees need to be paid on time so as not incur significant late fees.

2. Please respond to Devaney with the following information for each student you intend to support:

Student Name:
Fund Source:
Percent time: (this can be any % up to 50)
Employment Dates:

Note:

• any time >24.99% incurs tuition remission assessment during October – June
• no tuition remission is assessed in the summer (July-September)
• cannot hire an international student for > 50% time (total employment) during the academic year
• cannot hire a US Citizen/Permanent Resident for > 50% time (total employment) during the academic year without a letter of exception (see Rafael)
• students can have concurrent appointments (most often = TAship + GSRship)

Cost Projection

Salary

GSR-step IV rate at 100% time effective 10/1/06 = $3322. Expect a 2% salary increase each year effective October 1.

Tuition Remission

• For eligibility, click here.
• 2006-07: monthly rate = $1,117; yearly (October-June) rate = $10,053
• The rates are updated and published by the UCSD Office of Contracts and Grants in August/September each year and are posted on the Web at: http://ocga2.ucsd.edu/proposals/tuition.html .
• GSRTF continues to be excluded from indirect costs.

Other Costs
Benefits are assessed on the salary at 1.3% during the academic year, and 3.0% during the summer. General Liability is assessed at 0.32% of the salary. GL is NOT charged on federal funds.

Typical Appointments
GSRs are usually employed at 50% (20 hours/week) and 25% (10 hours/week), during the academic year, although you can employ at any % under 50 (Devaney can help you "back into" a specific amount of money). Below is a table that will help you project a ONE MONTH cost that you can mulitply by the number of months you wish to employ the GSR. Each academic year quarter is three months. Summer Session is three months.

Devaney will submit the job posting to the Job Opportunities Program which is run through the UCSD Career Services Center . Typical positions include research assistants who aid a faculty member with conducting research. Depending on the complexity of the job duties, the hourly salary can range from approximately $11-20.

NOTE: For National Science Foundation REU ( Research Experiences for Undergraduates) supplements, student must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident.

Please email to Devaney:

• Position Title (this is the phrase under which the job will be advertised to students)
• Job Description
• Qualifications
• Salary (must be a specific hourly rate; ranges are not accepted)
• Preferred method of contact (typically, it is indicated that candidates will apply by emailing you their resume)

It takes only a couple of days for the position to be reviewed and posted by a Career Services Center staff member. Modifications to any part of the posting can be sent to Devaney for resubmission to the CSC, although salary changes will require a brief explanation.

Percent Time
Graduate student employment may be for a maximum of 50% time (20 hours per week) during the academic year. Summer support varies; each graduate academic department determines policy. Graduate students may be appointed for one fiscal year at a time (July through June).

Enrollment and Registration
Graduate students must be registered full-time (a minimum of 12 units) to be employed 50% time during the academic year. Students registered in less than 12 units are eligible for 25% time appointments upon department approval.

Basic graduate student qualifications
Be in good academic standing:
a. Meet department standards including a satisfactory spring evaluation.
b. Maintain a GPA of 3.0 in upper-division and graduate course work and not have more than eight units of F and/or U grades overall.

Student on a Leave of Absence
A student on an academic Leave of Absence may not receive any payment from the university while on leave.

Academic Year Appointments Over 50% Time ( U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents only)
http://ogsr.ucsd.edu/academicpolicy/pps/04exceptions.pdf

The employment of a graduate student over 50% time during the academic year requires the prior written approval by:
a. All funding sources involved
b. The student's graduate academic (Home) department Chair
c. The Dean of Graduate Studies

In addition, it is recommended that the student's academic advisor also approve the request for exception. In general, a request for exception up to a maximum of 75% time will be considered.

Note: The Dean will not approve a Graduate Student Researcher position over 50%, although he may approve a 50% GSR in combination with another 25% title such as Teaching Assistant or Reader.

International Students
Immigration and Naturalization Service regulations restrict employment of international students to 50% time (20 hours per week) during the academic year. During the summer, 100% employment is allowed if students intend to enroll full-time fall quarter. No exceptions are permitted to this INS rule.

Under the Graduate Student Researcher Tuition and Fee Remission (GSRTF) program, all Graduate Student Researchers appointed for the quarter at 25% time or more have their tuition and fees (excluding any professional fee) paid as a perquisite of appointment. This is a nine-month program from October to June with three months per quarter.

Charges to the Grants for GSR Tuition/Fee Remission
The method by which funding sources are assessed the charge for GSR tuition-and-fee remission (GSRTF) involves seven average rates.

The Rates and Pools: The GSRTF charge is assessed according to the graduate program in which an eligible GSR is registered. Separate rates, title codes, and pools have been established for the following graduate program groups:

Computer Science & Engineering
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Structural Engineering
Electrical & Computer Science
Physics
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
All other graduate programs

Seven separate GSRTF pools corresponding to the above graduate program groups are used to collect monies for GSRTF from the GSR's funding source and to pay out GSRTF to individual GSRs. Each of the seven accounts is separate and independent of the other accounts.

Each GSRTF group's annual charge is calculated by summing the projected tuition and fees to be paid by all GSRs in the specific graduate group in the upcoming year, adding any deficit or subtracting any surplus from the group's previous year's account, and dividing this number by the projected number of eligible GSRs. Surpluses and deficits will not be shared with other GSRTF group accounts. The rates are updated and published by the UCSD Office of Contracts and Grants in August/September each year and are posted on the Web at: http://ocga2.ucsd.edu/proposals/tuition.html .

All proposals which request GSR salaries should include requests for GSR Tuition-and-Fee Remission at the average rate for the projected GSR's graduate program group. GSRTF continues to be excluded from indirect costs.

Eligible GSRs' tuition and fees will continue to be paid quarterly on an actual rate basis by the Office of Graduate Studies. The monthly charge for the GSR's graduate program will be debited each month from October through June against the fund source that paid the salaries of GSRs in eligible title codes. OGS has fiscal responsibility for managing the seven GSRTF accounts.

Graduate Student Researcher Appointments Not Eligible for GSR Tuition/Fee Remission
There are some situations when a Graduate Student Researcher, even though appointed at 25% or more during a quarter, is not eligible to be on the GSR Tuition and Fee Remission program.

1. A student has a fellowship or traineeship that already pays full tuition/fees and is the primary award. For example, a student has a Fellowship that provides a monthly stipend and pays full tuition/fees.
2. A student's tuition/fees are already paid by an outside (non-block grant) fund source. For example, an international student has his tuition/fees paid by his home government.

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