GTF Payroll Information

[Academic] • [GTF] • [Classified] • [Student]

GTF Qualifications

To be eligible to apply for a Graduate Teaching Fellowship (GTF), you must be a regularly admitted master’s or doctoral student and registered in nine or more graduate credits.  Contact Graduate School for special exceptions.

FTE Requirements

The minimum allowable GTF appointment is .2 FTE for a full term and the maximum is .49 FTE per term. Any exceptions to the .49 FTE limit must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School, and few are granted. See Article 21, Salary, in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (2014-2016).

FTE Limitations

  • GTFs cannot exceed 19.6 hours per week (.49 FTE)
  • To determine the hours required per term for a particular GTF position, multiply the advertised FTE by 438.  (See FTE chart on Graduate School website.)
  • GTFs with an appointment equal to or greater than .2 FTE will receive a tuition waiver for up to 16 credit hours per term.

Tuition and Fees

  • Each GTF receives a tuition waiver for 9-16 credit hours per term.
  • All students are assessed noninstructional mandatory fees, of which each GTF is responsible for paying $140 per quarter during the academic year. These fees are not covered for GTFs during the summer term.
  • Some courses, such as self-support courses, are assessed fees in lieu of tuition. These courses are not covered by the GTF tuition waiver.
  • GTFs are required to pay their portion of the student fees on time each term. Those paying after the deadline will be assessed interest. Students may make the minimum payment cited on the billing statement, but the remaining installments will be subject to interest and billing charges. To review student account and billing information, visit the Business Affairs web site.

Five Steps to Making a GTF Appointment

  1.  Make sure that you have funds available in your budget.
  2.  Announce the position according to Collective Bargaining Agreement (2014-16), Article 17; UO policies, and procedures defined by your unit’s General Duties & Responsibilities Statement and include the following:
    • FTE range
    • appointment terms
    • the contact person’s name, e-mail, and telephone number
    • eligibility requirements
    • job responsibilities
    • an application deadline date that ensures posting for at least 10 working days
    • the ADA statement noted at the bottom:  “An equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act”
  3.  Conduct the Hiring Process: Hiring units may opt to use the Graduate School’s Graduate Teaching Fellowship Application or Report on Graduate Applicant (recommendation form) as part of the GTF hiring process. If you interview applicants as part of the hiring process, interviewees with disabilities must be offered the opportunity for accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Office of Human Resources can help with this. Choose the best candidate according to the job requirements and your unit’s General Duties & Responsibilities Statement.
  4. Create the Offer Letter and Appointment Contract
  5.  Complete the Hiring Documents by using the GTF Pay Packet or the International GTF Pay Packet as needed.
    • The completed PRF (printed on green paper) and the GTF Appointment Contract should be sent to the Graduate School for processing. Afterward, the PRF will be forwarded to the Payroll Office.
    • Do not use a PRF for tuition remission and fee payments, financial aid awards, or non-work related stipends for GTFs.
    • If a GTF is to receive student hourly wages in addition to their GTF appointment, do not include these on this PRF. Please note that all students are limited during the academic year to a maximum of .49 FTE whether they are paid via a GTF assignment, student wages, or both. Student wage paperwork questions may be referred to Jen Sowins, Student Payroll Clerk at 6-1108.
    • If you have questions about the PRF, please call Debbie Davidson, Graduate School at 6-2824.

Completing the Hiring Process

The following items must be shared with each GTF upon appointment or reappointment:

  • A hard copy of the signed GTF Appointment Contract.
  • Duties and responsibilities of the particular position. This can be a job description or outlined as part of a job offer or cover letter, and a hard copy is recommended. Samples are available from the Graduate School.
  • The hiring unit’s General Duties & Responsibilities Statement:  Although providing a hard copy is no longer necessary, the hiring unit must provide GTFs with instructions on accessing its official General Duties & Responsibilities Statement via the Graduate School website.

Institutional Policies Memo

During the fall term, the Graduate School sends each GTF a letter of reminder on institutional policies governing their appointment, including:

  • Required status as a student admitted to a master’s or doctoral program
  • Required registration and completion of nine or more graduate credits toward the degree program during each term of the appointment (audits do not count).
  • The University of Oregon’s policy that appointment levels not normally exceed .49 FTE, counting both GTF and student employment hours.
  • The University of Oregon policy governing conflict of interest issues.
  • The employee candidate may be subject to criminal background and/or credit checks depending on the type of work they will be doing.

GTF Personnel Files

  • State law requires that GTF personnel files must be separate and distinct from academic files.
  • All evaluative or disciplinary material relating to a GTF’s employment or performance as a student shall be signed by the author and dated, or date-stamped, when received and placed in a file. This requirement does not apply to personnel information forms (PIF) and other similar material routinely placed in files for record-keeping purposes.
  • Copies of all documents pertaining to employment-related performance and evaluation of a GTF shall be kept in one file maintained in the GTF’s hiring unit. This does not preclude the keeping of additional files in other UO offices as needed for record-keeping purposes.
  • Written or evaluative material related to GTF employment shall not be included in materials transmitted to the Career Center unless requested by the GTF. See Article 11 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for more information about the placement of evaluative and disciplinary information in GTF personnel files.

Changes in the GTF Appointment

Please visit the Changes in the GTF Appointment section of the Graduate School website if there are any changes to the GTF appointment, resignation, termination, or withdrawal.

Guidelines and Best Practices

The Collective Bargaining Agreement (2014-16), via Appendix H Letter of Agreement: Facilities and Services, established “a joint committee to discuss the facilities and services stipulated in Article 10, ‘Health, Safety, and Work Environment’.” The committee was responsible for “developing suggested guidelines and best practices for departments and hiring units regarding equipment, instructional materials, supplies, and facilities provided or made available to GTFs for their assignments.” Read the committee’s Guidelines for Good Practice in Graduate Education.

Useful Links

GTF Payroll/Hiring Forms

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