* This information replaces FIS 403 Graduate Assistant

 

Effective: 06/08/2006 
Revised: 04/15/2013

 

Graduate Assistant Employed by Non-Academic Unit

Per OSU Graduate School, all graduate assistant appointments are made by the Graduate School or an academic department.  Administrative and student support units are required to partner with an academic unit when hiring a graduate assistant.  The academic unit is responsible for paying the student from the appropriate academic department’s general fund index.  When a graduate assistant is working in an administrative or other unit, the academic department must be reimbursed for the costs incurred by them. 

For graduate appointments supported by OSU general fund 001100, a journal voucher must be processed debiting the administrative/support unit and crediting the academic unit’s general fund index for the amount of both wages/stipends, differentials, and OPE.  In the absence of a contrary policy in the academic unit, OPE should be calculated at $9 per term plus any applicable benefits for those covered by the bargaining unit agreement.  Since tuition remission follows the salary index, it will be reimbursed by the institution. 

For graduate appointments supported by Statewide Public Service and other funds (non-001100 E&G, Designated Operations, Service Units, Auxiliaries, and Restricted Funds), partnering of the funding unit with an appropriate academic unit will be required to gain authority to offer tuition remission.  For all of these funds (ranges 001101-019999, 030000 – 039999, 050000 – 199999, 200000 – 499999, and A00000 – ZZZZZZ), the wage/stipend, OPE and tuition remission continue to be a direct cost of the Statewide Public Service or other fund operation.  Coordination between the academic unit graduate student coordinator and the business center of both units is essential.  These administrative units will need to provide their index to the appropriate academic department, which in turn will initiate the appointment paper.  The Business Center Human Resources Office will only accept appointments from the Graduate School or academic units.

PROCEDURE:

The following procedure should be used by administrative units to reimburse academic departments for wages/stipends and OPE of graduate assistants working in their unit.

For graduate appointments supported by OSU general fund 001100, a journal voucher (3BCx rule code) must be processed:

            Debit  Administrative/support unit index – using account 24999
            Credit  Academic unit’s general fund index – account 79302

The amount of the JV should include both wages/stipends, differentials, and OPE.  Instructional Tuition Remission and Health Insurance subsidy is not included in the amount because the institution will reimburse the 001100 general operating fund for this cost.

For graduate appointments supported by Statewide Public Service and other funds (non-001100 E&G, Designated Operations, Service Units, Auxiliaries, and Restricted/Grant Funds) the cost is paid directly from those funds.  There is no journal voucher necessary, nor is there a reimbursement for tuition remission.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:

See "Guidelines for Accounting & Reimbursement – GA Tuition Remission" on the Graduate School website.