Graduate Union for faculty/staff

Administrative processes

Tuition remission

• At least 2 weeks before bills go out (generally bills go out mid-July for fall; for spring, generally mid-November), departments should typically send a list of students who are eligible for tuition remission to the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), who will then enter the exemption code in the student’s account in Banner. A nightly feed will update the student’s account.

Timeline: List of PhD students due to GSAS around July 1 and November 1. This needs to be done at least 2 weeks before bills go out (generally bills go out mid-July for fall; for spring, generally mid-November). It is also acceptable to send the list of students earlier than this timeline! A template is here.

Health care subsidy

• Per the CBA, all Graduate Workers in doctoral programs, performing unit work on a fully funded stipend based on a 20-hour work week, for a full semester (fall or spring), for nine (9) months or for 12-months, will be covered by the University student plan at a 100% subsidy during the appointed semester.
• Departments should typically send a list of students who are eligible for 100% of the health care subsidy to the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, who will then enter the exemption code in the student’s account in Banner. A nightly feed will update the student’s account.
• If a student who is eligible for the health care subsidy and previously waived it has a qualifying event and needs to opt into health care coverage, they can contact Chris Bostek in Student Accounts. Chris will then direct them to University Health Plans to fill out the qualifying event form at info@univhealthplans.com.

Timeline: List of PhD students on stipends due to GSAS around July 1 and November 1. This needs to be done at least 2 weeks before bills go out (generally bills go out mid-July for fall; for spring, generally mid-November). A template is here.

Employed student lists provided to union stewards

Departments should provide a list of masters and PhD students who will be employed for the new academic year to their assigned union steward. It is understood that this is a tentative list. Union stewards will reach out to new employees to educate them about the union and to obtain a membership card for the union.

Timeline: The list should be sent by July 1 to the union steward for each department where feasible. Again, it is understood that this is a tentative list. A final list of all union employees will be handled directly between the Payroll Office and the Teamsters early in the semester.

Hiring documentation for Graduate Student Union

Assignment letters

Appointments and assignments are outlined Article 10.

Timeline:

• Typically 8/1 (fall) and 12/15 (spring) for appointments (i.e., funding) (admission letter can serve as the appointment letter)
• Typically 8/15 (fall) and 1/1 (spring) for assignments (specific job assigned); for summer, 14 days before work begins
• The University will endeavor to provide assignments for masters students as soon as they are known

All appointment and assignment letters and contracts for union positions must be shared with the Office of Student Employment per Article 13 (email them to oncampusemployment@clarku.edu). Templates for TA and RA assignments can be found here.

Compensation

Compensation information is in Article 16 of the CBA. The AY 25-26 nine-month appointment salary for all departments except for the English department is $30,313. The salary for the English department is $12,648. The hourly rate for AY 25-26 is $20.36.

The 12-month salary (only for graduate workers with complete external funding) is $40,417 for all departments except for the English department, which is $16,864. The Office of Student Employment will confirm the percentage increase for each new academic year to union departments each year, typically in June, after consulting with Human Resources.

Instructor of record assignments

If a Graduate Worker that does not hold an appointment in a given semester (or during the summer) is offered an assignment to teach a course as the Instructor of Record, the Graduate Worker shall receive the prevailing base rate for the course, plus an additional $1,500 per course. A template for the instructor of record assignment is here.

Hire forms

Hiring information should be submitted to the Office of Student Employment. Process information is on our Hire a Student page; the TA/RA spreadsheet should continue to be used and should be emailed to oncampusemployment@clarku.edu. Other union positions (including work funded by external grants) must be submitted via Interview Exchange. Leave approvers will be designated by department.

It is preferable to submit hiring information for the entire year; if assignments change from semester to semester, that does not affect the job record information unless the pay changes (e.g., if a student is working as a TA one semester and teaching a course the next semester). It is easier to terminate a position early than to create a new job record.

Instructor of record hiring process

• Chief Budget Officer sends spreadsheet of approved funds for PT faculty for courses to departments.
• The departments hire PT faculty (which can include doctoral students), and send the student their contract. Copies of the contract should be sent to the Office of Student Employment.
• The department administrator submits an Interview Exchange hire form to the Office of Student Employment.

Pay dates and start of employment considerations

For PhD students on salaried assignments, the pay is divided into 9.5 pays per semester with a break in between semesters. The first pay for fall is 8/22/25 and the first pay for spring is 1/9/26. Instructors of record are paid via 8 pay periods because they are not entered until after add/drop. The payroll dates for instructor of record assignments for Spring 2026 are 2/6/26 through 5/15/26.

Timeline:

• Hire forms due to the Office of Student Employment no later than 8/1 (fall) and 12/1 (spring); for summer, hire forms are due 14 days before work begins.

Note about international students:

• The timing of when a new international student can work is related to when they arrive in the US and can apply for a Social Security Number (SSN). New international student staff should be provided with the guidelines on how to apply for an SSN. Students must secure and present an SSN in order to remain employed at Clark, per our Student Employment Verification Policy included in the Student Employment Handbook.

Contacts