Assistantship Benefits, Resources, and Policies

Tuition Benefit

Tuition is covered by the Graduate School for some graduate assistants. To be eligible for the tuition benefits, appointments must typically be made by the University Census date (12 days into the semester). Tuition benefits do NOT apply to CSU Online courses. If specified on a Graduate Assistant Appointment and Certification Form, this benefit is provided in the form of financial aid, independently of the stipend, as a qualified base tuition reduction given for educational purposes under Section 117 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Graduate School only funds this benefit in the Fall and Spring semesters. Base tuition amounts are published on the Office of Financial Aid’s Tuition and Fee webpage in the Graduate Tuition and Fees section. Tuition Remission does not cover the Graduate Differential Tuition amounts published in this section.

Tuition Benefit for Graduate Teaching and Support Assistants

Tuition for Graduate Teaching Assistant and Graduate Support Assistant appointments is funded through a full-time equivalent model provided by the Graduate School to each college. Tuition contracted through this allotment will cover 100 percent of base tuition at 20 hours per week and 50 percent of base tuition at 10 hours per week. Full non-resident tuition is covered for domestic students in their first year while international students will receive non-resident coverage through their tenure.

Tuition Premium Program for Graduate Research Assistants

The Tuition Premium Program aims to provide financial support for the difference between resident and non-resident tuition for non-resident domestic GRAs in their first year of enrollment at CSU and for international GRAs during their tenure in their graduate degree programs. The Tuition Premium Program only applies in the Fall and Spring terms.  Reference eligibility and requirements on the GRA Tuition Premiums webpage.

Waived Student Late Fee for First Billing Cycle

The Graduate School, in partnership with Business and Financial Services, implemented a program to waive late fees for Graduate Assistants in the first billing cycle of each fall and spring semester. The program was implemented because we understand many GAs do not receive their first paycheck until after the first billing cycle due to processing delays in the student’s department or other units involved in processing appointments. GAs may disregard the first eBilling notification of each semester indicating that you will receive a late charge if your balance is not paid by the first billing date of the semester. 

Mandatory Fee Coverage Plan

Mandatory fees for graduate teaching and service assistants are covered by the Graduate School. Mandatory fees include General Fees, University Technology Fee, University Facility Fee, and the University Alternative Transportation Fee. The internal CSU SEVIS fee charged each semester (including summer) for international GAs will also be covered. Some partial-fee paying GAs (5 credits or fewer) are also charged the Health Network Fee and the Counseling Fee. These two fees will be covered for partial-fee paying students when relevant. GAs with less than a 0.5 FTE will receive the same level of coverage available to 0.5 FTE. GRAs fees are covered by the sponsored program. Sponsored programs are required to budget for fee coverage, if allowable by the grant. Please refer to your sponsor program contact for more details.

The State of Colorado provides a leave option (Health Families & Workplaces Act) for State employees, including GAs.

• Sick leave is accrued at one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year.
• The leave may be kept for 6 months after separation and can then be reinstated.
• Leave must be requested from supervisor or HR liaison in order to apply sick leave to correct assignment (as some people have multiple).

Professional Development Offerings

Dozens of workshops and networking events are offered in person and virtually each year, and there are multiple self-paced platforms available to you to help you search for and land a job, build industry-specific skills. Explore professional development resources here.

Volunteer Service Hours

This program allows graduate assistants and CSU employees eight hours of paid administrative leave each fiscal year to perform volunteer work at a broad range of designated community organizations. For more information about the program, including the list of designated community organizations, visit the Volunteer Service Hours program webpage.