Guidance for Remote Graduate Assistantships

Policy

GSAD-901 Graduate Assistants (formerly PR06)

GSAD-905 Summer Graduate Lecturer/Researcher (formerly PR17)

Procedure

P3 - Remote Graduate Assistantship (GA) Procedure

Introduction

Graduate assistantships (GAs) provide pedagogic and educational experiences designed to make students better instructors, researchers, and scholars. To accomplish this, the supervisor of the assistantship necessarily serves in a mentoring role, which requires regular interaction, close communication, and timely feedback with the graduate assistant. Thus, to fully receive the substantive educational benefits of a GA, students are generally expected to be in residence1 for the duration of their GA.

In addition to the important in-person benefits to the graduate student serving specifically as a teaching assistant (TA), providing a quality TA experience for the undergraduate students in a resident instruction course typically requires the physical presence of a TA. Office hours, recitation sessions, presence in the classroom, etc. can sometimes be diminished when the TA is not physically present.

However, the Fox Graduate School recognizes that certain educational opportunities that fully align with the goals of a GA can only be undertaken away from the student’s home campus. In addition, the Fox Graduate School recognizes that there are times when it is appropriate to provide an exception to the expectation that students appointed to a GA remain in residence. This document describes the Fox Graduate School’s approach to requests for remote GAs: a collaborative decision-making partnership between the Fox Graduate School and academic colleges integrating necessary guardrails to ensure timely degree completion and effective guidance. It also emphasizes the importance of mentoring plans to set clear expectations.

Goal

To create a structured guidance document for managing remote graduate assistantships (GAs) that accommodates students' needs while ensuring effective oversight and timely progress toward degree completion.

Guiding Principles

• Collaborative Decision-Making: Establish a shared decision-making process involving the Fox Graduate School, academic colleges, and graduate programs to ensure mutual understanding and support
• Equity and Access: Ensure the guidance supports diverse student needs, reduces barriers, and provides equitable opportunities.
• Oversight and Accountability: Implement clear oversight mechanisms to track student progress, mentor involvement, and compliance with legal, labor, and tax requirements.

Key Components of Framework

1. Eligibility Criteria for Approving Remote GAs
   • Clear Guidelines for Eligibility: Colleges, or at the college’s discretion, individual graduate Programs define specific criteria for remote assistantships, including assurances that:
     • The student is in good academic standing.
     • The student is making satisfactory progress toward degree completion.
     • The nature of the assistantship (e.g., research vs. teaching) is appropriate for remote status.
       
     • The student can perform assistantship duties effectively, without compromising quality.
       
     • The remote GA is necessary for the student’s progress (e.g., unique fieldwork, medical needs).
       
     • The remote GA address circumstances beyond the student's control (e.g., family or childcare needs).
     • A brief statement of the general principles under which remote GAs will or will not be approved ,and if appropriate, other specific circumstances that will and will not be approved
     • Whether approvals can be for 1 or 2 consecutive semesters at a time (summers included), subject to legal and regulatory constraints.
       
2. Constraints
   • University
     • Remote GAs outside of the U.S. must be approved by PSU Export Control to ensure compliance with US export control laws and regulations.
     • Remote GAs outside of the U.S. may not exceed 180 days out of 365 days to comply with international tax laws.
     • Requests for international students to undertake a Remote GAs must be approved by ISSA to ensure compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations.
       
   • Graduate Council
     • Regardless of the number of remote GA requests approved, Ph.D. students still must meet residency requirements as described in GCAC-601 - Residency Requirement - Research Doctorate.
   • Fox Graduate School
     
     • GCAC-213 - Residency and Related Policies for Off-Campus Degree Programs states, “A research doctoral (Ph.D.) degree may not be offered as an off-campus graduate program, including online."
     • Remote GAs prior to the Comprehensive Examination may only occur in a semester in which the student has no didactic courses
       
     • Students may not be on a remote GA for more than 2 consecutive years.
       
   • Program
     
     • Establish initial duration limits (e.g., a semester or an academic year) with clear provisions for renewal based on performance metrics and academic progress.
3. Decision-Making and Approval Process
   • Local-Level Authority: Primary decision-making resides with the graduate program, which understands discipline-specific needs and student circumstances.
     
     • Each College must develop a plan or directions for graduate programs in the College that specifies that each program will do the following:
       • Securing a Mentoring Plan prior to the student’s departure
       • Tracking student progress
       • Addressing concerns
         
       • Assuring these requirements are met.
         
   • Fox Graduate School Role: The Fox Graduate School ensures compliance with broader legal, labor, and tax requirements, intervening only when necessary (e.g., cross-state work, export control compliance), in consultation with relevant offices (e.g., HR, Export Control, OGC).
4. Required Performance Monitoring and Milestones
   
   • Regular Check-Ins: In addition to regular mentoring interactions, implement structured check-ins (at least once a semester) to:
     • Assess academic progress, assistantship responsibilities, and emerging issues.
   • Milestone Tracking: The Fox Graduate School maintains centralized tracking of key academic milestones (e.g., dissertation proposals, comprehensive exams) and receives regular updates from graduate programs.
   • Clear Deliverables: Assistantship supervisor establishes (in writing) deliverables for research assistants (e.g., reports, publications) and performance reviews for teaching assistants, aligned with their remote duties and academic milestones.
     
5. Ensuring Effective Mentorship
   
   • Clear Mentoring Plans: Each remote GA must have a detailed mentoring plan (see Fox Graduate School Mentoring Plan Template for required elements of the mentoring plan) specifying:
     
     • Roles and responsibilities
       
     • Communication frequency
       
     • Performance evaluations
       
     • If a request is for two consecutive semesters, engagement with Ph.D. committee should be part of the mentorship plan (if the committee has been formed).
   • Training for Supervisors and Students: Provide training on best practices for remote work, emphasizing clear expectations and productivity maintenance.
     
   • Integrated Review Processes: Include remote GAs in existing program’s student review processes to ensure consistent mentorship quality and academic progress.
6. Flexibility in Application
   • Responsive to Student Needs: Programs can flexibly approve remote assistantships that meet academic and personal needs, provided oversight measures are satisfied.
     
   • Access to Resources: Ensure remote students have access to necessary resources (e.g., technology support, library services) to minimize barriers to success.
     
7. Tracking
   
   • To ensure equitable opportunities for remote GAs across the university, colleges will provide the FGS with a yearly summary:
     
     • Number of requests by type (categories to be defined by the FGS)
       
     • Number of approvals by type
8. Consequences for Underperformance by a GA
   
   • Interventions for Underperformance: Programs must continue to follow normal procedures to monitor and address student academic and assistantship performance per policies GCAC-800, GCAC-803, and GCAC-804, including but not limited to:
     
     • Communication of expectations
       
     • Probationary periods.
       
     • Potential revocation of remote privileges.
       
9. Non-Compliance by a Graduate Program
   
   • Graduate Program Accountability: Graduate programs that fail to manage remote assistantships effectively may temporarily lose the autonomy to approve such arrangements.
     
10. Implementation and Review
    
    • Pilot Phase: This is a pilot program to gather feedback and refine processes.
      
    • Annual Policy Review: Establish an annual review process to solicit feedback from students, advisors, and graduate programs, adjusting the policy as needed based on evolving needs and external requirements.
      
    • Continuous Improvement: Use data from the pilot phase to refine the framework, incorporating feedback from all stakeholders.