2,907: Graduate Assistant Tuition Allocation Policy

Revised: November 2015

The University of Nevada, Reno allocates graduate tuition costs based on the following guidelines:

• Sponsored project account - tuition charges cannot exceed the amount proportional to the student's level of effort on the project for the entire semester.
• State account - tuition charges cannot exceed the amount proportional to the salary paid to the student for the entire semester from fund 1101 and 1104 accounts.
• Discretionary account - (e.g. department, PI indirect cost recovery) - full or partial tuition costs are allowable irrespective of the student's effort and/or salary payments.

Late Start Assistantships:

Assistantships that start prior to the eighth week of the semester are eligible for full tuition support for that semester. Tuition support for assistantships starting after the eighth week will be prorated based on the number of weeks left in the semester.

Terminated Assistantships:

When a student's graduate assistantship is terminated mid-semester, whoever initiates the termination, the following processes shall be followed. The graduate director and PI/direct supervisor shall meet with the student to explain the tuition implications of the change in employment status. This meeting shall occur prior to finalizing actions such as ending account lines or accepting a resignation. In the case of department-based graduate programs, the graduate director then will send an email explaining the reason for the mid-semester separation to the department chair, with a copy to the dean of the college and the Vice Provost, Graduate Education. In the case of interdisciplinary graduate programs, the graduate director will send the explanatory email to the department chair of the student's major advisor/committee chair, with a copy to the major advisor's dean and the Vice Provost, Graduate Education.

Tuition and fees for terminated assistantships will be prorated based on the number of weeks completed. The department will remain financially responsible for the weeks during which the student was employed in a graduate assistantship. The student will become financially responsible for the pro rata portion of the tuition and fees for the remainder of the semester. The department retains the option to pay all or an additional portion of the tuition and fees via an IPO. Any tuition charges that are deemed to be unallowable costs on a sponsored account will become the responsibility of the department that hired the student.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Faculty Supervisors/Principal Investigators: Ensure that student salary, tuition and insurance are charged to sponsored and state accounts reflecting the student's effort for the semester. Notify department/unit administrators to process corrective documents as soon as a change in the student's effort occurs.

Department/Unit Administrators: Assist faculty to prepare documents and manage accounts to ensure that charges are posted to the correct account. The designated account must be budgeted for the expenses. The correct budget lines are:

• Graduate student salaries - 12

• Health insurance and fringe benefit costs - 16

• Tuition and fees - 44

All documents must be complete, reference an account number that is budgeted for tuition, and use the correct amounts to be charged based on a pro rata distribution of the salary. Failure to provide complete and accurate information will result in a delay of processing the documents.