INFORMATION ABOUT GRADUATE INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTSHIP APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION
The Sustainability Faculty Advisory Council appoints graduate instructional assistants (GIAs) using the following guidelines.
1. Similar to scholarships, GIA positions are competitive. Just because a student applies does not mean she or he will receive a GIA position. We always have more applications than available positions.
2. The Advisory Council evaluates several items as we consider potential GIAs:
A. Application to the program (including GPA, statement of purpose, and recommendation letters)
B. Students’ availability: Students must be willing and available when the supervising faculty member and/or department needs them.
C. For current students applying for GIA positions and for continuation of GIAs: Faculty consider comments about students (positive and/or negative): Our assessment of your skills, maturity, civility, and professionalism during our meetings with you, email conversations, in our classes, with other students, etc. and academic performance in our classes
3. Applicants must understand that GIA positions, once given, are not guaranteed. GIAs are evaluated each semester by their supervising faculty members, the graduate director, and faculty with whom they are taking classes. GIAs can be dismissed during the semester in which they are employed or not hired after one semester (or more) of being a GIA for violating any department, Graduate College, or University rule or policy, which includes Title IX violations, Honor Code violations, and lack of professionalism with any person associated with the university, among other reasons.
4. Applicants must understand that no two GIAs will be doing the exact same tasks for their supervising faculty members. Applicants must be willing and available to engage in a variety of required duties.
5. Summer GIA appointments are very competitive. We are able to employ only a few GIAs. GIAs are not automatically selected for summer: a student who is a GIA in the spring is not guaranteed a GIA position in the summer. If a GIA is interested in working during the summer, he or she should let the graduate advisor (Dr. Giuffre, pg07@txstate.edu) know by April 1.
6. The Sustainability Advisory Council may make exceptions to any of these guidelines at their discretion (except for official Graduate College guidelines, which rarely allow for exceptions).
7. Refer to UPPS 07.07.06 for the full rules regarding the hire of assistants. Per Graduate College policies: GIAs must have a minimum of 3.0 and be enrolled in 9 hours of coursework each fall and spring. GIAs cannot be hired if they have a conditional acceptance; students must be unconditionally accepted in order to work as a GIA.
All students who have received GIA positions must be available to be on campus two weeks prior to the first day of classes.
