Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering

Many graduate students at Penn State receive assistantships for teaching-, research-, or extension-related activities. Below are some relevant facts pertaining to graduate students receiving assistantships.

I. Stipend and Tuition Waiver

A graduate assistant (quarter-, half-, or three-quarter time) receives a stipend commensurate with the percentage time and grade level (e.g., grade 11), and the stipend amount is established annually by the University. Stipend amounts are raised on an annual basis equivalent to the average University raise for that year. In 2001-2002 for a two-semester appointment, for instance, the stipend was $11,475 for a half-time grade-10 assistantship and $13,860 for a half-time grade-13 assistantship. In addition, regardless of the type of assistantship, all domestic and international graduate assistants receive a grant-in-aid of resident education tuition that covers tuition costs for the semester in which the assistantship is awarded. Graduate students awarded a fellowship or traineeship also receive a stipend and usually receive a grant-in-aid for tuition. Without the grant-in-aid out-of-state tuition costs for 2001-2002 would be $16,142 (2 semesters.)

II. Workload

A graduate assistant on a quarter-time assistantship normally enrolls in 9 to 14 credits per semester and is expected to provide teaching, research, or extension assistance that, on the average, consists of approximately 10 hours a week. Those on a half-time or three-quarter time assistantship normally enroll in 8 to 11 credits or 6 to 8 credits per semester, respectively. In return for the assistantship, the graduate student is expected to be involved with pedagogical tasks averaging 20 or 30 hours per week, respectively. The departments or programs awarding the assistantships provide the teaching, research, or extension assistant with the necessary training and mentorship to perform effectively and to render the assistantship a positive learning experience.

III. Medical Insurance

Penn State requires medical insurance for graduate assistants and full-time fellows (rank of P20 or P30). The University subsidizes 80% of the annual premium cost for graduate assistants and fellows for the Penn State Health Insurance Policy, which is underwritten by the MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company. In 2001-02, graduate assistants and graduate fellows will pay $143.00 of the total annual premium costs of $715.00.

In an effort to improve the plan, four improvements were made to the Penn State Health Insurance Policy in 2000-01. These included an increase in the maximum per incident benefit, a wisdom tooth extraction benefit, a new arrangement with The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in addition to the preferred providers of University Health Services and Centre Community Hospital, and enrollment at no cost in the Opti-Vision Discount Card Vision Program. The Opti-Vision Program is available through National Vision Administrators and provides savings on eye examinations, lenses, frames and contact lenses through the use of a participating provider network. Additional information about this Program will be provided to all graduate assistants and fellows through the Student Insurance Office, 320 Grange Building, (814) 865-7467.

In 2001-02, two other major improvements have been made to the Penn State Health Insurance Policy for graduate assistants and full-time fellows. Coverage for birth control has been added to the prescription benefits. In addition, the exclusion eliminating benefits for the removal of non-malignant moles, lesions and warts has been removed from the policy.

IV. FICA Exemption

As of July 1, 2000, graduate assistants are no longer required to pay FICA taxes on assistantships. This legislative exemption was secured by Penn State on the premise that graduate assistants are students, first and foremost, and not employees. Therefore, the stipends received by graduate assistants for services rendered in order to obtain their post-secondary degree do not constitute wages subject to FICA taxes. As a result, graduate assistants no longer have 7.65% withdrawn from their stipend. This amounted to a savings of approximately $878 for a half-time grade-10 assistantship and $1,060 for a half-time grade-13 assistantship.

V. Membership and Governance in the Graduate Student Association

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is the representative body for all graduate students, including graduate assistants. The governing body of GSA consists of three branches: the assembly, the executive board, and the judiciary. The assembly consists of delegates from each graduate program.

The executive board is comprised of the president, vice president, treasurer, executive secretary, secretary, representatives from the Faculty Senate and Graduate Council, director of public relations, and Judiciary Committee chair. The Judiciary Committee consists of a chair and five members appointed by the president and approved by the assembly.

The GSA members elect graduate students to serve on the University Faculty Senate (one), the University Park Allocation Committee (six), and the Graduate Council (five). Graduate students are elected to Graduate Council Committees: Committee on Graduate Research, Committee on Graduate Student and Faculty Issues, and Committee on Fellowships and Awards. In addition, the President of GSA has regular informal meetings with the Dean of the Graduate School.

VI. Graduate School Alumni Society

The Graduate School Alumni Society (GSAS) serves to recognize the unique relationship between graduate alumni and Penn State, with the common commitment to excellence in graduate education. All graduate students are given a 1-year free membership to GSAS at commencement.

VII. Professional Development Opportunities

The Graduate School sponsors three types of workshops each year: the Graduate School Faculty Workshop Series, the Professionalism in the New Millennium Series, and Special Conferences and Workshops.

The Graduate School Faculty Workshop Series, established in 1995, focuses on best practices in graduate education and serves to bring important issues in graduate education to the attention of program officers, department heads, and graduate faculty. This series is held annually, and topics that have been discussed include recruitment, professional ethics, successful approaches to preparing students for the job market, and faculty-student relationships. For example, the Fourth Annual Workshop dealt with “Beyond Cloning the Academic: Preparing Doctoral Students for Postgraduate Opportunities,” and the Fifth Annual Workshop was entitled “Faculty-Student Relationships: Promoting Mutual Accountability.” The Professionalism in the New Millennium Series, which began in Spring 1999, consists of professional development workshops designed to meet the needs of graduate students and postdocs. The Series brings together students from diverse programs of study to focus on areas of collective concern, facilitates communication across disciplinary fields, provides for graduate alumni involvement, and offers networking opportunities. Three recent workshops were entitled “Personal Marketing: Preparing for Non-Academic Careers,” “Successful Grant Writing for Graduate Students,” and “Technology in Graduate Education: Challenges and Opportunities.”

The Graduate School also sponsors several special conferences and workshops throughout the year pertaining to the graduate community and to graduate education at Penn State. Two or three of these workshops and conferences are held each year, including a retention conference for underrepresented students and topic-specific workshops, such as “University-Wide Ph.D. Placement Workshop” and “Changes to the Graduate Record Examination Workshop.”

VIII. Grievance Protocol, the Role of the Graduate School in Grievance Resolution, and Relevant Polices

Occasionally, problems arise between a graduate student and his/her mentor (advisor) or committee member outside the classroom. Whenever possible, disagreements between the student and mentor should be dealt with at the mentor-committee level within the department or program. If the problem is not resolved at this level, the student may file a written grievance with the dean of his/her college. In response to this grievance, the college dean (or dean of the Graduate School in the case of a student in an intercollege program) convenes a hearing committee to resolve the disagreement. The hearing committee submits its findings and recommendations in writing to the college dean (or the dean of the Graduate School) for a decision. The decision by a college dean may be appealed by any party to the dean of the Graduate School for review and decision. The dean of the Graduate School may seek the advice of the Graduate School Committee on Graduate Student and Faculty Issues. Additional details regarding the steps in this grievance protocol are in the on-line Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin, Appendix II (Resolution of Problems) (http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/studentlife).

Graduate students should also be aware of additional policies in the on-line Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin: Appendix I (Codes of Conduct), Appendix III (Procedures for Termination of the Degree Program of a Graduate Student for Unsatisfactory Scholarship), and Appendix IV (Termination of Assistantships Due to Inadequate Performance). Other relevant policies on the Graduate School web site include Guiding Principles for Good Practice in Graduate Education and Grade Mediation and Adjudication (http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/policies) and those in the University Policy Manual (http://www.guru.psu.edu/policies), especially RA10 (Handling Inquiries/Investigations into Questions of Ethics in Research and Other Scholarly Activities), RA13 (Coauthorship of Scholarly Reports, Papers, and Publications), and 49-20 (Academic Integrity).

IX. Miscellaneous Benefits

All graduate students are eligible for various discounts, including those for cultural and athletic events, use of recreational facilities and recreational classes, memberships in numerous extramural clubs, and parking. Further information on these benefits may be obtained from Penn State’s web site (http://www.psu.edu).