For graduate students with an Assistantship (Research/RA/GR or Teaching/TA) and Graduate Fellowships (GF)

Please carefully read the requirements and obligations that apply to assistantships and fellowships as stated here. If you have any questions concerning the conditions of an assistantship/fellowship, contact the CMP Chair. Your signature below is required and commits you to full agreement and compliance with the stated conditions and forms a contract between you and the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. This agreement is based on the current guidelines for the Graduate Tuition Benefit Program (TBP) and Graduate student health plan, which is the definitive statement of conditions governing assistantships.

1. Students with Assistantships or Fellowships must be full-time, matriculated students working toward a postbaccalaureate degree. Full time is defined as being registered for at least 9 graduate credit hours You may register for a maximum of 16 hours but will have to pay full tuition for any credits over 12. Undergraduate, contract, and/or audited courses count toward the required minimum of nine credit hours but do not qualify for a tuition benefit.

2. A student holding an assistantship/fellowship must maintain a 3.0 GPA.

3. Students holding a 50% or “half” assistantship
a. are obligated to work an average of 10 hours per week during the semester(s) they hold the assistantship.
b. receive a waiver for 1/2 of general graduate base tuition during the semester(s) of the assistantship, plus the stipend specified in the offer letter.

4. Students holding a 100% or “full” assistantship
a. are obligated to work an average of 20 hours per week during the semester(s) they hold the assistantship.
b. receive a full waiver of general graduate base tuition during the semester(s) of the assistantship, plus the stipend specified in the offer letter.

5. Students holding a fellowship are not obligated to work and will receive a full waiver of general graduate base tuition and fees during the semester(s) of the fellowship plus the stipend specified in the offer letter.

6. Subsidized health insurance is available to teachings assistants (TAs), research assistants (RA), graduate research assistants (GR), and graduate fellows (GF) who receive a full 100% tuition benefit. Eligible TA, GR, RA, and GFs who wish to participate in this program must inform the CMP office when submitting this signed contract. International students are automatically enrolled unless they complete a waiver. Eligible students are billed for 20% of the premium. The Graduate School pays the remaining 80% at the start of the semester. If you do not pay your premium, you will not be insured for the semester. Note, some fellowships provide 80% of the premium as a scholarship.

7. Students with assistantships may not work more than 20 hours/week per position. If you work a second campus job, you are required to notify the department.

8. Students with fellowships must receive approval to work a campus job and this is limited to 10 hours/week.

9. If you plan to earn the tuition benefit by working in another department, you will need permission from CMP. Pre-planning is required to make these situations work.

10. The TBP does NOT cover differential tuition. It covers only regular graduate tuition. The TBP does NOT cover undergraduate classes. The TBP allows a non-resident to qualify for resident tuition. The student is responsible to pay any additional credit hours, health insurance, differential graduate tuition, and fees.

11. Students eligible for the TBP should check their tuition bill 3 days before the date the bill is due. If the tuition benefit does not appear on the bill, please contact CMP immediately.

12. The assistantship generally begins one week before the first week of classes and ends the day grades are submitted. Work is directed by the supervisor (often a faculty member) to whom the student is assigned.

13. Training/orientation sessions begin before the start of the fall semester. International students should plan to arrive several weeks in advance and domestic students should be on campus the week before classes start. You are required to attend training/orientation sessions. Other training may be required during the semester. CMP will provide more detailed information on these training sessions when it becomes available.

14. Your supervisor has the right to terminate your employment at any time if it is deemed that your job performance has been unsatisfactory or if you are not meeting your hourly obligation.

15. All international students must: a) apply to receive a social security number at least a month before the beginning of the semester to facilitate processing payroll requirements (Contact International Student & Scholars Services for assistance); b) must provide the I-20, I-94; foreign passport and social security number along with the payroll paperwork for processing; c) complete the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program https://gradschool.utah.edu/ita/ before the semester begins.

16. The tuition waiver is CONDITIONAL until all factors are confirmed as being satisfied at the end of the semester. If a student does not meet all the conditions of the Tuition Benefit Program, the student is responsible for the repayment of the portion of tuition waived during the semester in which the conditions were not met.

For more information, go to the Tuition Benefits Program page: https://gradschool.utah.edu/funding/tbp/