Editor’s note: The following message was sent to the CSU community on Nov. 29.
Dear Colleagues:
We are pleased to announce initial details of a new Graduate Assistant Mandatory Fee Coverage plan. Interim President Miranda discussed the need for CSU to take a hard look at compensation and equity for our faculty, staff and graduate assistants during the September Fall Address. With respect to graduate assistants, he referenced the need to give particular focus to fees. The Office of the President, Office of the Provost, the Graduate School, and the Graduate Student Council closely collaborated, with support by the Office of the Vice President for Research, to create a plan for mandatory fee coverage.
Using a phased-in approach to implementation, graduate assistants appointed as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), graduate support assistants (GSAs), or graduate research assistants (GRAs) will receive 100% coverage of all mandatory graduate student fees by the 2025-2026 academic year (AY). Partial mandatory fee coverage will begin in Spring 2023 with increases every academic year as follows:
| Spring 2023 | AY 2023-2024 | AY 2024-2025 | AY 2025-2026 | |
| Mandatory Fees Covered by CSU | 50% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
Because the mandatory fees will be covered rather than being reduced or eliminated, the graduate community will continue to have access to the important services funded by fees. As we implement this plan, we will continue to work toward more competitive graduate assistant compensation as part of our broader efforts to improve compensation for faculty, staff, and graduate assistants. More details of the mandatory fee coverage plan will be available in an upcoming SOURCE article.
CSU deeply values the contributions of our graduate assistants to the academic and research enterprises of our University. Coverage of mandatory fees is one way to recognize these contributions and improve the lives of our graduate assistants.
Best,
Rick Miranda
Interim President
Janice Nerger
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Sonia Kreidenweis
Interim Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs
