GRADUATE AWARDS

A. Associateships

Students who have been awarded Teaching Associateships will be assigned to teaching, research, or other teaching-related duties by the program chairs, the ADGC, or by the director. Specific assignments are determined by the needs of the School of Art. Graduate Associateships are awarded by each department for service related duties and do not include teaching responsibilities.

Graduate awards are made on a year-to-year basis and are not automatically renewed. If a student wishes to be considered for appointment or re-appointment, the ADGC should be informed in writing before March 15 of each year. Re-appointment will be based on satisfactory performance of assigned duties, quality of course work (at least a 3.0 grade average must be maintained), successful completion of reviews, and demonstrated abilities. In general appointments are made on the basis of individual program recommendations.

International students who are interested in teaching are required to pass a SPEAK Test in order to do so, unless English is their native language or an undergraduate degree from an English medium university or college has been received. The Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) administers the test after the student arrives on campus and before the beginning of each quarter.

1. Foundations Teaching Associates

Graduate students should consider the opportunity of teaching in Foundations as a reward for good standing and productivity in their programs. Teaching is considered in the School of Art a significant investment and responsibility, which may include project development, lesson plans, critique, office hours, facilities maintenance and grading. Meeting undergraduates at the entry level is also significant in its role as recruitment from the general university population and the servicing of other programs in the university.

Graduate Teaching Associates teaching in Foundations will be required to attend the Graduate Teaching Seminar (Art 500, 3 credits toward discretionary electives), unless they can demonstrate that they have had pedagogic supervision while teaching similar courses. The Graduate Teaching Associates may take the seminar before or during their first teaching assignment.

By accepting a teaching appointment in the Foundations program the GTA accepts the following responsibilities:

• Attend all Foundations meetings.
• Attend all Foundations functions that the GTA is requested to attend.
• Check mailboxes on a regular basis, at least before each class meeting.
• Activate their e-mail accounts as soon as they enroll in the GTA Seminar. Check their e-mail regularly, at least before each class meeting.
• Read and respond in a timely fashion to all communications from Foundations or School of Art personnel, including telephone, mail, and e-mail.
• Keep a current local address and phone number with the Chair of Foundations and the School of Art Student Services office. To insure proper communication during summer and in preparation for the subsequent fall quarter, graduate students must keep a functional summer address and phone number with the School of Art Student Services office.
• Be responsible for the condition of the classroom at the end of each class period.
• Participate in the upkeep of the Foundations facility and equipment.
• Turn in official forms, including grade sheets and course evaluations, in a timely fashion.
• Follow the Faculty Handbook in regard to academic matters (to view the handbook, go to http://www.ohio.edu/facultysenate/handbook/ or copies are available in the School of Art office). The performance of GA and TA’s will be reviewed each quarter by their respective program chair and the Assistant Director, Foundations. Continuing employment will be conditional on the fulfillment of the above responsibilities, proper execution of the specific teaching and service responsibilities, and the above mentioned reviews.

B. Tuition Waivers

Each year the School of Art receives a sum of money to be distributed in the form of tuition waiver scholarships. In order to provide financial aid to the largest number of students, full and half scholarships for one to three quarters are awarded. In general TWS awards are made on the basis of individual program recommendations. Students receiving TWS must be enrolled for at least18 hours per quarter.

C. Mini-Stipends for Summer Sessions

A limited number of mini-stipends are available for students continuing their studies during the summer sessions. The department chairperson should make requests for summer stipends in writing to the ADGC before the end of May. Recipients may be required to do 12 clock hours of service for the school during the summer. Students receiving summer stipends must be enrolled full-time and must receive funding in either the preceding Spring quarter or the following Fall quarter.

D. Funding Obligations, Limits, and Responsibilities

Graduate Students who receive the assistantships, tuition waivers, or stipends described above MUST perform services as assigned in exchange for the funding. The funds and waivers are NOT scholarships. They are payment in exchange for work. The School of Art also has certain obligations to students, but these obligations are limited.

1. Levels of Funding: the amount of funding received by each student varies with the type of funding awarded:

• Full Teaching Assistantship, ( TA ) + Full Graduate Research Scholarship ( GRS ) = $3,573. stipend + $2535. tuition waiver
• Half TA + Full GRS = $1,786. stipend + $2,535. tuition waiver
• Summer Stipend = $450.00 stipend + summer tuition waiver

NOTE: Students who receive funding are still responsible for paying various fees. The amounts of fees vary with courses taken, etc. Fees are usually at least $600.00 per quarter.

2. Service Expectations: the maximum amount of work expected from each student varies with the type of funding awarded:

• Full TA = 15 hours per week
• Half TA = 10 hours per week
• Full GRS = 8 hours per week
• Summer Stipend = 12 hours total

3. SOA Obligations and Limits to Obligations: the School of Art cannot reduce a student’s funding at any time unless:

• a student does not enroll in at least 18 credits per quarter (except summer)
• a student does not maintain an overal 3.0 GPA
• a student’s service performance is not satisfactory
• a student does not succesfully complete one or more Graduate Reviews
• a student withdraws or takes leave from all courses or from the university/program
• a student has earned 260 or more credits
• a student declines the funding offered
• funding allotments are reduced by the college and/or university

4. The SOA limits its obligations for funding to 10 quarters for MFA students and 7 quarters for MA students.

5. The university also has an “18 Quarter Rule” that may apply to some graduate students and which may override the above policies: http://www.ohio.edu/graduate/policy_quarterrule.cfm