Budget: Graduate Assistants
At Georgia Southern University, reasonable compensation for work performed by graduate students is comprised of three (3) components: salary, fringe benefit costs, and tuition remission. All three components need to be included in budgets.
- Salary component is budgeted for in the personnel or salary budget line.
- Fringe Benefits component is budgeted for in the personnel budget line.
- Tuition component is normally budgeted for in the other expenses budget line.
Example of a total compensation package for $28,105:
Student salary 3 semesters $18,000 + Fringe Benefits $1,377 + Tuition Waiver/Remission $8,728
1. Salary. When budgeting for a graduate student salary on a sponsored project please use at least the minimum rate set by the College of Graduate Studies; the minimum rate is $3,875 per semester (fall, spring, summer) for FY21 for a 0.5 FTE position (full maximum of 20 hours per week). Check the COGS website for stipend updates. The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Cost Principles regarding reasonable and allowable compensation must be observed.
Graduate students cannot exceed 0.5 FTE per program or combination of programs.
The National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other agencies may set minimum or maximum allowances for total compensation packages which must be followed for those proposal submissions. For NIH, the maximum amount for total graduate student compensation on a research grant is equal to the Postdoctoral zero-level Kirschstein-NRSA stipend rates and requirements in effect when NIH issues the grant award.
2. Fringe Benefits. Fringe benefits should be charged at the standard rate (see fringe benefit rate table above).
3. Tuition. At Georgia Southern, tuition remission is considered a component of a graduate assistant compensation package for the work performed while on appointment. All proposals, including re-submissions, competing renewals and supplements which include salary support for graduate research assistants where tuition is not prohibited by the sponsor, must also include the appropriate tuition amount in the budget. Tuition should be provided by the same funding source as the salary; the full cost of in-state tuition should be included with all proposals, renewals and contracts as part of the proposal budget. Out-of-state tuition waivers are automatically provided to all graduate assistants regardless of support source. Tuition rates are available through the Bursar’s Office.
Last updated: 4/27/2021