Department:

Biology

Schedule:

Varies, dependent on lab schedule and department needs

Position Summary:

A Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) assists faculty by teaching lower-level courses or labs; developing teaching materials; and preparing and grading examinations, papers, or other student work. The GTAs must be assigned to and responsible for teaching a credit bearing course and will be under the supervision of a faculty member experienced in the teaching field. A GTA’s work with students will be closely supervised and must provide opportunities to gain teaching skills and a better grasp of the academic discipline. The supervising faculty member is responsible for overseeing the assignment of all grades to students in the courses.

Positions will be filled based on individual applicant’s skills, qualification, and departmental needs.

If you choose to apply for employment as a graduate student at JSU, your transcripts and letters of recommendation will be reviewed by personnel from the units who have posted a graduate administrative assistantship position.

Compensation:

Scholarship: 6-9 graduate semester hours of tuition and the general university fee (maximum of $4,100)

Stipend: $4,000 paid in 4 monthly installments over the course of a fall or spring semester or paid in 3 monthly installments over the course of a summer semester. Max of 20 hours per week for total of 16 weeks on a monthly pay cycle.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Serves as lab instructor.
• Assists in logging and processing course materials, assignments, papers, and internship materials.
• Assists in research related tasks including use of the library and internet to find and/or update sources.
• Assists faculty and lab supervisor in lab preparation and clean-up.
• Performs a combination of duties under the supervision of the faculty and lab supervisor.
• Performs clerical and other related duties as assigned.

Graduate Assistantship Qualifications:

To qualify for a graduate assistantship appointment, a student must satisfy the following eligibility requirements: 

• Must be classified as a degree-seeking graduate student at JSU.
• Must be actively enrolled in a graduate degree program at JSU during the assistantship semester.
• If a new student, must be admitted to a degree program.
• Must be actively enrolled in required coursework towards the degree. The Graduate Assistantship will not pay for courses that are not in the degree program plan of study/checklist.

Note: If a student is classified as a graduate student and is required to take undergraduate courses for the graduate degree (foundation courses, undergraduate deficiency courses, etc.), the Graduate Assistantship will only pay for these courses if they are documented as required courses via memo from the student’s advisor to the Director of Graduate Studies.

• Must hold the minimum required GPA for the student’s enrolled degree program.
• During the assistantship semester, must be enrolled at JSU in six to nine (6-9) graduate semester hours in a fall or spring semester or six to nine (6-9) graduate semester hours in a full summer term. (Full summer term = May, June, and July). An exception to this requirement may be made by the Director of Graduate Studies, under the following circumstances:
  • If a student is classified as a graduate student and is required to take undergraduate courses for the graduate degree (foundation courses, undergraduate deficiency courses, etc.). The Graduate Assistantship will only pay for these courses if they are documented as required courses via memo from the student’s advisor to the Director of Graduate Studies.
  • If a student has made satisfactory progress toward obtaining the graduate degree and needs fewer than six (6) graduate semester hours available to complete the degree, the student may be considered for an assistantship.
  • If a student will hold a Graduate Teaching Assistantship during a summer term, the student may be allowed to enroll in fewer than six (6) graduate hours to be considered for the assistantship if the courses are required for the degree.
  • Must not be holding another campus job.
  • A graduate assistant is prohibited from accepting, receiving, or being credited for other forms of tuition scholarships or waivers from the University. Scholarships from sources outside of the University and the JSU employee benefit of tuition assistance will both be permitted.
  • If the student has previously held a Graduate Assistantship position at JSU, the student must have fulfilled all duties and complied with all policies to be considered for another Graduate Assistantship.
• It is preferred that a Graduate Teaching Assistant not teach and take a class during the same summer term. Any student wanting to teach and take a class in the same summer term must be granted permission by his/her advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies prior to enrolling in the course. Requests should be sent via e-mail.
• It should be noted that the graduate assistantship tuition scholarship may affect the amount of federal financial aid for which students are eligible. The graduate assistant will be responsible for determining if there is any impact on eligibility of other financial aid programs.
• Must complete FERPA training, Sexual Harassment training, and other training as required through JSU.
• International graduate assistantships must be certified by the Director of the International House and Programs to perform duties and receive compensation.

Notice Regarding International Students:

• All International Students must be in a valid immigration status. 
• Due to Visa requirements international students must be enrolled as a full-time JSU student and possess each of the following:

a.  Passport from their respective country.

b.  F-1 Student Visa or J-1 Exchange Student Visa.

c.  U.S. Customs Form I-94.

d.  Official photo identification.

e.  Official Social Security Card imprinted with “Valid for Work Only” or similar statement.   

Required Documents:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Unofficial Transcript

Clery Notice: In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act,  https://www.clerycenter.org/the-clery-act the Jacksonville State University Police provide information on crimes statistics, crime prevention, law enforcement, crime reporting, and other related issues for the past three calendar years. The JSU Annual Campus Security and Fire Report is available online at: http://jsu.edu/police/docs/CleryAnnualReport.pdf

Equal Employment Opportunity: JSU is an Equal Employment, Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.