Financial Aid

FINANCIAL AID GUIDELINES 

Financial assistance is available to graduate students from a large number of sources. These include fellowships, graduate teaching and research assistantships, scholarships, internships, work-study, and loans. The awards are granted through the Graduate School and through various departments and divisions on campus. 

Numerous teaching, research, and service assistantships, as well as doctoral fellowships, are awarded each year. These awards are available to only students pursuing either a master's or doctoral degree. Unless otherwise specified, applications for these awards should be made to the appropriate department chair or campus divisional office as early as possible, but no later than two weeks after the admissions application deadline for the applicable semester/term. Assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships will be awarded on a rolling basis as applications are received and accepted.

Teaching, research, and service assistantships are awarded on a semester by semester basis in an academic year. Applications and supporting documents should be submitted to the applicant's department in order to be considered. Students who are selected by their chosen academic departments and awarded assistantships will be given assignments in either research, teaching, library or staff service. The criteria for these awards are the individual's academic record and recommendation of the department chairperson in the student's chosen field of study. 

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Criteria for Accreditation mandates that the Graduate School develop policies governing the appointment and evaluation of graduate assistants (GAs) and monitor their implementation by employing units. These policies include setting minimum academic qualifications for holding a GA appointment, establishing appointment and renewal procedures, and setting average workloads, and reviewing stipend levels and ranges. Employing units enter a binding contract when the offer of a graduate assistant ship is tendered. It is imperative that unit administrators adhere to Graduate School guidelines and procedures affecting graduate assistantships which include the following:

Qualifications/Eligibility for Assistantships, Fellowships and Scholarships 

Only graduate students with acceptable academic records may be appointed to graduate assistantships or awarded fellowships. Before an appointment can be considered in effect, a student must be admitted to the Graduate School and be registered as a full- time graduate student. Full-time constitutes a minimum of nine semester hours in the fall or spring semester (a minimum of six hours for graduate credit) or a minimum of six semester hours in the Maymester and summer sessions (a minimum of three hours for graduate credit). Students admitted on conditional or provisional status may be appointed as GAs only when they have been granted regular admission status. 

However, students enrolling in graduate school for the first time, who have been admitted into the Graduate School on provisional or conditional admission status, may be considered for and granted assistantships by a department or division for the initial semester (first semester or first term in graduate school) only, using funding from other sources (non-Graduate School funds). All students enrolling with provisional or conditional status who are awarded financial assistance by their departments or divisions, must carry a full-time load and achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the first semester of enrolling and maintain a GPA of 3.0 in order to be considered for assistance during subsequent enrollment periods. The approved rules and qualification criteria established in the awarding unit and approved by the Graduate School will govern such awards. Information and applications for financial assistance awarded through a department or division may be obtained only from the various departments or divisions.

Students who fail to maintain a full-time course load in any given semester or term will automatically lose their assistantships, Students who receive grades of "I" (incomplete) or N/C (noncredit) in graduate courses counted toward his/her full-time status will automatically forfeit the graduate assistant for the next semester. Department chairs are expected to inform graduate assistants of this policy, monitor the course load of graduate assistants and report any violations of this policy to the Graduate School. Assistantships will be automatically withdrawn from departments and students if the Graduate School determines that GAs who do not maintain a full course load have not been identified and reported. Departments from whom assistantships are withdrawn under these circumstances will be given low priority in assignment of assistantships in subsequent semesters. Students who violate the full-time course load requirement will be disqualified from receiving assistantships in subsequent semesters/terms.

International students must hold and provide evidence of a current and valid Visa in order to be eligible for assistantships, fellowships, or scholarships. International students on assistantship whose native language is not English must meet all current language requirements for international students. GAs assigned to instructional duties (teachers of record) must have earned at least 18 hours of graduate credit in their teaching discipline prior to the appointment. Furthermore, teaching assistants must be directly supervised by an experienced faculty member in their teaching discipline, receive regular in-service training, and be regularly evaluated. 

The minimum graduate assistantship award will be no less than one-half of the amounts awarded by the Graduate School at the masters or doctoral assistantship level per semester. Appointments for a single semester, fall or spring, must also be at a minimum of 25% efforts. The calculated minimum graduate assistantship awards will be reviewed periodically.

Categories of Assistantships

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT (GTA) 

Graduate teaching assistants are assigned to a graduate faculty member in his or her particular area. Assistants are responsible for preparing lesson plans, teaching from specific course outlines, keeping student records, grading, and being available for outside classroom tutoring of students in the particular subject matter. Graduate assistants will be closely supervised and evaluated by the faculty member. Graduate teaching assistants who have primary responsibility for teaching a course for credit and/or for assigning final grades for such courses, and who do not possess a terminal degree in their respective disciplines, must have earned at least 18 graduate semester hours in their teaching discipline and a master's degree; be under the direct supervision of a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline; receive regular in- service training; and be evaluated regularly.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT (GRA) 

Graduate Research Assistants usually work under the supervision of a principal investigator on a funded research project. Assistants are responsible for performing laboratory research techniques, sample collection, and the supervision of undergraduate research students. Stipends are generally paid through a research grant. Graduate assistants will be closely supervised and evaluated by the principal investigator. 

GRADUATE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (GAA) 

Graduate Administrative Assistants are usually assigned to work in the Graduate School or other University business offices and the Library. Assistants are responsible for performing clerical duties such as word processing, filing, telephone answering an others as specified by their immediate supervisors. Assistants are closely supervised and evaluated by their immediate supervisors.

AWARDS

Contingent on availability of funds, all graduate assistantships/fellowship are awarded on a semester basis, except in special cases where students are expected to work for more than nine months. In those special cases, such students must be compensated for the additional months proportionately 

The maximum time limit (academic year and summer) for doctoral assistantships and fellowships is four (4) academic years. Doctoral assistantship and fellowship amounts may possibly vary in certain disciplines depending on the qualifications of the student, complexity of assignments, etc. In such cases, justification should be provided. Recipients must pay in-state tuition and fees out of the above amounts. 

The maximum time limit (academic year and summer) for assistantships at the master's level is two (2) academic years. 

In exceptional cases, graduate assistants can be paid more than the above stipulated amount, provided that justification can be provided based on reasons such as the qualifications of a student and the complexity of the assignment. Students are expected to pay in-state tuition and fees out of assistantship amount. 

For Tuition Scholarships, full tuition waiver for two (2) academic years for master's students and four (4) academic years for doctoral students. 

Support in the form of regular graduate assistantships/fellowships may be provided, upon petition, for students who are making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree but whose respective programs extend beyond two academic years or doctoral programs extend beyond four academic years. 

Nonresident Fees 

Students who are recipients of assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships from the Graduate School, or a department/division of the University are usually exempted from paying out-of- state fees. Students who are recipients of such awards from departments/divisions of Southern University (other than the Graduate School) must submit a request for out-of-state fee waiver through their department chair to the Graduate School. They must be submitted by the published University deadlines (April 1 , for the Summer term; July 1 for the Fall semester; and October 1 for the Spring semester), A full-signed Electronic Personnel Action Form (ePAF) must accompany the request with the appropriate budget number for the award. 

WORK ASSIGNMENTS/REQUIREMENTS 

All students are to report promptly to the Personnel Office for clearance and then to the contact person indicated on the award letter. Students are permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week during the regular university period of classes and the weeks of registration and final examination. All workloads must conform to the Minimum Wage Law. A work schedule from the department chairperson is to be submitted to the dean of the Graduate School. A payroll sheet is prepared each month by the Graduate School and each student is required to sign the payroll each time he or she reports for work.

EVALUATION/SUPERVISION 

Employing units are responsible for providing each GA with an annual written evaluation. This evaluation must be reviewed by the GA and one copy is to be placed in the student's departmental file. Evaluation must consist of a completed evaluation form and a graduate student performance assistant form. 

DURATION (TERM LIMITS) 

Assistantships for master's degree students will be limited to a maximum duration of two years and assistantships/fellowships for doctoral degree students will be limited to a maximum duration of four years. Department chairs are expected to monitor and enforce these limits. Department chairs who select recommend, or award assistantships, fellowships to students who are in violation of this policy will automatically lose those assistantships/fellowships. 

WITHDRAWAL OF ASSISTANTSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, OR SCHOLARSHIPS 

A graduate assistantship, fellowship or scholarship will be 
withdrawn from a student at any time, without any warning or 
notice, if any of the following occurs:

Student fails to maintain a GPA of 3.0. 

Student fails to maintain a full-time course load (nine semester hours in the Fall and Spring semesters, and six semester hours if enrolled in the Maymester and/or Summer terms). 

A student who violates this policy will be disqualified from awards in subsequent semesters 

Student does not perform work assignments satisfactorily Student fails to make satisfactory academic progress toward their chosen graduate degree 

FELLOWSHIPSAND TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS 

The Graduate School and various academic departments offer a number of fellowships and scholarships for exceptional students. All such assistance is awarded on the basis of the individual's academic achievements. At the master's degree level, preference is usually given to students who are enrolled in research or thesis programs. Academic departments select the recipients of their awards. 

BOARD OF REGENTS' GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP 
PROGRAM 

The Louisiana Educational Quality Support Fund provides Board of Regents' Graduate Fellowships for exceptionally qualified master's and doctoral students. Academic departments eligible for these awards vary from year to year. Most major areas-including the humanities, social sciences, basic sciences, education, agriculture, and engineering-are included annually. 

Interested students should submit scores on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examination, official transcripts of all previous college-level work, a one-page narrative of educational goa Is, and three letters of recommendation. Applications must be submitted through the candidate's department.