Appointment Periods and FTE Information

Appointment Period

FTE and Appointment Period Information

GAs are appointed. As such, their reported hours may not be reduced in most cases. During periods where a GA is concurrently enrolled, total on-campus appointment may not exceed 26.4 hours per week (0.66 FTE). International GAs on F-1 or J-1 visas are subject to additional restriction: their appointment may not exceed 20 hours per week (0.50 FTE) while they are concurrently enrolled.

Every attempt should be made to have GAs enrolled for at least six (6) graduate units BEFORE their appointment start dates.  This is especially important for fiscal GAs as any hours worked without proper enrollment move them towards Arizona State Retirement enrollment.

GAs appointed at 0.66 FTE cannot be compensated over their FTE except during winter or summer.  GAs appointed at less than 0.66 that work hours above their designated FTE must be paid via supplemental compensation. A GA may also hold multiple appointments so long as the total FTE does not exceed the restrictions.

A GA on an academic contract is not required to perform duties outside of their contract dates unless the student and department agree (preferably in writing) about this prior to the appointment start date.  If the student and department have agreed to additional duties, requiring additional pay, please see the section on supplemental compensation.  Similarly, GAs are not required to perform duties on official university holidays (e.g. Labor Day, Thanksgiving closure, Winter closure, MLK day, etc.) unless the student and department agree (preferably in writing) about this prior to the appointment start date.  If the student and department have agreed to work on/over an official university holiday, they must be either given like time off on another day, to be mutually agreed upon by the student and department personnel, or provided additional compensation.

The University of Arizona has approved four possible FTE’s and maximum payable hours for GAs.