Policy on Appointment Periods and FTE

Appointment Period

2026-2027 Appointment Periods can be found on the Human Resources Document Calendar: https://hr.arizona.edu/calendars.  

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.

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.

Hiring departments may hire a GA into two positions within the same hiring department as long as the titles for each position are different (i.e. GA- Research at .25 FTE and second position as a GA- Teaching at .25 FTE), provided the combined FTE does not exceed .66FTE (or .50FTE for international students).

Departments should not hire a GA into two positions under the same hiring unit, if both positions are the same title. Departments should combine appointments (i.e. Two separate TA positions under the same hiring department) into one position totaling an FTE of no more than 0.66 FTE.  The GA Offer Letter should then identify the multiple positions that the GA is being hired into, and the associated job duties for each position.

A GA on an academic appointment is not required to perform duties outside of their appointment 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.

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