GA placeholders are estimates of GA benefits (tuition and student health insurance premium) that could be applied to a graduate student’s account if he or she is being considered for a GA appointment. They “hold the place” of the actual benefits that the GA will be receiving should the GA be hired. It is not a guarantee of appointment or benefits.
GA Placeholders are important because they allow the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) to package the financial aid for a graduate student for the entire academic year. This allows the student to budget accordingly and stay within federal financial compliance.
Anyone in an academic unit who has completed the External Award training may process GA placeholders. The EDGE Learning link to this training can be found on the Scholarships and Financial Aid page, under the External Awards- Information about processing and troubleshooting external awards section.
GA Placeholders are processed by using the following navigation in UAccess Student:
Main Menu > Financial Aid > UA External Awards > Enter External Awards
Follow the instructions provided from the External Award training (via EDGE Learning) when processing GA placeholders. If processing GA placeholders for more than five graduate students, using the “file-upload” option is recommended - but not required.
Academic units are encouraged to process GA placeholders at least six weeks before the first day of class or as soon as you are aware of the pending hire. Please load for both fall and spring when possible.
No. GA placeholders are not actual awards. The actual awards/benefits will be applied to the GA’s student account when all appointment requirements have been met and the hiring processes are completed.
FTE (Full-Time Equivalency): This information can be found using departmental information and/or the GA Offer Letters, if available.
Note: If you do not know the FTE of the graduate student that needs the GA placeholder, please use the highest amount.
Please visit the Graduate Student Tuition and Fees Chart to find the current item types and amounts that should be used.
No, because it is not a real award.
No. They are automatically approved.
Locate GA placeholder information using the following navigation in UAccess Student:
Main Menu > Campus Community > Student Services Center. Click on the “financial aid” tab.
Figure - GA Placeholder Example
GA placeholders will be removed by the Graduate College when all of the GA benefits have been properly applied to the students account.
If the GA placeholder amount(s) need to be changed/cancelled because of a change in hiring status, please follow the instructions from the External Award training/workshop. If workshop/training materials cannot be located, please contact UITS for assistance.