TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

HANDBOOK

Last Updated September 30, 2006

GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS

Each year the College of Education provides teaching and research assistantships in the academic departments of the College as well as in other support areas. The Office of Graduate Education facilitates the recruitment and with the Department Chairs, selection of graduate assistants. The purpose of the graduate assistantship is to support doctoral programs in the College of Education. The number of assistantships awarded depends upon specific needs in the College and budget considerations. Graduate assistants may be involved in teaching, supervision of student teachers, or research support. A graduate assistant classified as .50 will be involved in 20 hours of work per week, and a .25 assistant must work 10 hours per week. A graduate assistant is appointed for the academic year (9 months). Opportunities for research assistantships during the first and second summer terms will be determined on the basis of funding availability and faculty research needs.

Pursuant to the assignment recommendations from the Department Chairs, the Dean of the College of Education has final authority in the selection, appointment, and assignment of all research assistants in the college. Graduate students employed as research assistants in the College of Education are subject to assignment college-wide without regard to their particular program or major advisor. Should a research assistantship become vacated during the academic year, the Dean of the College of Education will determine whether the vacancy should be filled. If the vacancy is filled, there is no assurance that the research assistant will be assigned to the same program or faculty for which the initial assignment had been made. The same selection process will be used to fill a vacancy that was used for the initial appointment.

Reappointment of Graduate Research Assistants

1. Each year prior to consideration of the reappointment of research assistants in the College of Education, the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research shall send to the supervisor(s) of each research assistant a memorandum requesting a performance assessment and the following information:

a. Did the research assistant assigned to you fulfill your expectations for the support of your research? Please provide a brief response.

b. Would you recommend the reappointment of the research assistant for another year? Please provide a brief response.

2. The application for the reappointment of a research assistant in the College of Education shall include a brief statement from the chair of the student's doctoral advisory committee or the student's advisor (in the case of a master's student) as to student's progress in his or her program of study.

Information on assistantships can be obtained from the department offices or the Office of Graduate Education, ED105.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF GRADUATE STUDENTS

1. The chair of each doctoral advisory committee in the College of Education will conduct a review of the student's program at least once a year. Any student not making satisfactory progress may be placed on probation and given conditions to meet in order to stay in the program. Continued unsatisfactory progress in any area of a student's work will be cause for dismissal.

2. The scope of the review shall include, among other relevant issues, consideration of grades, progress in all course work, qualifying examination, dissertation proposal, or dissertation research. The chair of the doctoral committee shall prepare a written statement for the student, with a copy to the student's file maintained in the Office of Graduate Education and Research in the College of Education of the results of the annual review.

3. For research assistants who are working on a Doctor of Education or Doctor of Philosphy degree a written statement of the student's progress in the program may be requested from the student's major advisor for use in the decision-making process related to the appointment or reappointment of research assistants in the College of Education.

POLICY FOR DISTRIBUTING TRAVEL FUNDS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

1. With the exception noted below, COE graduate students who have received written verification of having been selected to present a scholarly paper at a professional conference and who secure a COE faculty member's endorsement (i.e., that, in the faculty member's professional opinion, it is in the College and the student's best interest for the COE to provide financial support for conference attendance) will be able to apply for travel support once per academic year. As in the past, requests must be submitted and approved in advance of the conference.

2. Funds will be allocated on the following basis:

a. Doctoral students who have been admitted to candidacy (i.e., have completed course work and have passed qualifying exams) will be eligible to receive up to $500 when presenting at a widely-recognized and professionally appropriate national or international conference.

b. Doctoral students who have not yet been admitted to candidacy will be eligible to receive up to $300 when presenting at a widely-recognized and professionally appropriate national or international conference.

c. Masters-level students will be eligible to receive up to $250 when presenting at a widely recognized and professionally appropriate national or international conference.

d. Regardless of course work completion or degree sought (Ed.D., Ph.D. or M.Ed.), COE graduate students will be eligible to receive up to $150 when presenting at a professionally appropriate regional conference.

e. After the First of January each year, doctoral students who have previously received travel support during the same academic calendar year and who have an opportunity to present at a second widely-recognized and professionally appropriate national or international conference during that same year may submit a second request for travel support. Under these exceptional circumstances, funding allocation decisions will be made collectively by the Associate Dean for Administration and Special Projects and the Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research in consultation with the doctoral student's major advisor.

f. In all cases, costs associated with such factors as conference location, registration fees, and proximity to the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock will be weighed in consideration of final allocations.