Graduate Student Service Appointments And Graduate Fellowships And Traineeships

There are two different classes of graduate appointments that provide financial support at the University of Washington to qualified graduate students. Below is an explanation of how the appointments differ in the way tuition waivers, taxes, etc., are handled. Graduate Student Service Appointments, that is, Graduate Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and Staff Assistantships are the first group. Graduate Fellowships & Traineeships are the second group.

TAXES: TEACHING ASSISTANTS, RESEARCH ASSISTANTS, STAFF ASSISTANTS have federal income tax withheld from their paychecks. Their income is reported on the W-2 forms in January.

IF the appointment is:
1. For at least 50% FTE
2. Has an active payroll distribution of at least 5 of 6 pay periods in the quarter
• Fall quarter 9/16-12/15
• Winter quarter: 12/16-3/15
• Spring quarter: 3/16-6/15
• Summer quarter: 6/16-9/15, only 2 consecutive pay periods necessary
3. Paid through the University of Washington payroll system
4. And the appointee is enrolled for at least 10 credits (except summer when a minimum of at least 2 credits is required) UNLESS the appointee has a petition for reduced enrollment on file with and approved by the Graduate School.

THEN graduate student service appointees AUTOMATICALLY receive, through an interface of the SDB (student database) and HEPPS (UW payroll database) system:
1. Resident Operating Fee Waiver (most of resident tuition)
2. An exemption from the non-resident differential portion of tuition (NRD) if the appointee is non state resident.
3. An exemption from the technology fee
4. Graduate Appointee health insurance paid for by the University for the appointee, and half the cost of insuring his or her dependents. Students should be sure to fill out the on-line insurance form and submit it by the quarterly due date (see graduate appointee insurance information) and be registered for 10 credits by the 10th day of the quarter. Eligibility is derived from information in HEPPS by the Benefits Office.

IMPORTANT: Coverage is NOT retroactive to the beginning of the quarter for appointments which are entered late. It begins the first of the month following the appointment start date or the date the appointment was entered into OPUS if that date was AFTER the start of the appointment. Departments should be sure that the Graduate appointment is entered into OPUS in a timely fashion. If you are waiting for a new budget number, you may have to pay a graduate student on a different budget, and do a retroactive salary transfer when the new budget number is available.

PLEASE NOTE: In order for the automatic interface for tuition waivers to work properly, the student’s UW student number and the correct social security number must be entered in both the student database (SDB) and the payroll database (HEPPS). Please check these numbers in both systems before calling for help.

FOR PROBLEMS WITH THE WAIVERS that are automatically generated by the interface between HEPPS and the SDB, contact Student Fiscal Services at sfsaid@u.washington.edu or phone 543-4694.

Taxes: The University of Washington does not withhold federal income taxes on fellowships and traineeships, and this income will not be reported on a W-2 form for the student. Fellows and trainees will receive a letter from the Payroll Office in January that tells them the income from fellowships or traineeships. Fellows and trainees should consult IRS Publication 520 (http://www.IRS.gov/pub/IRS-pdf/p520.pdf for further information.

Fellowships and traineeships vary considerably. Each fellowship and traineeship will have its own set of guidelines and restrictions, usually set by the funding agency. Following are the UW procedures concerning fellowships and traineeships:

1. IF the fellowship provides a resident tuition waiver, it MUST BE REQUESTED by submitting a Student Aid Authorization Form to Student Fiscal Services or entering the waiver on-line. Student Aid Authorization Forms are available at Student Accounts. Student Fiscal Services processes waivers requested on a Student Aid Authorization Form.
2. IF a non-resident fellow or trainee:
a. Is paid through the UW payroll system, AND
b. Has an active distribution for at least 5 of the 6 pay periods per quarter, AND
c. And the stipend is AT LEAST $500 PER MONTH, AND
d. Is registered for at least 10 credits (except summer when the minimum registration is 2 credits, unless more is required by the terms of the grant funding the fellowship or traineeship).

--THEN he or she qualifies for an NRD waiver. THE NRD waiver MUST BE REQUESTED by submitting a "Request for Exemption from the Non-Resident Portion of Tuition" (NRD) Form to the Fellowship & Assistantship Division of the Graduate School. The Fellowship & Assistantship Office checks the appointment for eligibility and manually enters each waiver. The Request for Exemption from the Non-Resident Portion of Tuition (NRD) Form may be obtained by calling or e-mailing the Fellowship & Assistantship Division of the Graduate School at 206-543-7152 or gradappt@u.washington.edu.

3. FELLOWS & TRAINEES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GRADUATE STUDENT APPOINTEE health insurance for themselves and for half the cost of insuring their dependents, if the above conditions are met AND the monthly stipend is AT LEAST $800 PER MONTH. For appointments that are at least $800 per month, for at least 5 of the 6 quarterly pay periods, use job class code 0863 for fellows and 0864 for trainees. The insurance eligibility is AUTOMATICALLY determined by information from the HEPPS (payroll database). The fellow or trainee should be sure to submit the on-line insurance form by the quarterly due date for each plan year or at the beginning of his/her appointment or when a change is made, if later than autumn quarter, AND register for at least 10 credits by the 10th day of the quarter.
4. FELLOWS & TRAINEES ELIGIBLE FOR THE GRADUATE INSURANCE ALSO ARE EXEMPT from the technology fee. The system is supposed to AUTOMATICALLY enter the exemption. If there is a problem, contact Student Fiscal Services.
IF students are NOT paid through the UW payroll, none of the above information applies.

PLEASE NOTE:
• NRD exemption requests will be processed each quarter. Please submit a petition FOR EACH QUARTER. Indicate the quarter on the form.
• The form will not be returned to departments unless there are problems, or it is not approved.
• Waivers, exemptions, and graduate appointee insurance will not be processed until the appointment that makes the student eligible is entered in the HEPPS system.
• If the student’s tuition statement does not reflect the NRD exemption BY THE TUITION DUE DATE, please contact the Fellowship & Assistantship Division of the Graduate School immediately.
• The form should be used ONLY for graduate fellows & graduate trainees: job codes 0860, 0861, 0863 & 0864 ONLY. Do not list TA/RA/SA appointees or senior fellows & senior trainees on the form. Consult Academic Personnel about senior fellows and trainees.
• Graduate students must be registered for the required 10 or more credits (except summer when the requirement is at least 2 credits) or have a petition for reduced enrollment approved by the Graduate School.

INFORMATION ABOUT HOW BUDGET TYPES AFFECT WHERE TUITION IS CHARGED:

RESIDENT OPERATING FEE: If the budget paying the salary for a Graduate Student Service Appointment is a state budget, the resident operating fee portion of tuition is waived, and not charged to any budget. If the distribution budget is not a state budget, then that budget is charged for the resident operating fee portion of tuition. A state budget is defined as budget type 01, budget class 10 thru 29 as coded in the UW Financial Accounting System.

TECHNOLOGY FEE ASSOCIATED WITH GRADUATE APPOINTMENTS: FOR ELIGIBLE GRADUATE APPOINTEES IF THE distribution budget is type 01 & class 31, or type 05, then a central administrative budget is charged the technology fee. The distribution budget is charged the tech fee if budget type/class is other than the type/class listed above.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS:
1. The appointment and distribution must be entered in the payroll database in order for the interface to take place.
2. Social Security numbers must match in both the student and payroll databases.
3. The appointee must be a graduate student and registered for at least 10 credits (except summer when the minimum is 2 credits).