Update:
Thank you to the students who have taken the time to reach out and follow up on the memo below. We are grateful for your questions and the thoughtful conversations they have prompted. As a result of your emails, we offer the addendum below to add clarity to the original message. If you have questions, please reach out.
Process
The changes to TA support were considered by the University’s Graduate Student Relations Committee (GSRC), presented to the Graduate Student Association, endorsed by that group’s Council, and are with the University administration for consideration. These are all the groups who were involved in these conversations. Any assertion that other groups were part of the discussions about graduate student support is incorrect.
GSRC has also evaluated the changes in students’ cost of living and other factors and, based on these and other considerations, made a recommendation on increasing the minimum support for graduate students for the upcoming fiscal year, as we do every year. That recommendation is also with the University administration for its consideration.
Taxes
Under this proposal, students will be receiving more funding as a TA, which is taxable, and less funding through an award, which is not taxable. When considering this proposal, the GSRC acknowledged the tax implications of this change. The expectation is that for most students, the change in tax implications will be very modest and that the consistency (i.e., providing regular monthly support) is desirable. We are not able to evaluate how this proposal, if approved, would influence each student, because total taxes depend on all sources of taxable income the student may have, and personal deductions.
We also recognize that there is a small number of students who normally would not have received a concurrent award with their TA support, and, for those students, this change will result in a very positive outcome.
Awards influenced
The concurrent awards that are referenced in the memo below do not include the International Doctoral Student Award (IDSA) or the International Master's Award of Excellence (IMAE). If your support comes from a supervisor’s funds, or Tri-Agency grants, the proposal that is being considered won’t influence you. What is included in the proposal under review are those awards that are specifically paired with the TA funding, commonly referred to as a graduate experience award (GEA).
As always, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
On Feb 11 the following email was sent to Graduate students
To: Graduate students
From:David Billedeau, President & CEO, Graduate Student Association (GSA) and Jeffrey Casello, Associate-Vice President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Subject: Considering simplifications to TA support to help you budget
- We are considering changes to the way we compensate Teaching Assistants (TAs) by simplifying how they receive their support
- If approved, the University would combine regular hourly TA compensation with academic award funding making it easier for graduate students to budget
- The proposed changes must be evaluated for their compliance with Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019
Graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) play an essential role in supporting the University’s teaching mission. As part of that recognition, there is a formal annual review whereby the university administration and graduate student leaders evaluate TA compensation as part of overall graduate student support.
Currently, graduate students are paid an hourly rate for TA support and most TAs also receive an award that increases their total support each term.
Students told us they were finding it difficult to budget and plan using this approach. We recognize that it means that the overall compensation we give our TAs comes in unevenly across the term. We also had concerns about the practice as it appears that our published TA rates do not reflect the actual student support levels we are providing.
We are considering changing the way we compensate TAs by consolidating awards into our hourly rates
Through the Graduate Student Relations Committee (GSRC), comprised of graduate student leaders and university administration, we are considering a change in the way TAs will receive their support. Under the proposal, the University will combine regular hourly TA compensation with academic award funding to offer a more predictable funding model for students. We believe this change will make it easier for graduate students to budget for their monthly income and expenses across a term.
The GSRC has recommended that the hourly TA compensation rate should rise from $33.89 to $45. We will achieve this increase by redistributing the award funding offered. The Graduate Student Association (GSA) Council supports the proposal from the GSRC.
The proposed changes mean different things depending on your current financial supports
If the proposal is approved by the University's senior administration, who are assessing it with particular consideration for its compliance with Bill 124, this proposal means that:
- if you normally receive TA support and the concurrent award, your hourly rate of pay will go up and your academic award will go down, but your overall compensation for the term will stay largely the same
- if you only get the TA support, your hourly rate will increase and your overall support will increase across the term
- if you are a PhD student for whom the TA support is the pathway through which minimum funding is met, this change will not (by itself) change your termly support. We are reviewing the minimum PhD funding level with the GSRC and you can expect more information on this later.
You can expect to hear more from us once the University has considered these proposed changes.
If you would like more information on this proposal, or any other issues related to graduate student support, please email gradrelations@uwaterloo.ca and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can contact David Billedeau, President & CEO, Graduate Student Association or Jeff Casello, Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, or your Faculty Associate Dean.
