Hiring Graduate Teaching and Research Assistants/Associates
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Hiring Unit Procedures
  1. Recruiting. Hiring unit announces vacancy. Units may post vacancies on their own (or their college’s) website and/or request that other colleges or departments post the vacancies. Units may continue to use the RA/TA Announcement of Vacancy form or another form of their choosing. Units may also post the vacancy in ASU Insight by completing and FAXing the Assistantship Announcement form to Staffing/Recruiting at 480-727-8350.
  2. After the initial deadline, the hiring unit screens applications to verify that:
    • applications are complete
    • applicants have been regularly admitted to a graduate degree program; applicants not regularly admitted to a graduate degree program are not eligible for hire through this recruitment process
    • TA applicants whose native language is not English have a TSE or SPEAK score of 55 (50 for lab assistants); departments should maintain records documenting this information
    • applicants considered for appointment meet the required qualifications advertised


  3. Interviewing. From the applicants, who meet the required qualifications, the hiring unit selects student(s) to be hired. Units may continue to use the Applicant List form but it is not required. Departments should maintain all materials related to the recruitment for three (3) years from the date of the first appointment from the search.


  4. Offering Appointments. The hiring unit selects student(s) to be hired and sends offer letter(s) (see the Standard Offer Letter, no. 5a or 5b on the Hiring Packet page). If hired as a teaching assistant, the hiring unit notifies the applicant of the date, time, and place of Teaching Assistant Orientation.


  5. Student accepts the offer.


  6. Before preparing the hiring papers the hiring unit must:
    1. Re-check that the student being hired is regularly admitted to a graduate degree program.
    2. Re-check that a TSE or SPEAK test score is on file (if applicable).
    3. Verify that the salary being offered meets the minimum salary guidelines established by the Arizona Board of Regents and is within the pay scale for the hiring unit (verify with your dean’s office if in doubt).
    4. Verify that the FTE (percentage of time an employee works) does not exceed 50 percent.
  7. Hiring Paperwork. The hiring unit prepares the Hiring Process Report (HPR form), available from www.asu.edu/hr/forms/hpr.doc. When completing the HPR, hiring units should begin each job order number with the letter ‘G’ followed by additional characters (alpha or numeric) to be determined by the hiring unit.
    • A separate HPR is needed for each hire
    • Submit the HPR to Human Resources
  8. New Employee Payroll Packet. Give each new employee a New Employee Payroll Packet prepared by the Human Resources (HR) Customer Service Center. By federal law, an employee must complete this packet within three working days of the start date on the HPR form. When students submit the completed packet to the HR Customer Service Center, they must bring two forms of identification, including one picture ID. A list of acceptable identification is attached (see the List of Acceptable Documents, form I–9). The student cannot be paid until the packet is completed and submitted to the HR Customer Service Center.


  9. Add Award Using gPortal. Enter the information into gPortal (https://hrsa.oasis.asu.edu) to ensure that student receives appropriate tuition and health insurance benefits. For information and a training guide on entering awards into gPortal, go to MyASU Courses: http://myasucourses.asu.edu.
    • Log in with your ASURITE ID and password
    • Click on the red “Courses” tab
    • Search for OASIS
    • In the resulting list of courses, look for the one that says “OASIS: GPortal Financial Support for Academic Units”
    • Click on the “Enroll” button on the far right of the screen across from the title
    • Click on Submit
    • Click on OK
    • Review course materials


    10. If the TA/RA’s academic unit and hiring unit are not the same, the academic unit is responsible for entering this information.

  10. The HR Customer Service Center initiates payroll action.