By
Eric Staples
May 13, 2009
Last month, teaching assistants in the College of Arts & Sciences learned that 20 percent cuts in teaching assistant (TA) funding would take away positions, leaving some without a source of income, tuition waiver, health insurance and, in some cases, student visa.
Although the Office of the Provost announced last month that it would provide a one-time funding boost to help limit cuts in the College of Arts & Sciences, it was not until Monday that TAs found out that money would be used to retain their jobs.
The one-time funding reduces the overall cuts to the college from $10.5 million to about $6 million. Ana Mari Cauce, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, said the majority of the money will be used to limit the loss of TA positions.
“We’re going to be using it not entirely on TAs, but almost all on TAs,” Cauce said. “It’s not going to be as bad as we feared. I’m fairly optimistic that we won’t see something in the 20 percent range.”
On Monday, a College Budget Advisory Council meeting was held in the College of Arts & Sciences to determine how the cuts to the college would be distributed. The meeting inspired confidence in Cauce to discuss a better future for TA positions next year.
“Based on con-
versations with dep-
artmental chairs who [were] at the meeting, we will see roughly the same number of TAs available next year as we did this year,” Cauce said. “This is largely due to the temporary funds that the provost’s office has made available.”
It was only last Friday that Cauce said “there will be some students that could have had TAs that probably wont have TAs next year.” After Monday’s meeting, she said that the statement “doesn’t ring true right now.”
The actual number of cuts will be sorted out in the coming weeks, but this is good news for graduate students. TA positions mean tuition waivers, medical insurance and a living stipend for students.
Losing TA positions could mean losing all these benefits, and even halting some graduate students’ studies.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford to go to school,” said first-year master’s student David Hays. “I’m out of state, so it’s $7,000 per quarter, out of pocket. If I don’t get a TAship, I would have to take leave until things improve and funding shows up.”
Hays called the results of Monday’s meeting “fantastic” and said he is greatly relieved by the news that came from it.
“This is more of a guarantee of my return in the fall,” Hays said. “This will greatly improve my ability to receive my degree on time.”
To third-year doctoral student Dan Wang, who is an international student from China, losing her TA position would mean complications when she travels home this summer.
“Being from mainland China there’s a tricky thing about getting a visa back to America,” Wang said. “If I get funding for the fall I can be sure I’ll get my visa on time. Otherwise, I’ll have to do more work to prove to the bank that I am financially stable, and I’ll have to wait longer to come back to America.”
Wang, along with other graduate students, will find out by June 1 whether or not she has a TA position next fall. She is, however, relieved that the future for TAs isn’t as dismal as anticipated.
“I will do a better job teaching this quarter by not having to worry as much about future funding,” she said.
Cauce said that, beyond the immediate future, there will still be complications in the college as a result of the funding cuts.
“This does not mean that we don’t have serious concerns about the future,” Cauce said. “The money is temporary, and it will be a while before we know how much of it will be available for the fiscal year 2011.”
Reach reporter Eric Staples at news@dailyuw.com.
7 Comments
#1 Joe D.
on May 13, 2009 at 6:43 a.m.(Seattle, WA | UW Community)
One right move-now for the elimination of some Associate VP's, rolling back other management positions, and taking back every penny of pay former acting dept heads and deans keep after the job is filled if they don't get it.
#2 Holland A.
on May 13, 2009 at 9:15 a.m.(UW Campus | UW Community)
I got an idea, what about offering partial TA ships. This could be 50% of tuition paid or full tuition and no stipend, or any combination of those things.
I find it amazing that people who get paid to go to school just for TAing a class are complaining about the possibility of having to pay for college. That is why student loans exist. I pay for school and so do many of my friends.
I am looking at grad school and talked to admission reps, and none of them offered anything like UWs TA compensation. None of them had even heard of free health care for TAs, and most didn't offer TA positions to grads, and only paid RAs around $14 an hour.
#3 MikeN
on May 13, 2009 at 1:22 p.m.(UW Campus | UW Community)
Holland,
In-state Grad Tuition: $10,047
Out-of-state Grad Tuition: $$22,519
Living Expenses: $12,336
(http://www.washington.edu/admin/pb/ho... http://admit.washington.edu/Paying/Fr...)
Master's (2 year, min): $44,766
PhD (4 year, min): $89,532
This is assuming that tuition or living expenses don't rise.
Also, grad students are usually not eligible for the grants or scholarships available to undergrads. Meaning that TA or RA positions are the only thing between them and $45K to $90K in debt.
#4 Lindsay M.
on May 13, 2009 at 2:56 p.m.(UW Campus | UW Community)
Holland, what program are you thinking of applying for? There are a lot of differences between graduate programs. Many professional students, for example, might expect to pay for their graduate degrees, but be rewarded by higher paying jobs on the other side. Humanities graduate students, on the other hand, typically don't expect to be paid as much once they enter the job market and, therefore, rely more on TA positions, which also offer invaluable work experience for those who are hoping to become Professors.
#5 Holland A.
on May 13, 2009 at 3:31 p.m.(UW Campus | UW Community)
I am applying for an MA in International Studies.
Mike, plenty of undergrads have large debts afterwards, especially out of state undergrads. If you are not willing to go into debt for your degree, then it must not be of enough value to you.
I just have to laugh that people are so angry they can't get free school and a living stipend, that is more then I make in 2 months at a part time job on campus.
#6 Sean K.
on May 13, 2009 at 5:36 p.m.(Seattle, WA | UW Community)
Holland - The University of Washington liberal arts/humanities "business model" is in many ways dependent upon the TA labor pool - the four or five TA's that were sitting in the front row of Kane 120 while you were sleeping relieved the University of the need to hire more faculty for the larger lecture classes, and, moreover they were, and are, the very reason why some many faculty here have the opportunity to publish. In other words, the people you are essentially depicting as unappreciative welfare cheats are a primary reason why you didn't have to borrow twice as much money from FAFSA.
Might be worth talking to a TA. They are the grunt labor, the indentured servants of the corporate university. Ask them about their finances are like and the margins they contend with.
Also, If you google "graduate student labor"- there are dozens of interesting journal/newspapers articles and blogs entries that discuss this very topic. They may trouble the simple caricature you present here.
#7 Holland A.
on May 13, 2009 at 9:43 p.m.(UW Campus | UW Community)
I have two roommates, one is currently a TA, one is an RA and has been a TA.
I understand them pretty well, they have told me plenty about the system.
My main point was that the admin should look into offering partially TAships instead, and that TA's should appreciate what they get.
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