In an effort to compete with peer institutions, UW-Madison announced Tuesday plans to change the policy by which graduate assistantship stipends are set.
The biggest change, according to a university press release, involves adjusting the rate of pay to set the stipend amount for research assistants. The maximum research assistant appointment will change from 75 to 50 percent.
Graduate School Dean William Karpus said in the release that these changes are crucial to helping UW-Madison compete for students.
“Graduate students play a critical role in the university’s educational and research excellence,” Karpus said in the statement. “This plan will keep UW-Madison competitive with our peers across the country.”
Karpus also emphasized in the release that these changes do not mean graduate assistants—including research, project and teaching assistants—will lose their jobs, face increased teaching loads, reduced stipends or see effects on health insurance or other benefits.
The proposed implementation has been set for May 2017, a year later than the university’s original estimates.
