Winter term 2025 contract guidelines for departments.
Winter term 2025 GA/TA contract processing schedule
The following guidelines for departments are in accordance with requirements for Graduate and Teaching Assistantship appointments outlined in the current GA/TA Collective Agreement (CUPE 4580).
Available GA and TA positions must be posted on the AAU website before each term. A standard posting period is considered to be 5-7 days prior to the application deadline.
Students interested in applying for a GA or TA position in a specific program/department should be instructed to visit the program/departmental webpage where available GA/TA positions are posted.
Departments are to follow the guidelines from the template for departmental GA posting or the template for departmental TA posting to prepare their job posting(s) and email a copy of the draft posting(s) to graduate studies for review (gata-fgs@uwindsor.ca) before posting the position(s) on the departmental website. A standardized application form is available to be used by departments.
The application deadline must be aligned with the anticipated position start date listed on the posting and the respective deadline for contract submission specified in the posted GA/TA contract submission schedule for that term.
Per the collective agreement the deadline to apply for assistantship positions should be at least 4 weeks before the term begins, noting that most departments would need to set an even earlier application deadline based on the targeted start of the position and in accordance with the posted GA/TA contract submission schedule for each term.
Departments are advised to follow the guidelines from the current template for departmental GA posting or the current template for departmental TA posting. The following should be included on all postings:
- Assistants cannot commence their GA/TA duties until email confirmation of the approval of their contract is received from Human Resources.
- GA and TA employees are expected to make themselves available to report for all assigned duties, both in-person/on-campus and remote/online duties.
For details refer to the current template for departmental GA posting or the current template for departmental TA posting.
The following are the hourly rates to be used when preparing GA/TA contracts:
Rates for Fall term 2024 and Winter term 2025 contracts:
GA rates (in effect since September 1, 2024):
- M II – $42.45 per hour
- PhD – $47.31 per hour
TA rates (in effect since September 1, 2024):
- TA I (Years 1 and 2) – $21.98 per hour
- TA II (Years 3 and 4) – $23.68 per hour
- TA III – $31.08 per hour
- M I – $31.08 per hour
Note that the above rates include 4% vacation pay. A TA/GA will receive 4% or 6% vacation pay based on their years of employment in accordance with the Employment Standards Act.
Departments should ensure to use the CURRENT "Notice of appointment to assistantship" contract form PDF.
Refer to the current GA/TA guidelines for departments (posted at the very top of this page every term) for detailed instructions including contract checklist, HR communication to hired students, etc.
After contracts have been prepared and completed, all contracts are to be submitted by the AAU via the GA/TA workflow - review the detailed contract submission instructions for departments.
The Department is to provide an outline of the GA/TA position and duties prior to commencement of the duties (article 12:07 of the GA/TA Collective agreement).
In addition to the GA or TA contract ("Notice of appointment to assistantship"), a document titled "Form 1 - Description of duties and allocation of hours" must be completed for each GA or TA appointment and kept on file in the department.
- Download the current version of "Form 1" (last updated in June 2023);
- Provide the form to the GA/TA supervising instructor along with the instructions below for meeting with the GA/TA and completing the Form 1.
- Obtain the completed Form 1, obtain a signature from the AAU Head at the bottom, and keep the completed and fully signed Form 1 on file in the department.
Note the following:
- The assistant must not commence work until they have received an email with the subject line of “Authorization to commence GA/TA duties". Instructors who have been provided with GA/TA support for their class(es) are to contact their AAU Head or program office for guidance regarding how to confirm the assistant has been authorized to work before they can start assigning duties to the assistant.
- Before signing Form 1, GA/TA supervising instructors and AAU Heads should ensure that Form 1 is fully completed, with a detailed description of the duties and breakdown of the assigned hours.
- The GA/TA supervising instructor must make arrangements for a meeting with the Assistant to discuss the duties in detail. The meeting must be held no later than 10 working days after the commencement of the GA/TA employment (article 14:04).
- For training purposes, instructors can refer GAs and TAs to the teaching supports for GAs and TAs as well as resources for Brightspace, the University's Learning Management System.
- The format of Form 1 provides for a mid-course review and, where appropriate, revision of the initially assigned duties and distribution of hours. Any changes must be recorded on the same Form 1, with the date of the review meeting noted, and the amended form should be signed again by assistant, supervisor, and AAU Head (digital signatures are acceptable). If there are no changes only the date of the review and signatures should be recorded on the form.
- An assistant must NOT work more hours than the total hours listed on their contract. If an assistant believes that they are likely to exceed the assigned hours in their contract, they must inform their supervisor in writing at least 20 hours prior to completion of the total hours in their contract (article 14:06). A notation to this effect appears also on Form 1.
The completed and signed Form 1 for each assistant is to be submitted to the department/hiring AAU, and kept on file in the department/AAU office.
Information about completion of required training for all new University employees, including new GAs and TAs, is available from the HR website under section “For Students: New Hire Package" under 'Required Employee Training & Employee Number''.
Returning assistants who have already taken the appropriate training in previous terms do NOT need to repeat the same training. Departments should establish their internal procedures and deadlines for verifying training completion.
Please ensure to include on Form 1 "Description of duties and allocation of hours" the hours for the required training - below are suggested guidelines provided by HR:
(1) for the Health and Safety modules:1.5 hours total - contact safety@uwindsor.ca
(2) for the Accessible Customer Service Training & the AODA and Ontario Human Rights Code training: 2 hours total - contact ohrea@uwindsor.ca. Alternative Accessible Customer Service training options for TAs only may be available as detailed below:
- (2a) TA appointments of 5 hours or more: the training should be completed through either the standard 90-minute online e-learning tool (same as GAs) or through arranging for a 60-minute training workshop with OHREA office (a minimum of 10 participants is required for the 60-minute training workshop) - for details contact the OHREA office (ohrea@uwindsor.ca).
- (2b) TA appointments of fewer than 5 hours:
- if duties involve direct contact with students: the 90-minute online e-learning module and quiz must be completed.
- if duties involve no direct contact with students: the training of such TAs can be completed through provision of brochures followed by a 30-minute online quiz - contact the OHREA office (ohrea@uwindsor.ca)
A variety of resources targeted to GAs and TAs in all departments are available summarized on the resources for GAs and TAs webpage.
For details about the collective agreement governing Graduate and Teaching Assistant positions refer to the current Collective Agreement (CUPE 4580).
For questions and guidance on the collective agreement provisions, departments may contact the Academic Labour Relations office at acadlr@uwindsor.ca or graduate studies at gata-fgs@uwindsor.ca
