ET&L Guidance for TAs FAQ
Q: What are the TA salaries?
Academic student positions are covered by the contract between the UW and the United Auto Workers (UAW). You may find the Variable Rate TA Salary Schedules on the UW Graduate School page.
Q: I am planning to relocate; do I need to take any action?
Any movement outside of WA state should be reported to the student’s professor and shared with Payroll so updates can be made in Workday.
For moving within the U.S., the following changes will need to be made:
- Confirm with professor/supervisor that work can be completed outside of WA state.
- Update primary address in Workday to reflect out-of-state address (https://isc.uw.edu/user-guides/edit_personal_information/). This will ensure students are taxed correctly based upon the state they are in.
- Email Payroll (payroll@ece.uw.edu) after the primary address has been updated.
Working outside of the country requires additional documentation and approval. No students should be working outside the U.S. without notifying payroll, advising, and the Graduate School. The ability to work outside the U.S. is limited due to the tax risks it could have on the student/employee and the University.
Here is the statement about location changes and work abroad:
“The ECE department recognizes extenuating circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic may cause work locations to change. Prior to a location change, please refer to the updated UW policies reflected on the UW Human Resources web page: (https://hr.uw.edu/policies/telework/). If the extenuating circumstances outlined in the policy align with your situation, it is your responsibility to notify your supervisor, instructor, and/or academic services contact of your situation as soon as possible and to ensure international remote work is approved.“
Q: What to do if I work more than 20 hours per week?
We want to remind everyone to be aware of the terms of your TA contract. According to our ASE contract: https://hr.uw.edu/labor/academic-and-student-unions/uaw-ase/ase-contract, ASEs with a 50% FTE appointment are not required to work more than 220 hours per quarter (approximately 20 hours per week).
At the start of the quarter, meet with your instructor and advisor to align on expectations. If you begin to fall behind or anticipate that your TA duties will exceed 20 hours in a given week, you should notify the course instructor as early as possible so that workload adjustments can be made.
How to start the conversation? You might say something like: “I anticipate that my TA workload may exceed 20 hours this week. Could we discuss possible adjustments? For example, would you prefer that I reduce hours next week, or reduce time spent on other TA responsibilities?”
If you would like support initiating this conversation, please feel free to contact your Lead TA for guidance or help facilitating the discussion.
If you don’t see your question here, feel free to direct it to the Lead TA (hachou@uw.edu) or Director of Academic Services (stepswan@uw.edu).