FAQs for Implementation of New Labor Contracts for GSRs, ASEs and Postdocs

Last Updated: March 17, 2023

On March 14, 2023, the University of California distributed an FAQ that details information related to various details of contract implementation for ASE and GSRs. Please see the “Frequently Asked Questions: Implementation of ASE and GSR Collective Bargaining Agreements” online.

On Feb. 1, 2023, the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, in collaboration with campus partners, hosted a Town Hall to address the details and implementation of these new contracts. The recording of that event can be found here and is embedded below. A copy of the slide deck used in the Town Hall can be viewed here.

We continue to appreciate your patience and collaboration as questions/answers are added to this FAQ. We encourage you to check back periodically because updates will be made as more answers are received. Please find the ASE, GSR, and Postdoc Contract Implementation FAQs below and on the pages in the left column.

Basic Principles and Concepts

The Contracts

Although the contracts are finalized, the PDFs are unformatted; links to the final articles can be viewed below. Formatted contracts will be posted on the UCOP website, Bargaining Units and Contracts.
Academic Student Employees (ASEs)/BX Contract
Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs)/BR Contract
Postdoctoral Scholars/PX Contract

The Impact of the New Contracts on UC San Diego Graduate Funding Reforms

Nearly five years ago, UC San Diego embarked upon an ambitious agenda to reform graduate funding. The goals were to set minimum support expectations for graduate students, and to attempt to enact many suggestions intended to aid our students in receiving funding packages that would make UC San Diego competitive when recruiting the best and brightest students.

Given that these new contracts address many of the same goals that our funding reforms set out to address, which principles of UC San Diego’s graduate funding reform will remain in place after the new contracts begin?

Here are the basic principles that shall govern graduate funding, going forward with the incoming cohort in FA23:

UC San Diego will continue to offer all incoming PhD students a five-year funding guarantee for the academic year; and all incoming MFA students will continue to be offered a three-year guarantee for the academic year.
The funding guarantee is for the 9-month academic year and does not include summers. The new contracts have rendered the previous campus policy regarding minimum annual support of $30k unnecessary and moot.
all PhD [and MFA] students who are under an active 5-year [3-year] funding guarantee, in any academic-year quarter, shall receive a minimum compensation (from all university sources, including non-work sources) that is equivalent to no less than the quarterly (3-month) rate associated with a Salary Point 1 of a 50% Teaching Assistant or GSR appointment, whichever is less.
Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition (NRST) coverage shall be governed by what is stipulated in the contracts. UC San Diego currently has additional local policy governing NRST coverage for students under the funding guarantee and, separately, GSRTF. This policy will be revisited. We'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

Salary Scales and Timing

The new ASE and GSR contracts are in effect immediately following ratification. Some portions of the contracts, including wages, will be phased in over time. The new rates will govern our minimum rates of compensation for graduate academic student employees.

The AY 2022-2023 salary rate is effective April 1, 2023, and future escalations are expected to be effective each October. Updated salary scales, once formatted, will be posted annually on the UCOP website Current Academic Salary Scales.

The phased-in base rates of compensation for each type of employment category, sorted by level of appointment and phase-in period, are depicted in the tables in this pdf.

Important Notes:

Please remember that neither the University nor the contracts require 12-month appointments. The tables above show both the 9-month and 12-month equivalencies.
UC San Diego policy is that all PhD [and MFA] students who are under an active 5-year [3-year] funding guarantee, in any academic-year quarter, shall receive a minimum compensation (from all university sources, including non-work sources) that is equivalent to no less than the quarterly (3-month) rate associated with a Salary Point 1 of a 50% Teaching Assistant or GSR appointment, whichever is less. Given that the GSR and ASE rates are not identical, it is possible to appoint a student at less than 50% GSR or ASE and still meet UC San Diego’s minimum academic-year quarterly compensation policy.
For new students (entering FA23), a department may make a determination about where to place a student on the GSR steps/salary points. Current GSRs should be placed on the indicated salary point that corresponds to their current step (indicated as ‘Prior step’). Moving forward, in all cases, GSRs and ASEs must meet the contract expectation in terms of work experience.
The percentage appointment should be based on work effort. If the work duties and effort for GSR or ASEs are modified, the percentage appointment may be increased or decreased. However, there is no requirement or expectation that the percentage appointment should change solely on account of ratification of the contracts.

ASE (BX) & GSR (BR) Contracts

Academics

How should we be thinking about 298/299/500 courses going forward? This seemed to be an important debate during the strike… is there any new guidance?

The Academic Senate and Senate’s Graduate Council are presently discussing this issue. Once new guidance is developed, it will be communicated. For now, as is true with any course, it is always best practice to have clear syllabi with associated learning goals and expectations, descriptions of academic expectations, and clear explanations of how academic assessments and evaluations of work will be conducted. The contract acknowledges that academic responsibilities continue to exist for all students and that these academic requirements may be separate from employment workload.

If we have more restrictive departmental policies on dismissals/discipline based on the number of U grades in 299 or 500 courses than GEPA policy, can we retain these departmental policies?

Yes, departmental policies should continue to be followed. For students who are not meeting academic requirements, please ensure you are following the academic probation and dismissal guidelines available here.

Appointments & Hiring

What is the timing of the salary increases?

Generally speaking, the contract is in effect immediately upon ratification. The specific contract articles governing wages go into effect 90 days after ratification. The effective dates for the new ASE and GSR wages are denoted in the tables above.

What are the guidelines for FTE and step/scale conversion from the old to the new rates?

Yes, please refer to the tables above for details on the mapping of the current Step levels. While the contract provides expectations for salaries, work effort and responsibilities remain under the purview of the University as part of management rights.

Can we combine a student’s appointment in a given quarter so that they are both an ASE and GSR? How do we do this now?

As has always been true, any student can concurrently hold different types of appointments (ASE, GSR). This has not changed.

What is important is to remember is that UC San Diego maintains its commitment to ensuring that all PhD [and MFA] students who are under an active 5-year [3-year] funding guarantee, in any academic-year quarter, shall receive a minimum compensation (from all university sources, including non-work sources) that is equivalent to no less than the quarterly (3-month) rate associated with a Salary Point 1 of a 50% Teaching Assistant or GSR appointment, whichever is less. This can be achieved with lower than a 50% appointment depending on the appointment type, salary scale, and combination of funding sources. Percentage appointment must be commensurate with the hours worked (effort), and not calculated to achieve a gross dollar figure.

There may be an issue with % FTE with actual work effort - how will departments and PIs comply with any requirements such as “workload will be commensurate with the appointment percentage and title/classification.”?

The responsibilities and workload for GSRs and ASEs remain under the purview of the University as part of management rights. Work duties are expected to be briefly described in the Appointment letters. Strict adherence to hire at 50% is not a requirement of the contract. However the Workload article states that the appointment percentage must be commensurate with the hours worked (effort), and not calculated to achieve a gross dollar figure.

Are student employees allowed to work remotely? How can we ensure that students come to campus?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can. Under no circumstances is UC employment permitted for students who are abroad. Per HR guidelines, there are significant risks to the University of California with allowing employees (including student employees) to work from an international location even for a short period of time.

Child Care

What will be the process for child care reimbursement (ASE & GSR)?

New: Students must submit the request for reimbursement no later than 30 calendar days following the quarter for which the reimbursement is sought. Staying the same: Students, in coordination with their departments, should complete the UBEN 254 form from the GEPA website, Support for Student Parents. Hiring departments should then process the payments in UCPath. The process for entry into UCPath has not changed.

What funding source will cover the cost of childcare reimbursements?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

What funding source will cover the cost of dependent care insurance coverage?

The employee (student) pays this cost on a pre-tax basis. For more information, please see DepCare FSA for Academic Student Employees.

What funding source will cover the cost of paid time off for illness, maternity/baby bonding, caregiving?

The same funding source as the gross pay (there is no separate funding source entered in UCPath for leaves).

Will the new child care costs be included in the CBR rates and will the CBR rates increase?

A CBR rate is not used for GSR or ASE benefits. Childcare is directly reimbursed (see above).

When do the increased childcare reimbursement amounts and dependent health insurance kick in? Winter 2023 or Spring 2023?

Increased childcare reimbursement started January 1, 2023.

How will child care reimbursements that have already been entered for Winter 2023 be handled? Will departments need to make manual adjustments in UCPath?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

When does the "expanded to 8 paid weeks per year for serious health conditions, family care, baby bonding, pregnancy or childbirth-related needs" benefit begin?

Dependent health insurance and 8 paid weeks of leave started upon ratification, which was December 2022.

Fee Remissions & Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition (NRST)

The “Current Practice for NRST” sections in both contracts appear to only codify the OP policy to reduce NRST by 100% for up to 3 years, post candidacy. The contract itself does not require NRST remission for pre-candidacy students; yet, current UC San Diego policy does. Is that correct?

Yes, this is correct. The contract does not require NRST remission for pre-candidacy students. UC San Diego currently has additional local policy governing NRST coverage for students under the funding guarantee and, separately, GSRTF. This policy will be revisited. We'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

Remission of tuition and fees for GSRs and ASEs has been posted to my ledger without any adjustments for the strike. Will this be adjusted?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

How does this affect JDP students who don't currently pay tuition/fees at UC San Diego?

The process remains unchanged for JDP students.

How does the contract affect students from self-funded M.S. programs who are employed outside their home academic department/program? Will the employing department pay the remission of tuition and fees?

Since tuition and fees are a benefit of employment, the employing unit is expected to cover the remission of tuition and fees. Fee remission will be proportionately split according to the distribution of effort across all salary fund sources.

Graduate Funding Reform

Are graduate students guaranteed a 50% appointment?

ASEs/GSRs are guaranteed the compensation at the rates outlined in the tables above, commensurate with and according to their specific effort. Nowhere in the contracts, nor in university policy, is it stated that students are guaranteed any percentage of appointment. However, as explained above, UC San Diego policy states that all PhD [and MFA] students who are under an active 5-year [3-year] funding guarantee, in any academic-year quarter, shall receive a minimum compensation (from all university sources, including non-work sources) that is equivalent to no less than the quarterly (3-month) rate associated with a Salary Point 1 of a 50% Teaching Assistant or GSR appointment, whichever is less. Appointment percentage must be commensurate with the hours worked (effort), and not calculated to achieve a gross dollar figure.

What are the implications for the $30K funding minimum guarantee? Will we still have a minimum 12-month funding guarantee, and if so, what will be the amount?

As stated above, the funding guarantee is now for the 9-month academic year and does not include summers. The new contracts have rendered the previous campus policy regarding minimum annual support of $30k unnecessary and moot.

Will GEPA fellowships, funded by intramural/university-controlled sources (i.e. core, gift) be adjusted to uniformly meet the Graduate Funding Reform (GFR) minimums?

It depends. The levels of GEPA fellowships are determined by the GEPA Dean who, after examining the overall budgetary climate, may make different decisions on a year-to-year basis. Also, because every fellowship is unique, questions about specific fellowships should be forwarded to GEPA.

Will UC San Diego maintain a maximum support level policy (limiting compensation (from all university sources, including non-work sources)?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

If there is no campuswide maximum support level policy (limiting compensation (from all university sources, including non-work sources), will academic departments be allowed to set their own departmental maximum?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

If departments are allowed to set their own departmental maximums, will they be allowed to reduce departmental support when a student receives third party support, extramural fellowship, or EVC/GEPA/School-funded fellowships?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

How is fellowship support for "paid directs" going to work with respect to meeting funding guarantee or local department minimum funding levels?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.

Is any amount paid to students considered wages, and therefore subject to the same annual escalations as the salary scales? What is the future of departmental "top-offs" of salary or other financial incentives in graduate student recruiting? Numerous such practices were cited as "Direct Dealing" Unfair Labor Practices by UAW.

Additional monies outside the standard wage, sometimes referred to as “top-ups or top-offs” may be subject to the negotiated contracts. We do not know the full details of top-ups at this time, but we’ve reached out for guidance and will update the FAQ as soon as we can. Moving forward, programs are encouraged to eliminate top-ups and if possible, to distribute monies in the form of employment or non-work based fellowships.

Wages, Salary Tables, Salary Range Adjustment

Will adjusted compensation rates automatically be programmed in UCPath?

Increases will be handled via a UC-wide salary range adjustment. The range adjustment will collapse the existing GSR tables, expand the ASE tables, and increase the rates.

We have historically given departmental prizes based on research and teaching excellence that are accompanied by small one-time monetary components. Can we keep offering these prizes with monetary components? Would this answer be the same as the one above for “top-offs”?

We don't have the answer at this time, but we've reached out for guidance, and we'll update the FAQ as soon as we can.