Graduate assistantships typically start at the opening of the semester, usually a week before classes begin. However, there may be good reasons why an assistantship should start before the semester begins, such as to provide preparation time for teaching a class, to provide training, to accommodate the timeline of a research project, to address administrative tasks that need to be completed prior to the start of the semester, etc. Appointments for new fall semester assistantships may therefore start as early as July 1. Regardless of start date, a student may neither begin a work assignment, nor be added to payroll unless an I-9 is on file.

Continuing graduate students enrolled and employed in the spring, who plan to continue their education in the fall, can remain in a student worker status during the summer, employed as either a graduate assistant or graduate hourly.

Important Note: The start of the fall semester (August Payroll) is the busiest time of the year to process payroll. Students assigned a start date and the student produces the mandatory I-9 prior to August 5 of any given year, that graduate assistant will not receive a paycheck until the end of September.

A new incoming graduate student may be hired as a temporary employee student prior to July 1. On July 1, that student will convert to Graduate Assistant status.