GA/TA Hiring Guidelines for Departments

Before submitting a job offer for approval, review the GA & TA Hiring Checklist for Departments and ensure the requirements are completed.

GA/TA appointments will be created as a " job requisition" in UWinsite People. Contracts ("notice of appointment") will no longer be uploaded into the GA/TA Workflow (with the exception of supersede or cancelled contracts – see section titled ' supersede or cancelled contract' below)

1. Create student job requisition for hiring in UWinsite People for GA and/or TA positions - follow the Step-by-Step Instructions for Hiring a GA/TA in UWinsite People.
2. Match successful student applicants to a requisition.
3. Complete a job offer for a specific student (normally by graduate secretary or dept. admin staff). (If applicable, attach a TA III memo and/or Grace-Term GA recommendation form to the job offer - p.71 of the Training document for Hiring a GA/TA in UWinsite People). The student must be registered before a job offer is submitted.
4. Department Head Approval of job offer. The job offer must be approved by the Department Head (as per the GA/TA processing dates)  
5. Send an email communication to students to let them know that they are being offered a GA/TA appointment - refer to section titled 'student communication' below for details.
6. Approval of job offer by Graduate Financial Aid Assistant, Graduate Studies.
7. Approval of job offer by Dean of Graduate Studies (or designate).
8. Approval of job offer by Human Resources.
9. The approved offer is sent back to the graduate secretary/ dept. admin staff who extends the approved offer to the student.
10. Employment offer must be accepted by the student. 
11. The accepted offer goes to HR for review.
12. If HR determines employment documentation is missing, the student will be required to submit to HR. Students are not eligible to work until all required documentation has been received by HR.
13. The student will receive email confirmation of the approval of their appointment from Human Resources 3 days prior to the start date

Departments will be able to view the status of a contract within the workflow. Weekly reports will also be made available.

After the Department has completed the 'job offer', advise the student that a “job offer” for GA or TA appointment will be coming from UWinsite People, the University's Human Resources and Payroll System.

Communication regarding the job offer will be sent to their UWindsor email, with required tasks to be completed by the student as soon as possible as to not delay processing time.

Provided the student has submitted all required documentation within the deadline(s) specified by HR, they will receive a GA/TA offer of employment with their start date.

Three calendar days before the start date, the student will be sent an email titled “Authorization to commence GA/TA duties". Students are not permitted to begin their GA or TA work duties until the student has accepted the offer, submitted all required documentation in UWinsite People, and received the HR authorization to work email titled “Authorization to commence GA/TA duties". 

For details, contact information, or questions about their employment contract students should review HR's FAQ website for student appointments.

The term start date for the Summer 2026 is May 4, 2026. The start date of all appointments should reflect the date the student is expected to begin working and cannot be any earlier than May 4, 2026.

While there is some flexibility in setting the start date of the GA/TA appointments, the end dates for full-term appointments must align with those set by HR for Sessional Appointments to ensure the exam and marking period is covered. Normally the end date is the last day of the month the student is expected to work i.e. August 31st for full-term Summer appointments.

The job offer must be created in UWinsite People AND approved by the Department Head within the specified GA/TA processing date, to allow for processing and student documentation submission.

GAs and TAs must not begin work until the student has received the HR approval email. If the offer has a start date that is past the respective submission deadline, a change in start date may be required. The student offer will be sent back to the Department for an adjustment.

Late student documentation submission to HR will result in the appointment start date being amended by HR to a later date. 

View a complete list of GA/TA Processing Dates for the term. If GAs and TAs are to start work supporting instructors in the first week of classes, departments need to complete submission in UWinsite People no later than the respective deadline as specified in the GA/TA Processing Dates. 

A weekly GA/TA employment status report will be made available to all Departments/Faculties.

Status of eligible student employment is available.

Reports should be viewed weekly at the beginning of the term to confirm the status of the contract in the workflow.

A shared folder has been set up for Departments and shared with individuals responsible for processing GA/TA contracts. These individuals will receive an email each week once the weekly report has been updated.

Should an update of access be required for the shared folder, an individual with authority should make the request by sending an email to gradaward@uwindsor.ca.

Training and Resources can be accessed through the UWinsite People website. 

Questions or assistance on completing requisitions or individual student hiring in UWinsite People can be directed to Human Resources at hrstudent@uwindsor.ca

• View training documentation in the Step-by-Step Instructions for Student Hiring in UWinsite People.
• Find a list of currently active GA/TA positions in UWinsite People (MS Excel).

 If GAs and TAs are to start work supporting instructors in the first week of classes, departments need to complete submission in UWinsite People no later than the deadline specified in the GA/TA processing schedule for that term - view list of GA/TA Processing Dates. 

The GA/TA contracts and SharePoint workflow will no longer be in operation EXCEPT in cases where Departments are submitting a supersedes or cancelled contract. 

Please note that supersedes/cancelled contracts are only required if there are changes to GA/TA level, start/end date, hourly rate of pay, and number of hours. For students changing from one course to another, a supersedes contract is not required unless there are changes made to those noted earlier. If nothing is changing except for the course the student is supporting, the only update that would be needed is completing a new "Form I" (Outline of duties and hours) with the new course instructor.

For supersede or cancelled contract departments should use the "Notice of appointment to assistantship" contract form (PDF).

Only a supersede or cancelled contract is to be submitted via the previous SharePoint GA/TA workflow at https://uwin365.sharepoint.com/sites/GATAAppointmentApprovalProcess/. Review the SharePoint workflow instructions - for submitting supercede or cancelled contract only.

Should departments need to add or remove access for anyone in the Department, the Graduate Coordinator or Graduate Secretary should send an email to gradaward@uwindsor.ca to make the request.