GA and TA Appointments - Guidelines for Departments

Notices of projected 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 should be instructed to visit the specific 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. Per the collective agreement, the application deadline must be at least 4 weeks before the term begins, noting that most departments would need to set a much earlier application deadline based on the targeted start of the position and in accordance with the posted GA/TA processing schedule for the term.

The application deadline must be at least 4 weeks before the term start, and must allow for sufficient follow-up time to process applications, create&accept the job offers in UWinsite People. Ensure the application deadline aligns with the anticipated position start date, per the posted GA/TA processing schedule for the term.

GA and TA work duties must be within the scope of duties in accordance with article 14:03 of the CUPE 4580 Collective Agreement. Review also section titled "Completing Form 1 - Description of Duties and Allocation of Hours" below.

When posting GA and TA positions, Departments are advised to follow the guidelines from the current template for departmental GA posting or the current template for departmental TA posting and include the following regarding duties 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.
• Most classes across the University are held face-to-face on campus, and even online classes may require on-campus face-to-face duties.

In addition to the "job offer", a document titled "Form 1 - Description of duties and allocation of hours" must be completed for each approved GA or TA appointment and kept on file in the department.

1. Download "Form 1 - Description of Duties and Allocation of Hours" (PDF)
2. Provide the form to the GA/TA supervising instructor along with the instructions below for meeting with the GA/TA and completing Form 1.
3. 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.

​Important notes for GA/TA supervising course instructors:

• 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 complete Form 1 and 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 of the CUPE4580 GA/TA Collective agreement). 
• 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.
• An assistant must NOT work more hours than the total hours listed on their GA/TA contract/job offer. 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 of the CUPE4580 GA/TA Collective agreement). A notation to this effect appears also on Form 1. 
• The format of Form 1 provides for a mid-course review and, where appropriate, revision of the initially assigned duties and/or the allocation of hours per duty. Any adjustments to the initial allocation of hours across duties must remain within the total contract hours, ensuring that the total contract hours are not exceeded. 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.

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. 

The following are the hourly rates to be used when preparing GA/TA job offers:

Current rates to be used for Winter 2026 offers:

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.

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 hrcrm@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 OHRCRM office (a minimum of 10 participants is required for the 60-minute training workshop) - for details contact the OHRCRM office (hrcrm@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 OHRCRM office (hrcrm@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 provisions in the collective agreement governing Graduate and Teaching Assistant positions refer to the current CUPE4580 Collective Agreement.

For questions and guidance on the collective agreement provisions, departments may contact gata-fgs@uwindsor.ca, or the Academic Labour Relations office at acadlr@uwindsor.ca.

Assistants may reach out to their CUPE local 4580 representative for guidance or refer to the current CUPE4580 Collective Agreement.