The Graduate and Professional Student Association of Washington State University supports maintaining the current level graduate assistant health care at Washington State University. Graduate assistantships are one of the two most important forms of financial support for graduate students. Graduate assistantship positions with competitive salaries and health benefits are essential for attracting and retaining quality graduate students necessary for maintaining teaching and research quality. The number of graduate assistantships available is especially critical in Pullman because few jobs are available outside of the university. They evaluate undergraduate work, lead informal class discussions, and in many cases, independently design, instruct, and grade lower-division undergraduate courses.
Graduate assistants act as a bridge between undergraduates and faculty.
Training and experience through graduate assistant positions provide critical professional development for most graduate students. Through their teaching experiences, graduate assistants learn to multi-task, to communicate effectively, to speak professionally in front of large groups, and to think critically and creatively about how students best learn material. Teaching assistants are valuable components of the university system. Well equipped to teach and evaluate undergraduate courses, T.A.s offer a unique level of expertise from which their students benefit. The strength of the State's system of higher education depends upon the quality of our employees and infrastructure.