Lines and vouchers

Departments typically do not receive the same number of vouchers and lines because their teaching needs are typically not identical to their needs for supporting Ph.D. students. Some programs which do not have doctoral degrees may receive no lines but a number of vouchers (the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, for example). A graduate student with a TAGA line will only be entered on the payroll if her or his department also identifies a voucher for her/him, either from its own allotment or from the allocation of another program with heavier teaching needs.

1. The Voucher System

• Students in the College of Arts and Sciences supported on Graduate-School allocated TA lines must have vouchers to receive their stipends. Each department is allocated a certain number of lines and possibly a different number of vouchers, although the College-wide total numbers of lines and vouchers are the same. In a department or program with extra lines, the graduate program supervisor will direct some students to seek teaching assignments in departments or programs with extra vouchers. TAs in the Biological Sciences departments (BSB, E&E, Genetics, MCB, Neuro) are considered for these purposes to have Undergraduate Biology as their “home department.”
• Backstopping 1. Lines allocated to a department through the Graduate School’s backstopping agreement are considered at present to be self-vouchered. These students are expected to receive teaching assignments from their home department. Exception: a department with extra vouchers will be expected to use those vouchers for extra students added through backstopping.
• Backstopping 2. Conversely, a department which returns unused recruiting lines to the Graduate School will lose a corresponding number of vouchers from its own allocation.
• TA lines funded through special arrangement on the College of Arts and Sciences Supplementary Instructional Budget ("CAS SIB lines") are considered at present to be self-vouchered, as above.
• TA lines funded through special agreement with the Honors College ("HON lines") are considered at present to be self-vouchered, as above.
• Graduate School, CAS SIB and HON lines are all considered TA lines as opposed to GA lines. Students supported on TA lines are expected to receive teaching assignments.
• Departments with special non-teaching needs (eg., editing of journals) should seek special consideration from the Dean to receive GA lines (as opposed to TA lines).
• Students in the BSB program on “Science” lines will need vouchers to receive their stipends.
• Students in MSRC do not require vouchers; some teach in CAS programs as directed by their graduate program supervisor in coordination with this office.

 2. Extra lines or vouchers, by department or program

(a) For 2007-08, for those departments who have either extra lines or vouchers, we have formulated a suggested model for matching of those lines and vouchers. Please see the link "suggested distribution." For example, we suggest that Asian and Asian American Studies can match their 5 surplus vouchers with 3 in Comp Lit and 2 in Linguistics.

Link to TAGA-0809 suggested distribution

(b) We will update (approximately weekly) the model with "actual" data as vouchers that are returned to the Dean's office. See link "distribution status"

Link to TAGA-0809 distribution status

(c) We will update (a) and (b) with 2008-09 data when allocations have been finalized.