BMOL PhD Student Handbook Termination-Leave of Absence
Assistantship Termination or Reduction
To maintain your graduate assistantship, you must comply with all policies, procedures, and timelines outlined in this handbook, as well as the policies of Boise State University and the Graduate College. A graduate assistantship may be terminated or reduced at any time by the program or the university for just cause such as unsatisfactory performance of assigned duties, dereliction of duties, gross negligence of laboratory conduct (including intoxication), insubordination, unsatisfactory academic performance or unsatisfactory progress toward the degree. The graduate program requires students to maintain an ethical code of conduct and adherence to BSU employee and student policies as well as civil laws. Just causes include a felony conviction, failure to report a criminal charge to human resources within 3 days, or a violation of the university’s code of conduct (both student and employee codes of conduct apply). Students may be expelled from the program for cause as determined by the graduate program, the Graduate Dean, or upper-level university administration.
If a student’s teaching performance is considered unsatisfactory by the department and their teaching privileges are revoked, the BMOL program will explore whether another department would accept them as a teaching assistant. If no teaching assignment is identified, the student’s stipend will be affected in one of the following ways: 1) their stipend will either be reduced by ~$4,850.60 per semester due to the loss of funds the hosting department normally provides to the BMOL program, or 2) the student’s PI may provide the ~$4,850.60 per semester to keep the stipend at $25,000/year. The dollar values is based on the academic year’s adjunct rate and number of units the student would be assigned.
A Graduate Assistant cannot work for the university under any compensable arrangement other than the graduate assistantship during the contract period, unless approved by the Dean of the Graduate College (policy 7170.4.4.10). To request approval, you must obtain permission from your advisor, then the BMOL Steering Committee. Once approval has been received from the steering committee, the student must complete the Approval Form. The form will route to the GA supervisor and the secondary position supervisor for approval, then will be routed to the Graduate Dean for final approval. This form should be completed prior to the hiring of the secondary position
Leave of Absence
You must be continually enrolled in the program and making satisfactory progress to maintain your graduate assistantship. You may apply to the department for an official leave of absence if you cannot maintain continuous enrollment or perform assigned work duties at any time. An official leave of absence will be reviewed for approval on a case-by-case basis. Your assistantship or pay may be affected by a leave of absence, or your failure to receive approval for a leave of absence. If in doubt on whether to apply for a leave of absence, you should consult with your major professor and the Program Director as soon as possible. Approved requests for a leave of absence must be in writing or electronic form.