Student Academic Appointments

More information about financial support

Student Academic Appointment (SAA)

A Student Academic Appointment is a form of internship that combines academic training with work responsibilities. Work responsibilities depend on the specific position. For example, associate instructors serve as instructors of record; graduate assistants are teaching assistants that serve as an assistant to a teaching faculty or lecturer. Sociology SAA appointments are 50% FTE, 20 hours per week during each term of their employment.

Appointments are for Fall, Spring, and Summer term(s).
You must sign the SAA contract prior to the start of the semester. Make an appointment to meet with Paula Cotner (cotner@iu.edu).
You must enroll in a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester while on appointment.
Stipend is paid through IU payroll as direct deposit and is taxable income.

You can find more information in the Student Academic Appointee Handbook. This includes information and policies pertaining to those of you with assistantships (Student Academic Appointments).

Human Resources

Phone: 812-856-1234 Email: askHR@iu.edu

Pay dates through IU Payroll

Tax information

Paying taxes as an international student

Fellowships

Your fellowship portion (e.g. $ amount over SAA stipend) will be applied to your Bursars account each academic term and summer. Funds will usually be available to you by the first day of class.

Full-year fellowships are usually disbursed in two equal payments, the first following registration in August and the second in early January. In some cases, a portion of the fellowship will be disbursed in a summer payment in May.
The part of the fellowship, which you spend on tuition, fees, books, and required course expenses, is not considered taxable income, if these costs are not paid from any other source. The remainder of your fellowship is subject to taxation. It is the understanding of the College that the fee remission is non-taxable.

Fee remission

The College of Arts and Science will cover up to ~ 95% of the cost of graduate tuition for non-residents and at least 90% of the cost of graduate tuition for Indiana residents. You should be prepared to pay the remaining percentage of credit hour fees not covered by their fee remission (currently ~ $500 for 12 credit hours per academic term and mandatory fees of ~ $650 per academic term for a total of approximately $1,100 per academic term.) International students are also required to pay the International Graduate Student Orientation fee as well as the International Services Fee. For a full list of the mandatory fees and the current amounts, visit Student Central.

Requirements to qualify for fee remission:

Based on employment (e.g. holding an SAA appointment)
Used to enroll in courses related to your degree
Fees assessed at College of Arts and Sciences rate
Good standing in the Graduate program
12 credit hours for each Fall and Spring term. (Those receiving fee remission for both fall and spring terms will be eligible for 6 credit hours of fee remission the following summer.)
Unremittable fees are not covered

Health insurance

You will be automatically enrolled in mandatory Student Academic Appointment (SAA) health insurance. Premiums for SAAs are fully subsidized by the College of Arts and Sciences while on an SAA appointment thru the Department of Sociology.

Coverage for an eligible dependent spouse/child(ren) may be purchased from Aetna Student Health. To review the plan online brochure, please https://hr.iu.edu/benefits/students.html.

You will automatically be enrolled in the plan unless you complete a waiver form (which needs to be submitted EVERY fall and spring) to prove that you have comparable coverage.

There are ongoing changes in health insurance arrangements. Any changes/updates are sent to your IU email account. Directions on how to enroll eligible spouses and/or children will be given to you during orientation. If you have questions that you would like answered prior to orientation, please feel free to call our local office at (812) 856-4650, visit Poplars E165 or email: studenhc@indiana.edu.

Coverage periods:

SAA contracts include Health Insurance for the term of your appointment.
- Fall appointments: August 1 through December 31
- Spring appointments: January 1 through July 31
Fellowships include Health Insurance for the term of your fellowship.
- Fall appointments: August 1 through December 31
- Spring appointments: January 1 through July 31

Additional information may be found at Human Resources.