One of the MAC Apartment Buildings located on campus. Photo by Raye M. White.
UAA Residence Life will no longer hire graduate students for Student Assistant 1 and 2 positions.
Ryan J. Hill, the director of Residence Life, said that Residence Life will only hire undergraduate students for these positions going forward.
This change happened after the University of Alaska and the Alaska Graduate Workers Association-UAW Union negotiated a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) earlier this year.
The agreement raised the pay rates of graduate students in Student Assistant 1 positions to a minimum of $17.50 per hour. Student Assistant 2 positions will now earn $18.50 per hour.
The Northern Light previously reported on how the department of Student Engagement and Inclusion stopped hiring graduate students after the CBA was negotiated.
Residence Life currently has one graduate student on staff. Hill said that the graduate student was hired before this policy change was made, and will be allowed to work throughout the current academic year.
“We felt like we had made a commitment to that student,” said Hill. “And the supervisory chain in student affairs totally agreed with that.”
Hill said that the pay raise will not affect the graduate student’s job responsibilities.
Residence Life is one of the units that operates under the Dean of Students Office. Ben Morton, the Dean of Students, said in an email to The Northern Light that units have the autonomy to make their own hiring decisions, “based upon their budget situation and unique hiring needs.”
Hill said the majority of Residence Life’s budget goes toward personnel-related costs, which means the increase in pay will have a considerable impact on the budget.
“It's really difficult for us to absorb cost increases like this,” Hill said.
Hill said it’s unfortunate that they found themselves in this situation, as he appreciates what graduate students bring to Residence Life.
“You know, the RA position, specifically, has the ability to be really influential and to really impact a student's experience in a way that is a little bit unique,” Hill said. “It's unfortunate in my eyes that, moving forward, we wouldn't be able to have graduate students in that role, because they are fantastic mentors and have a lot of experience they can share with students.”
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